Exploring the potential and applications of additive manufacturing in repairs during the operation of a ship

Abstract

Future trends in marine technology include recent advances in v4.0 Industry such as 3D printing. The benefits of additive manufacturing are piece optimisation, weight reduction and ease prototyping. As a result, this technology has the potential to outperform the conventionally manufactured pieces due to their properties. Thus, one of the advantages of this technology is the ability to design and print specific pieces while the ship is in operation, thus allowing it to make a temporary repair until a replacement can be obtained or even a permanent repair depending on the properties required for correct operation. In this context, the proper material choice is of the utmost importance, therefore in this work we analyze which materials are most suitable to make prototypes aboard. In order to illustrate possible cases, a critical analysis of some ship's components is carried out in order to study the required properties and identify the best materials for repairing and maintenance aboard.