Siemens has announced that by using additive manufacturing (AM) technology of selective laser melting (SLM), it can repair parts for industrial gas turbines up to 60 per cent faster than traditional methods
Within the last years, additive manufacturing has emerged and is revolutionising the manufacturing of components. This technology allows design improvement and rapid manufacturing of components, thus enabling quick upgrading of existing assets to the latest part design.
The areas of application for additive manufacturing that Siemens offer are rapid prototyping, rapid repair and rapid manufacturing.
The rapid repair procedures for the SGT-700 and SGT-800 burners tips using SLM technology is ten times quicker than the convention repair procedures. Replacement of conventional repair processes with selective laser melting (SLM) provided not only a significant reduction in repair time but also an opportunity to modify repaired components to the latest burner design.
Rapid prototyping allows firms to act on pre-production flaws and reassess and test prototypes. According to Siemens, ?In the past, due to long delivery of new components manufactured by conventional methods (e.g. casting), component validation testing was done almost at the end of the development process. With AM as an integral part of the development process, components design and manufacturing are realised and tested during the development achieving fast development cycles.?
Rapid manufacturing uses AM industrialised technology to enhance the spare part supply chain that Siemens gas turbine currently uses. It also allows for on demand manufacturing and even some on-site manufacturing.
