Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore has signed an MOU with PSA Corporation Limited, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster and 3D MetalForge Pte Ltd to establish the world’s first onsite 3D printing facility for port applications.
The Additive Manufacturing (AM) rapid production facility will be strategically located at PSA Singapore’s Pasir Panjang Terminal, where PSA is testing port technologies for current and future terminals. It will feature state-of-the-art printers capable of producing AM parts for port equipment. The facility will also use a specialised maritime digital cloud supported by Blockchain technology for more secure file transfers.
“Pervasive importance”Ong Kim Pong, regional CEO Southeast Asia at PSA International, said: “In close collaboration with EDB, we have learnt that the era of Additive Manufacturing is showing pervasive importance in industry transformation.
“Within our maritime sector, we foresee widespread adoption within the immediate horizon. I am heartened that PSA, alongside MPA, NAMIC and 3D MetalForge can be pioneers in developing this technology for use in our industry. Co-creating new innovations including digitising inventories will create opportunities to raise maritime productivity to the next level.”
The facility’s location also leverages PSA’s parts supplier base and facility operations to support just-in-time inventory. This move towards digitised inventories reduces the need to hold excess inventory, which lowers storage costs while shortening turnaround time from weeks to days due to improved availability of spare parts.
Long-term, PSA plans to expand the scope of these services to the wider maritime industry, including ship owners, to help build its business adjacencies.
Source: Port Strategy