PEEK in the Oil&Gas sector: all the advantages of 3D printing for the petrolchemical industry
Nowadays, the Oil&Gas sector needs to reduce the excessive operating costs, avoid material waste, due to the realization of complex geometries, and save money in the production and storage of components. The investments of the Oil&Gas industry are deinitely growing: it is expected that the market of 3D printing manufacturing in the Oil & Gas sector will reach $ 450 million by 2021, and $ 1.5 billion by 2025.
In the Oil&Gas sector, Roboze 3D printing technology with high temperature super polymers and composite materials allows to produce lighter components, having a longer lifetime, making the assembly methods more rapid and efficient. Moreover, the parts printed with Roboze solutions are extremely stiff, light, corrosion and fatigue resistant, ideal to operate in deep waters with acids, high temperatures and pressure.
Roboze technology, combined with materials like PEEK, is able to reduce the interruptions and costs of maintenance, making the assembly methods more rapid, with a significant reduction of weights. Producing lighter components means also creating a safer working environment, reducing the risks of accidents.
PEEK applications and certifications
The main applications of PEEK in the Oil&Gas sector are rings for compressors, pumps’ components, dynamic seals and inserts for valves. With Roboze 3D printing technology, we have printed a seal in PEEK.
Roboze PEEK, the most advanced semi-crystalline thermoplastic material, presents mechanical, thermal and chemical resistance in conditions of high temperature (up to 200°C) and in corrosive environments. PEEK is also NORSOK M710 certified: this certification sets the requirements and recommendations for the selection and qualification of non-metallic materials for applications regarding extraction and treatment of oil and natural gas.
The use of PEEK in the Oil&Gas sector
Indeed, in the Oil&Gas sector it is necessary to use equipment capable to work as good as possible even in extreme operating conditions, facilitating and supporting the extraction of raw materials in environments that are hard to join because of high temperatures and the presence of very corrosive chemical agents.
Very often PEEK replaces metals thanks to its lightness, high chemical resistance against acid gasses and the absence of corrosion phenomena. In addition, it guarantees many advantages in terms of realization of components with more complex geometries, compared to subtractive methods, starting from slabs, rounds or bars. The material waste are approximatey zero and the freedom to optimize the design and the performance of the components very rapidly leads to an increase in the efficiency of the plants.
The use of Roboze 3D printing technology guarantees, moreover, a reduction of the standard supply time to print spare parts that need to be used in offshore platforms, especially in remote sites.
Do you want to go further in the Metal Replacement process within the Oil&Gas sector?
Get in touch with Roboze experts for a personalized consultancy and get ready to print strong like metal.
Email at info@roboze.com
#PrintStrongLikeMetal