3D Printing in the Oil and Gas Industry

Of the industries that use 3D printing, the oil and gas industry may be one of the most critical. Using Direct Metal Laser Solidification (DMLS®) in the place of traditional manufacturing methods brings about an array of benefits, including:

• Allowance of complex internal geometries
• Incorporation of conformal cooling channels and microchannels
• Use of latticed and honeycombed designs
• Integration of free-form shapes

3D printing in the oil and gas industry enables manufacturers to test new products in a way that is more cost effective and more flexible than traditional machining or casting. With 3D metal printing, design-for-manufacture constraints are lifted. DMLS® 3D models drive 400-watt lasers to fuse microlayers of powder together in linear and organic shapes. Since the part is grown layer by layer, virtually any design is manufacturable and economical.

As with other industries that use 3D printing, the oil and gas industry benefits from finalized, production-quality parts in days instead of months. This reduces part inventory requirements and allows for custom, one-off part solutions. i3DMFG™’s 3D printing services are offered on-shore, protecting sensitive designs and costly tool change time and shipping.