Vallourec uses WAAM 3D printing to manufacture lifting plugs

French manufacturing company Vallourec used WAAM 3D printing technology (Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing) to print two crane plugs for oil and gas company Weatherford.

The lifting plug, often made of forged thick-walled rods, is a critical safety component that acts as a connection point between the pipe and the rig lift and is used on the surface of the oil rig so the operator can safely move and handle parts such as long, heavy pipes. They often take a long time to manufacture because they require non-standard materials with unique mechanical properties, in addition to custom dimensions that make all components compatible and connect the lifting plug to existing equipment. Weatherford needed a 100T VAM TTR HW riser crane plug for customers off the coast of Australia.

To be able to deliver within the allotted time, Vallourec used their WAAM 3D printing system deployed in Singapore to manufacture the two crane plugs.

"Thanks to WAAM, we were able to manufacture crane plugs with the same mechanical properties and customer-specific outer diameter requirements in half the time of our traditional process, without the minimum order quantity." Jinwei Li, Sales Manager for Vallourec Asia Pacific, said, "This is not possible in the traditional process because we will be limited by the outer diameter of the available solid bar, or we will have to purchase new solid bar with a larger outer diameter, thus further extending the delivery time. In addition, Singapore is only 6 hours away from Australia, and the delivery time can be further shortened. ”