MX3D
WAAM IMPELLER
“To our best knowledge this will be the first installation of a large critical operational part, manufactured with WAAM, certainly in the Energy sector.”, Says Filippo Gilardi | MX3D
The part is traditionally casted with long lead times up to 6-8 months. With MX3D’s robotic Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) technology the part was printed in 9 days, with an average deposit rate of 3.2 Kg per hour, using multiple qualified parameters sets.
The project started with extensive material & parameter validation of test plates. The qualification of the material is performed by Laborelec, the technical expertise center of Engie, one of the world’s biggest energy companies.
Currently Laborelec is in the process of qualifying the part. For this the part was scanned in several phases of the project to check on deformations. Furthermore the parties performed NDT testing on critical parts during the build up. Post-printing the part underwent heat treatment to de-stress the part before the finishing step.
After the challenging milling step will be completed by Bravotech in Belgium, Laborelec will perform the final quality checks before installing it in its power plant in the first half of 2023.
“The ability to produce large qualified parts by means of 3D metal printing enables companies like ENGIE to reduce lead time, cost and risk”, Says Idriss
SPECIFICATIONS
Part: impeller for gas fired power plant
Material: CuAl8Ni2
Weight: 350 Kg
Size: 1m diameter and 53cm in height
Expected Install date: Q1 2023
Technology: MX3D, MetalXL Proprietary Software for WAAM
Client: www.engie.com / Engie gas fired power plant at Amercoeur Belgium
Vertical: Energy
Material & Structural Analysis: www.laborelec.com
Qualification: www.laborelec.com
Normal Lead time: 6-8 Months
New Lead time: 1 month
Heat treatment: Post Printing
Projectpage: www.MX3D.com/energy
Milling: www.bravotech.be
Hardware: MX3D M1 Metal AM Machine
