EXPLORATION • DRILLING • FIELD SERVICES
fledged alternative. Whereas 3D printing in the past was mainly used for plastic materials, more and more metal-based printing applications can be found today. Nonetheless tungsten carbide 3D printing is still very exotic and is practised only by very few companies. Ceratizit is one of these companies and is now also able to offer its proven grade CTU17R as an AM variant. Tat opens up many opportunities for the design of components for the oil and gas industry, especially those that are impossible to achieve by conventional production processes.
FLEXIBILITY IN LAYERS 3D printing offers a number of advantages when compared with legacy processes. Te most important of these is the added flexibility 3D printing allows in design terms. 3D printing can make components that are hollow in certain areas. How is this possible? In 3D printing, material is added in layers, so the material density of the core can be altered. Tat means that certain areas can be hollowed out when required while other more critical areas can be reinforced – an ideal basis for lightweight design with increased strength. 3D printing also helps to save
Comparing the corrosion-resistant austenitic stainless steel grade 1.4404 with a nickel-binder ultrafine carbide grade such as CTU17R from Ceratizit shows how extremely resistant carbides are, for example against pitting corrosion
carbide, as production becomes more material-efficient. Te technology can produce components that are smaller in terms of volume, but still yield the same performance.
3D printing processes have been used in industrial production for a long time already. But now it is possible to print extremely durable and erosion-resistant materials such as cemented carbides
DON’T DITCH THE CONVENTIONAL: VALVES IN XXL DIMENSIONS But when it comes to extraordinary dimensions, such as valves with diameters of more than 400mm or lengths in excess of 300mm, traditional production processes are back in the game. For example, horizontal flow valves can be equipped with carbide inserts to regulate the pressure and therefore the flow of oil, gas or some other medium. Te real challenge in production is to deliver the desired dimensions in spite of the deformation that occurs in the sintering process. Every component has a linear shrinkage of 21 to 25% after sintering, and needs some subsequent grinding to get the exact final geometry the customer needs. Not forgetting that we start with a pressed blank weighing 300+kg and reduce it to something between 80 and 120kg for the final part. It requires very distinctive and specialised machinery, as well as a great deal of expertise, to produce parts for the oil and gas industry that will last and withstand the harshest conditions.
Tom Rayeck is with Ceratizit.
www.ceratizit.com
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