- The world’s first CE-Certified 3D printed lifting tool, the Wärtsilä part was delivered.
- It was through the Wilhelmsen thyssenkrupp AM fulfillment platform to a vessel at anchorage in Singapore.
- Also, a one of kind when it comes to drone delivery, with the F-Drones vehicle delivering the part to a Berge Bulk vessel at night.
According to a recent article published in Wilhelmsen, the world’s first CE-Certified 3D printed lifting tool was delivered.
Wärtsilä often needs to fabricate
Manufacturing engines that power a third of the world’s largest cargo ships Wärtsilä often needs to fabricate specialist tools to solve problems and optimize efficiencies with its equipment onboard.
The lifting tool
The lifting tool is one such example. It is critical to building and servicing large engines, allowing engineers to move immensely heavy engine parts, such as pistons.
Leading 3D design in industry
Utilizing industry-leading 3D design and fabrication dramatically reduces lead times.
Taking just a couple of weeks, rather than the months an original spare part would have taken to arrive, the last mile delivery by drone is an added bonus, further speeding up the process.
Journey with Wärtsilä
“We are very excited to embarking on this journey with Wärtsilä. This milestone marks the future of supply chain for the maritime industry and our customers, that are now experiencing a solution that is faster, better and greener”, says Hakon Ellekjaer, Head of Venture, 3D Printing, Wilhelmsen.
What’s special about the new design?
The new design splits the tool into various separate parts to best leverage continuous carbon fiber reinforcement and enabled the lifting tool to lift a 240KG engine piston at the first time of asking.
In addition, the modular nature of the design means any damaged parts can be switched out easily and the complete part can be disassembled and packed down for shipment.
This makes dramatic nighttime deliveries to vessels by drone a reality as the payload of these is limited in terms of weight and size.
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Source:Wilhelmsen
