The international classification society DNV has issued CE certification to Shell and US-based manufacturer of fittings and valves, Bonney Forge, for a 3D printed gate valve. Shell and Bonney Forge collaborated on the part, which was printed in stainless steel alloy UNS S31603, at the 3D Printing Center of Excellence (CoE) and Workshop located on Shell’s Energy Transition Campus Amsterdam.
Angeline Goh, the head of digital supply chains at Shell, noted on LinkedIn that Shell will share more information about printing the gate valve at ASTM’s International Conference on Advanced Manufacturing (ICAM) 2023, in Washington DC. Goh has been an integral part of the oil & gas sector’s gradually increasing exploration of additive manufacturing (AM) that has taken place over the last several years.
Goh led the effort that in 2021 resulted in Shell’s becoming the first company to gain CE certification for a 3D printed oil & gas part — also a pressure vessel — produced in-house. Goh and the team at Shell followed up on that success in early 2022 by installing 3D printed impellers on a centrifugal pump at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park in Rotterdam, a joint project with oilfield services giant Baker Hughes. The gate valve printed with Bonney Forge will also be installed at the Rotterdam site.
