[caption id="attachment_9795" align="alignnone" width="1000"] Image Credit: 3dprint.com[/caption]

Deciphering the role of 3D printing and its impact in the petroleum industry.

3D printing has grown considerably in the past years and can now play a crucial role in many applications, with engineering, medicine, architecture, custom art, and design, being the most essential thing. Without creating unique tools or even using many tools, it can produce numerous objects, allowing several people to produce and sell their creations by skipping conventional publishing and distribution networks in this way.

Complex equipment that must meet robust performance and environmental requirements is used by the oil and gas industry. Additional development allows for creative shapes and complex geometries, reducing the number of components, minimizing assembly times, improving efficiency, and reducing emissions.

To allow proper post-processing, typically manufactured components must be broken down into constituent parts. For example, several components must be made from two halves, which are eventually welded together, to allow the efficient machining of internal surfaces. In comparison, 3D printing enables flow control and other oil/gas devices to be produced in a single component.

As creativity in 3D printing emerges in the oil and gas industry, the need for input from field staff is beneficial. An effective 3D printing system in oil and gas involves an initial stage of determining which parts and components truly benefit from the significant advantages of additive manufacturing.

The use of 3D printing to generate production is now becoming increasingly common in the energy sector. As 3D printing can manufacture customized and complex components faster than conventional production methods, the technology has been found by engineers to be the ideal solution for small volume companies. 3D printing does not need tooling and can be a key element in the next generation of components of energy, oil, and gas, creating lightweight structures with complex structural features.

The AM method also poses legal and regulatory questions, even as 3D printing injects efficiencies into the manufacture and delivery of components. Industry certification of this technology is a possible obstacle for maintaining, challenging performance and safety standards. The transition from the use of additive manufacturing for prototyping to its use in the efficient manufacture of end-use products must meet rigorous performance and safety requirements, which is difficult to complete.

There is a growing use of 3D printing in the energy sector in the replacement parts industry. The over-stocking of replacement parts has meant high downtime costs and logistical challenges of delivering to remote areas. This technology offers a solution by printing legacy components on-site or a 3D service provider on-demand.

According to recent estimates, 3D printing in the gas and oil field is valued at US$32 billion. While 3D printing reportedly only accounts for 0.1 percent of the global manufacturing market, increased technology penetration indicates that by 2030 it may be worth as much as $60 billion.

3D printing focus in the oil and gas industries has been projected to shift towards more serial production: to repeatedly create the same item and the contrary to agility. In sectors such as aerospace and health care, serial AM is already a reality. In the end, this would help minimize the cost of reproducing machine components that can be readily accessible on-site if a breakdown takes place.