OOS Walcheren

https://www.heavyliftnews.com/huisman-2200t-crane-installed-on-oos-walcheren/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=27&v=RK1tZoiPF8c&feature=emb_logo

https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/video-world-s-first-installed-3d-printed-crane-hook

BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE 05-07-2019 03:37:58

Huisman has delivered the first ever class certified, 3D-printed crane hooks. After load
testing at more than double their safe working load, the 3D-printed hooks were certified
for offshore use according ABS standards.

The OOS Serooskerke will be the first vessel ever in history on which a 3D-printed
crane hook is installed. Her sister vessel, the OOS Walcheren, will also be equipped
with a 36 tonne SWL 3D-printed crane hook. Both hooks were produced at Huisman’s
Czech Republic facility.
Normally, crane hooks are manufactured by casting or forging techniques. 3D printing
has an advantage for larger crane hooks: the new manufacturing method has a much
shorter delivery time than forging and casting, and it can be done at a competitive price
with a consistent level of quality. Huisman says that the recent delivery is an important
first step in developing industry acceptance for 3D-printed products for the maritime and
offshore industry.

Huisman engineer Hugo Romer, who led the work on the project at Huisman's test
center in China, wrote his masters thesis on “Wire & Arc additive manufacturing for
offshore appliances” just two years ago. He started as an engineer at Huisman's R&D
Department but was soon promoted to Supervisor Test Centre at Huisman China,
where he was tasked with transforming the 3D hook from an idea into a working,
reliable product.

The Huisman R&D team researched the 3D-printed material's qualities, including
strength and fatigue, and examined it for possible anisotropy (different material
properties in different dimensional directions). Last year, Huisman successfully load
tested the world’s first 3D printed offshore crane hook to 80 tonnes, and its work has
now culminated in the first installed 3D-printed crane hook in the world.

https://www.drillingcontractor.org/first-3d-printed-crane-hook-installed-on-oos-serooskerke-51899

Huisman announced the delivery of the first class-certified, 3D-printed crane hooks. After load
testing at more than double the safe working load, the 3D-printed hooks were certified for
offshore use according to ABS standards.
The OOS Serooskerke will be the first vessel in history on which a 3D-printed crane hook is
installed. Her sister vessel, the OOS Walcheren, will also be equipped with a 36mt SWL 3D-
printed crane hook. Both hooks have been produced at Huisman’s Czech Republic facility.
Currently, crane hooks are manufactured by casting or forging techniques. Delivering these
class-certified 3D printed hooks to an end client is an important step in developing industry
acceptance for 3D-printed products for the maritime and offshore industry. In January 2018,
Huisman successfully load tested the world’s first 3D-printed offshore crane hook to 80mt. An
important benefit for larger crane hooks is the significant reduction in delivery time at a cost
that competes with forgings and castings while providing a consistent level of quality.
Hugo Romer wrote his TU Delft Master thesis at Huisman on “Wire & Arc additive
manufacturing for offshore appliances” and won the KIVI Offshore Engineering award for the
best student who graduated in an offshore engineering related topic. Having started as an
engineer at Huisman the Netherlands’ R&D department, Mr Romer was soon transferred as
Supervisor Test Centre to Huisman China to transform the 3D idea from the drawing table into
a working, reliable crane hook.
The Huisman R&D team researched material qualities, such as strength and fatigue, as well as
the possible anisotropy of the material. That work has been carried out at Huisman, partly in
Schiedam and partly in the Czech Republic, leading to the first ever installed 3D-printed crane
hook in the world.

https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/huisman-installs-first-3d-printed-crane-hook-on-offshore-vessel-
155154/

Global heavy equipment manufacturer Huisman, headquartered in the Netherlands, has

announced the installation of its first ever 3D printed crane hook.

The 36,000 kg hook, designed specifically for use in offshore lifting operations, has been
certified by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). Following certification it was recently
installed aboard the the OOS Serooskerke, a semi submersible crane, and is due to be fitted
on sister vessel the OOS Walcheren in the near future.
Tipped to be the first 3D printed crane hooks in history, the installations mark an
important step forward in the production, and acceptance, of end use 3D printed heavy
lifting components in the maritime and offshore industry.

The versatility of WAAM technology

Normally, high grade tensile steel crane hooks are manufactured by casting or forging. In
this instance the OOS Serooskerke’s hook was made using Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing
(WAAM) technology at Huisman’s facility in the Czech Republic.

WAAM is a method of metal 3D printing closely related to the traditional welding process.
As the name suggests, it takes a wire metal feedstock and melts it using an electric arc
plasma beam. For its ability to produce large parts, the method has already found a number
of maritime and industrial applications. In 2017 RAMLAB, manufacturer maritime metal
parts based in the port of Rotterdam, produced a WAAM-made ship propeller termed
the WAAMpeller. Elsewhere, Dutch manufacturer of robotic additive 3D printers MX3D, is
harnessing the technology to produce a 12 meter long steel bridge for the city of
Amsterdam.

Most recently, WAAM developer Cranfield University unveiled two of the most high
profile WAAM parts they have ever developed. One for the British defence company BAE
Systems and the other for Franco-Italian aerospace manufacturer Thales Alenia Space. It
marked a crucial step forward for WAAM technology’s commercialization.

Making waves in 3D printing for offshore application

In January 2018 Huisman announced the first successful load test of a smaller 10 ton
prototype version of its WAAM 3D printed hook, managing to take a load of 80 tons.
Though under a third of the weight of the new OOS Serooskerke hook it validated WAAM’s
ability to produce large metal lifting equipment.

Advantages of employing WAAM for hook manufacture over more traditional

manufacturing processes includes the ability to control the quality of the material used as
the welding wire. This enables the manufacture of parts with a higher component
density and strong mechanical properties superior to those manufactured with traditional
casting manufacturing methods.

Huisman engineer Hugo Romer, hook project lead at Huisman’s test center in China,
explains, “The wire arc manufacturing process allows us to have unprecedented control
over the material quality. Using careful process preparation we’re able to produce high
strength steel components with a quality comparable to forging, to give you superior
quality compared to traditional castings.”

On the OOS Serooskerke the new hook will be used in offshore construction,
decommissioning and subsea installation projects, such as oil platform construction and
pipe laying.

“By designing, producing, extensive testing, certifying and delivering these 3D printed
hooks for actual offshore use,” Romer adds, “we believe a new step was made in industry
acceptance of high strength steel 3D printed heavy lifting components.”