Technological Advances in Additive Manufacturing

Jay Fletcher
Instructor, Mechanical Engineering Technology, Saint John

The Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET) program in Saint John had the opportunity to participate in a research project with a company that was investigating how to incorporate additive manufacturing (often referred to as 3-D printing) into their business model.

The initial project was to model and print a pump impeller. This particular impellor is used in a critical industrial process and a cast replacement could have a lead time of several months. Our role was to determine the difficulties of computer modelling and then printing this piece of equipment. Jay Fletcher and Bill Chamberlain, instructors in the MET program, successfully modelled the impellor and then printed a prototype on NBCC’s ABS printer. This prototype was used to verify dimensions in the actual pump. The model was sent to General Electric who printed a titanium impellor, which can now be used as a replacement part. This project helped the company gain experience in a new manufacturing process that holds unlimited potential.