Caley entered the second phase of the project with the desire to gain a greater understanding of the software and the 3D printing process. From their experience, working with a wide variety of clients over many years, Caley understand that both of these technologies are still in their infancy in the offshore industry, with the risk therefore a significant issue for everyone.  As an organisation, they ensure that safety of personnel is always paramount, however they are also mindful of the financial risks that may result from costly repairs or downtime. As such, they wish to have the utmost confidence in their design and manufacturing processes before they can allow a completed project to go offshore.

As Thomas Lamont from Caley stated, ‘just as the industry needed to adapt when it moved from purely hand calculations to using 3D CAD and FEA, so we need to adapt again to a process which is even more dependent on the appropriate use of software tools. We want to better understand both the advantages and the pitfalls of these new tools and processes. This is another route for design and manufacture, and we need to know where and when to make best use of it and that requires greater knowledge and experience.’

‘In the near future we hope to be able to bring some of the new design tools on board to supplement our existing design process.  Using these tools to look at structural problems from a different perspective we will be able to optimise our designs for existing manufacturing methods.  As we gain more experience the output of those new tools can become more prominent.’

As a key partner in MariLight 2, Caley measure milestones based on the agreed project schedules. Viewing the project as a research and development piece, they suggest a successful outcome is not necessarily a completed build of a part, but rather making a positive step towards a new design process that the company can employ on future projects. Thomas notes, ‘in the past marine engineers have often simplified calculations by taking a very conservative view. Using corner-condition load cases to drive the design, generous safety factors and often adding more material to account for any unknowns. With a process intended to optimise weight through minimising material the forces acting on that structure have to be understood in much more detail.  The software from Altair can handle the complex calculations of all these load cases at once, but as anyone who has used computer analysis knows, the results are only as good as the information you put in.   Ensuring that every possible load case has been accounted for is a difficult task for anything that is going to be on a vessel at sea for perhaps 20+ years.  The process for creating weight optimised designs using generative topology software will need to be different from what we’ve done before to make sure that everyone can have confidence in the results.’

The firm are very excited to be a part of the consortium, led by Malin Marine Consultants, as it offers a route to the widespread adoption of additive manufacturing. Indeed, they understand that the marine industry in general is often slow to adopt new technologies that do not yet have a track record offshore.  Despite this, they also recognise that additive manufacture is beginning to gain ground and reach beyond prototyping and into production parts, but to be successful, said parts need to achieve certification from the recognised bodies. Speaking on this, Thomas notes ‘it is very encouraging to see Lloyds involvement in Marilight 2 as ultimately any new technology must have a clear route to approval and certification to satisfy our safety conscious clients and we hope that Marilight2 goes a long way to laying the foundations for these procedures.’

Looking to the future, Caley hopes that the technologies being explored in Marilight2 will allow engineers greater flexibility in their designs, no longer being constrained by traditional fabrication methods. Without the necessity of having to accommodate standard sections or create access for manual welding, they recognise that the engineer will have more freedom to explore geometries to optimise performance, weight, or both. This may then lead to more efficient use of materials, meaning lighter designs and less wastage during manufacture. Materials that would have been considered too expensive due to the costs associated with wastage could become more affordable when both the design and the manufacturing process are aligned to use only what material is required for the job. As Thomas reflects, ‘we can also foresee a reduction in the time between design and manufacture. The 3D CAD files produced during the design process becoming the primary means of communicating manufacturing information with other documentation only being used for aspects or details that are not visible in the geometry.’

You can find out more about Caley, the wider set of MariLight 2 partners, and upcoming milestones in the project below.