3D printed ships "sail" toward the stars and the sea
Release time：2024-09-20click：0
Intelligent Manufacturing Network News The 3D printing industry is developing rapidly, which can be verified from the construction of the National Innovation Center. In 2016, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Center began construction. In January 2020, it passed the acceptance of its capabilities and can provide solutions for product development in various industries. At the same time, it has conducted research and development of key devices and software platforms, and developed a platform for pilot testing. The platform for public testing and the platform capabilities for engineering and technical services demonstrate the role of 3D printing platform construction.
According to data released by CCID, in 2019, in China’s 3D printing application service industry structure, the industrial application service industry scale was 2.923 billion yuan, accounting for 64%; consumer application services The industry scale is 1.644 billion yuan, accounting for 36%. As a major part of traditional industry, the shipbuilding industry has also begun to accept the influence of 3D printing in recent years.
As early as March 2017, China’s first 3D printed 1-meter sailboat was unveiled at the 2017 Shanghai Youth Model Aircraft Championship, triggering heated discussions among industry insiders. In October 2019, a 7.6-meter-long 3D printed boat weighing 2,268 kilograms was publicly unveiled in a laboratory at the University of Maine. This is a large-scale 3D printer and the largest 3D printed boat and boat in many years. 3D printed objects show the prospects of 3D printing technology being used in model and prototype production.
In early November this year, physicists from Leiden University in the Netherlands used 3D printing technology to print the world's smallest ship. The length is only 30 microns, which is only 6 times larger than a bacterial cell. Researchers used scanning electron microscopy to photograph the ship, showing it had an open cabin, a chimney and even small portholes. What's particularly impressive is that the entire model is only one-third the diameter of a human hair. Researchers on the project said they hope to apply it to precisely targeted drug delivery in the human body in the future.
3D printing uses only the amount of material necessary to build the ship without creating excess waste. Compared with early traditional manufacturing methods, the cost of shipbuilding will be further reduced, thereby indirectly reducing labor costs and shortening the construction cycle. 3D printing produces parts that are lighter in weight than traditional manufacturing methods. This means that the hull can become faster while ensuring sufficient strength, obtain better balance, and reduce the potential risks caused by the hull being overweight and unstable.
From a material perspective, the demand for new materials in shipbuilding, offshore engineering and aerospace has the characteristics of high speed, energy saving, long range and lightweight. The prominent problem in the marine environment is corrosion, and High-performance engineering plastics and resin-based composite materials have outstanding advantages: light specific gravity and excellent corrosion resistance. future, withAs the application of 3D printing in the shipbuilding field continues to deepen, the development and upgrading cycle of high-performance engineering plastics and resin-based composite materials is expected to be further shortened.
So, what is the difference between traditional manufacturing processes and additive manufacturing methods? In summary, the traditional subtractive manufacturing process refers to using existing geometric model workpieces and using tools to gradually cut, grind, and carve the materials into the required parts. On the other hand, 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, uses 3D printing equipment to layer digital three-dimensional models. Special materials such as metal powder, thermoplastic materials, and resins are continuously piled up and bonded layer by layer, and finally superimposed to form a three-dimensional whole.
Some people in the industry pointed out that the multi-variety and small-batch production model can be used for repair and remanufacturing. Like many metallurgical machinery and mining machinery, by spraying a layer of higher-performance alloy on the parts to restore its original accuracy, all valuable equipment can be repaired at a very small cost, and the performance can even be better than that of new products. improve. It also includes equipment from many years ago. If a part is damaged and there is no supplier, it can be repaired directly using 3D printing.
It is foreseeable that with the rapid development of the economy and the gradual improvement of people's living standards, consumers will increasingly pursue personalized needs, and 3D printing will be connected with robots, automation equipment, and intelligent interconnection System and other technologies can improve the flexibility of manufacturing production lines and produce customized products at lower costs, thereby promoting the transformation of traditional manufacturing methods towards personalization and precision.
