Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing for Oil and Gas - Transformative Potential and Technology Constraints

摘要

Additive Manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing (3DP) are digital partsfabrication technologies that have very high, and potentially disruptive,value for the oil and gas industries. These technologies are rapidlyevolving from their beginnings as component rapid prototypingtechniques to include the manufacture of operational parts. The abilityto create metal alloy components with complex geometries not feasibleusing traditional manufacturing is already being exploited by theaerospace industry. This paper describes the latest developments inAM and 3DP with an emphasis on those developments with thepotential to result in future Oil and Gas applications.