On April 5, 2025, according to the resource database, the International Classification Company (IACS) recently published a new historic 3D print proposal – REC.186 “Add the manufacture of metal components of the ship and offshore metals”. This proposal aims to establish a unified technical standard and a certification process for the application of additive manufacturing technology (AM) in the maritime and offshore industries, marking a critical step in the normalization of 3D printing in this key industrial area.
With the growing demand for effective manufacturing and sustainability in the manufacture of ships and maritime engineering, additive manufacturing gradually becomes an important complement and even an alternative to traditional manufacturing processes such as casting, forging and welding. 3D printing brings not only a great improvement in freedom of design, but also considerably reduces material waste, which brings the possibility of localized manufacturing, on demand and personalized production in the marine and offshore industries.
The heart of Rec.186 is to establish a complete guidance framework for key links such as the design of components, the selection of raw materials, process parameters, post-processing process and final inspection and metallic additive manufacturing tests. This recommendation fully incorporates existing international standards such as ISO / ASTM 52900 with AWS D20.1 and is deeply aligned with the existing uniform requirements of IACS (UR W, covering materials and welding), in order to ensure that additive manufacturing components are not lower than traditional processes in terms of structural security and reliability.
More specifically, Rec. 186 specifically regulates the following key technical dimensions:
Definition of the scope of the process:It currently covers the three most traditional metal additive technologies – the fusion of powder bed (PBF), the directional energy deposit (DED) and the linking jet (BJT), and clearly stipulates the requirements of the parameters for each process.
Critical level classification and assessment tests:The three -level test level system (AM 1 ~ 3) is introduced, which can flexibly configure the certification depth and test standards according to the criticality of the components in real applications.
Requirements of raw materials and sustainability:Details are specified in traceability, certification and recyclability agreements for raw materials such as powders, metal wires and adhesives to ensure the stable quality of materials and environmental compliance.
Parts design and simulation verification:It is emphasized that the design stage must combine topological optimization and pre-construction simulation analysis to improve the structural robustness of printed components in marine services environments.
Non -destructive tests and quality control:It is recommended to use advanced NDT methods such as computed tomography to improve the ability to identify internal defects (such as porosity, fainting zones) and anisotropy problems.
IACS notes that the publication of Rec.186 means that additive manufacturing already has the technical and standard basis for a large -scale deployment in key marine applications. In the future, IACS will also work in close collaboration with companies upstream and downstream, universities and research institutions of the industrial channel to permanently improve the standard system and promote the generalized implementation of 3D printing in the manufacture of central components of ships.
