Manufacturing parts on demand at Europe's busiest port

Additive manufacturing meets welding to manufacture parts on demand in Port Rotterdam.

Autodesk Video

July 28, 2022

The Rotterdam Additive Manufacturing Lab started as a pilot program in the Port of Rotterdam, created to make the port the smartest in the world.
RAMLAB is incorporating additive manufacturing in its work to speed up production and reduce waste in the maritime industry.
Manufacturing on demand is different from traditional manufacturing in that parts are produced only as needed.

The Port of Rotterdam was once the busiest port in the world—not just Europe. Now, it is striving to become the smartest port in the world. One way it’s looking to achieve that is by investing in new initiatives such as the Rotterdam Additive Manufacturing Lab (RAMLAB) that bring new technology and innovation to the maritime industry. RAMLAB plans to use additive manufacturing to ensure that industrial spare parts are always available—on demand.

“We did a study in 2015 together with all kinds of offshore maritime companies, and from that pilot, the Port of Rotterdam, they asked us, ‘Okay, how can we continue this pilot after this is finished?’” says Vincent Wegener, managing director of RAMLAB. “We came up with the plan to set up the lab, and they approved, and we started last year.”

RAMLAB is trying to solve several problems. One is, the conventional way of manufacturing begins with large parts being cast. When the part is cast, the mold is made. Then the part has to be post-processed and transported. It can take up to six months to a year before a part arrives.

“For many of the end users, they are partners of RAMLAB; they would like to see that shortened,” Wegener says. “So if you can make a part in a few days, a lot of companies will be helped with that.

“There are a lot of warehouses in the Port of Rotterdam,” he continues. “There are studies that have been done that 70% is never used. Never. Spare parts will never be used, so it’s a waste of a lot of resources. So from that perspective, they’re saying, ‘Well, how can we disrupt ourselves? How can we go to a world where you have a digital warehouse so you no longer have these physical warehouses?’”

“The process we are using is wire arc additive manufacturing,” Wegener says. “Basically, it’s welding but then 3D welding. It took about 240 hours to make the propellers—so, 10 days, full time, nonstop.”

Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) combines gas metal arc welding and 3D printing. By using the two methods to repair broken parts and molds, complex shapes can be printed at a lower cost. Materials are only used as needed, so expensive materials can be used as needed.

“The maritime and offshore world, they have strict rules and certification,” Wegener says. “So the challenge for us was not only to make a part but also to certify it. If you cannot get the certifying partner, like BV or Lloyd’s, on board, then it’s no use to start making parts. So we involved them from the start.

“My personal drive is, I love tech,” he continues. “I love innovation, and the thing is, you always see it’s out there somewhere on the other side of the world—they’re doing this. Why not here in Rotterdam? That was my personal drive. Why shouldn’t we do this here? You can achieve a lot with a small team. It’s the typical path from the nonbelievers to believers.”

This article has been updated. It originally published in January 2018.

View transcript

I'm Vincent Wegener. I'm the managing director of RAMLAB. RAMLAB stands for Rotterdam Additive Manufacturing Lab, and we are located in the Port of Rotterdam.

The Port of Rotterdam used to be the largest port in the world.

And the Port of Rotterdam Authority is now pursuing the strategy of becoming the smartest port in the world.

The Port Authority is investing in, you know, all kinds of innovative initiatives. So RAMLAB is one of those initiatives.

We did a study in 2015 together with all kinds of offshore maritime companies.

And from that pilot, the Port of Rotterdam, they ask us, "Okay, how can we continue this pilot after this is finished?" We came up with the plan to set up a lab, and they approved, and we started last year.

We are trying to solve several several problems. One is conventional way of manufacturing is, you know, most of large parts are casted.

When you cast a part, you have to make the mold; you have to, you have to post-process it; you have to transport it—it can take up to six months to a year before you get your part.

For many of the end users that are a partner of RAMLAB, they they would like to see that shortened. So if you can make a part in a few days, a lot of companies will be helped with that. There are a lot of warehouses in the Port of Rotterdam. There are studies that have been done that 70% is never used. Never—spare parts will never be used. It's also a waste of a lot of resources. So from that perspective, they're saying, "How can we disrupt ourselves? How can we go to a world where you have a digital warehouse so you no longer have these physical warehouses?"

They're actively looking for new business models as a Port of Rotterdam Authority. That's the starting point for setting up the lab. The process we're using is wire arc additive manufacturing. Basically, it's welding, 3D, but then 3D welding. It took about 240 hours to make, to make the propeller—so 10 days full-time nonstop.

The maritime and offshore world, they have strict rules and certifications. So the challenge for us was not only to make a part but also to certify it. If you cannot get the certified partner like BV or Lloyd's onboard, then it's no use to start making making parts. So we involved them from from the start.

My personal drive is I love tech; I love innovation. And the thing is you always see it's out there somewhere on the other other side of the world. They're doing it. Why not here in Rotterdam? That was my personal drive—like, why shouldn't we do this here?

You can you can achieve a lot with a small team. It's the typical path from nonbelievers to believers.