ASX-listed manufacturing company 3D Metalforge (3MF) has secured the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) license for additive production of metal parts.
The certification was awarded to the company’s manufacturing facility in Houston, Texas, which began operating in mid-2021, making it the world’s first ABS-approved facility under the bureau’s new Additive Manufacturing standard.
The scope of the approval is for the production of “Generic Additive Manufacturing Facility Approval for Marine Applications,” particularly in laser powder bed fusion on the Renishaw AM400 printer in 316L material.
The license was granted following a rigorous process that involved site inspection, test sample printing, and a thorough examination of the company’s process and procedures. This gives 3MF a significant competitive advantage as the only company certified to supply parts that require “class approval” to ABS’ global customer base.
The process approval also increases the range of customers and parts 3MF can work with and recognises the Houston facility’s capability to manufacture additive manufacturing parts in compliance with ABS Rules for Materials and Welding Part 2 and ABS Guide for Additive Manufacturing.
“This is a very important step for the Company and fully establishes our Houston facility as one of the leading Additive Manufacturing facilities in USA. We are extremely pleased to have worked with ABS to achieve this certification after many years of collaboration,” said Matthew Waterhouse, the company’s managing director and acting chairman.
The ABS certification supports 3DMF’s growth strategy, which focuses on oil & gas and maritime sectors and creates a strong foundation of quality systems, assurance, and quality part production.
It also builds on the company’s Singapore manufacturing facility being already certified by Lloyd’s Register.
ABS is the third largest global classification society by deadweight tonnes, while LR is the fourth largest. The two organisations represent 34 per cent of the world’s shipping gross tonnage requiring classification, 3DMF said in a press release.
