Multinational mining and smelting firmBolidenhas begun working with engineering groupSandvikto assess the potential of adopting 3D printing within its drilling operations.
Specifically, as part of an upcoming trial,Sandvik’s Mining and Rock Solutionsdivision is set to develop a set of redesigned drill rig components, before testing them at Boliden’s Swedish and Irish sites. During the project, it’s believed these revised parts could outperform their predecessors, and having been 3D printed on-site rather than shipped there, provide supply chain sustainability benefits as well.
“Additive manufacturing shows a lot of potential, both in reducing carbon footprint within the supply chain, through reduced or eliminated need for transport and storage of parts and also shorter delivery times,” explains Ronne Hamerslag, head of supply management at Boliden. “This trial will give us a deeper understanding on how we can move forward and develop our business in a competitive way.”
Sandik’s own mining portfolio
As you’d expect from a global engineering company with around 44,000 employees that operates in 150 countries, Sandvik’s business interests are wide-ranging. Not only does the firm produce tooling systems for advanced metal cutting, but it continues to expand into digital manufacturing, including the development of related software solutions.
当涉及3D打印时，Sandvik确实提供咨询和串行生产服务，但其对该行业的大部分贡献都采用了材料研发的形式。该公司继续在这一领域取得重大进步，尤其是在其领域Osprey metal powders, a range that now includes everything from copper and aluminum to Ni-based superalloys.
Over the last few years, Sandvik has sought to identify new applications for its alloys, and agreed to supplyGE添加剂活页夹喷气β伙伴计划在2020年底。在此之前，该公司还选择加强其3D打印产品acquiring a stake in BEAMIT。自从达成交易以来，桑德维克（Sandvik）与这家意大利公司合作进行了多项项目，并且很可能再次这样做以促进Bolide的审判。
Given that Sandvik runs its own Mining and Rock Solutions business as well, which provides services and technical solutions to mining and construction clients, the evaluation could also prove to be a lucrative crossover in its business, in addition to being a demonstration of 3D printing’s potential to produce parts on-demand.
“We have many different SKUs (stock-keeping units), and from an inventory point of view we can’t tie up the capital that keeping all these parts in stock would entail,” says Erik Lundén, parts and services president of Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions. “The 3D printing of parts locally, offers us the prospect of not only getting parts to the customer much faster, but doing so far more sustainably.”
Boliden’s additive manufacturing trials
Named after the Swedish locality in which it was founded, Boliden is a specialist in mining and smelting metals such as zinc, copper, lead, nickel, silver and gold. At its facilities in Sweden, Finland, Norway and Ireland, the firm claims to combine “experience, innovation and modern technology” to make this possible, and gather the materials needed to create modern products like EVs and smartphones.
为了遵守采用先进技术的承诺，Boliden现在将与Sandvik紧密合作，以测试其采矿工作流程中3D打印的潜力。对于Sandvik，该项目将看到它有助于设计专门用于采矿应用程序部署的钻头，然后在意大利管理的设施之一中将其打印出3D。
一旦准备就绪，已经同意，将这些零件的性能通过将它们安装到Boliden的钻机上，在该钻机上进行监控，首先在瑞典，然后在爱尔兰进行监控。尽管仍在评估试验的第一型原型的功效，但人们认为，这项技术最终可以证明是有益的，作为创建备用灌木丛和支架的一种方式，这些零件需要每3,000-4,000小时更换一次。
作为该项目的一部分，预计Boliden还将与Sandvik合作，以遍历采用3D打印的后勤方面，例如谁在照顾生产和成本量，以及法律，IP和保修对此的影响。话虽如此，该公司已经对该技术在采矿业的潜力感到兴奋，在该行业中，设备可以在整整25年的生命周期内进行支持。
“If you ask me, it’s the most exciting thing that’s happening in the supply chain,” added Hameslag. “Its efficiency, speed and climate friendliness mean that we have to investigate additive manufacturing closely. We are only at the proof-of-concept stage with Sandvik right now, but it’s already clear that it could become a game-changer for the spare parts business in mining – for both miners and equipment manufacturers.”
Digging into AM’s mining opportunity
Although not commonly-used in the mining industry, 3D printing has been tested there many times before, in trials that have demonstrated its efficacy in producing spares on-demand. Back in June 2019, for instance, mining gear manufacturerEpiroc揭示了它正在从事采矿部分3D打印项目, designed to allow firms to rapidly “manufacture spare parts right on the spot.”
More recently,Titomic与FLSmidth，其中承诺帮助使用3D打印减少采矿设备的停机时间。At the time, it was said that breakdowns in the industry came at a cost of up to $3,000 per hour to related firms, hence it was believed thatTitomic Kinetic Fusion(TKF) metal additive manufactured spares could save them a huge amount of cash.
At theUniversity of Technology Sydney(UTS), researchers have also previously worked with矿物技术开发一个定制采矿设备3D打印机。The system was built specifically with the goal of creating custom mineral separation spiral models, the likes of which are often used to separate valuable minerals from mined material across mining, farming and recycling operations.
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Featured image shows a group of Sandvik engineers walking through an underground mining facility. Photo via Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions.
