DNV GL Releases AoM for AM Manufacturers

Classification society DNV GL has released the first approval of manufacturer (AoM) scheme for additive manufacturing (AM) producers wishing to supply products that comply with the DNV GL rules and standards.

Additive manufacturing is a term that covers industrial processes that create three dimensional objects by adding layers of material: It includes such technologies as 3D Printing, Rapid Prototyping (RP), Direct Digital Manufacturing (DDM), layered manufacturing and additive fabrication.

“AM is a technology that holds a great deal of promise for the maritime industry,” says Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO of DNV GL – Maritime. “Our responsibility as the world’s leading classification society is to give manufacturers a clear path they can take to offer their innovative products, while ensuring that our customers can have the same confidence in an AM product as they do in any other that has undergone approval by class.”

The AoM programme is designed to verify a manufacturers’ ability to consistently manufacture materials and products to given specifications and in accordance with the DNV GL rule requirements. As part of applying for AoM, manufacturers must firstly undertake a proof of concept to demonstrate that they have feasible technology and products.

“The release of the AoM programme opens up new opportunities for both producers and users of these products, creating potential efficiencies in logistics and supplies chains, as well as in on-board maintenance and repair,” says Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen. “Above all, however, we must ensure that safety and quality standards are upheld, and this new programme allows producers to demonstrate their fitness to the shipping industry.”

DNV GL has been investigating the opportunities and challenges posed by AM since 2014. In 2017, DNV GL published the first guideline for the use of AM in the maritime and oil & gas industries. Earlier this year DNV GL opened the Global Additive Manufacturing Centre of Excellence in Singapore, an incubator and testbed for the research and development of additive manufacturing technology for the oil & gas, offshore and marine sector.