Additive manufacturing for the energy industry

Metal 3D printing with multiple lasers and closed-loop powder handling make the SLM 280 suitable for medium to high volume metal additive manufacturing part production and prototypes. SLM Solutions

Situation

Atlantic XL, St. John’s, N.L., provides engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC); and engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) services to the energy industry that supports offshore and onshore systems including digitalization, telecommunications, navigation, environmental monitoring, and now, thanks to a new capital equipment purchase, metal additive manufacturing.

The company is part of the XL Global Group, which specializes in providing integrated business services for safety systems and process control, data management, telecommunications, business-critical IT, commercial vehicles, mobility, and building lifts. Each division of the parent company harnesses the specific skills and expertise of its sister operations to provide bespoke options for a multitude of industrial and commercial needs.

With more than 20 years of experience in EPC and EPCM of integrated systems, the business recently recognized that industry has never been faced with a more challenging environment in the procurement of materials required to support its clients.

Resolution

Today, the industry possesses significant supply chain challenges for high-quality metal parts. Atlantic XL, therefore, decided to acquire an SLM 280 system from additive manufacturing partner SLM Solutions. This capability will contribute to the company’s net-zero goals by reducing its carbon footprint, support its supply chain by helping to reduce long lead times and solving part obsolescence, and reduce costs by offering a digital warehouse concept over physical parts storage.

“We decided on the SLM 280 because of the open architecture system. It gives us the freedom to adapt everything we need. The excellent collaboration with our team and the technically acceptable equipment supported our decision,” said Marty Gaulin, director of additive manufacturing at Atlantic XL.

The SLM 280 is a multilaser additive manufacturing machine with closed-loop powder handling. It’s suitable for medium-to-high-volume metal additive manufacturing part production and prototypes. According to the manufacturer, the open architecture strategy of the machine enables a free choice of powder, open process parameters with ready-to-print parameters if required, and variable control.

“Our machines are a great asset for the energy industry. SLM Solutions has proven its ability to innovate with products such as FreeFloat, and is helping to make the world a better place with innovative components and technical progress. We are pleased about this exciting new relationship bringing our manufacturing footprint to the east coast of Canada,” said Fabrizio Ragusa, energy expert at SLM Solutions.

Atlantic XL, www.xlg.co.uk/divisions/atlanticxl

SLM Solutions, www.slm-solutions.com