Renishaw Knust-Godwin AM parts
Precision machining company Knust-Godwin has installed four Renishaw RenAM 500Q metal additive manufacturing (AM) systems as the company moves into serial production with AM.
Knust-Godwin has been operating out of Texas for half a century, machining large and complex components for the oil and gas industry. In more recent years, the company has adopted 3D printing technologies, initially to validate designs more efficiently, but now to produce tools with reduced lead times.
These tools include components for down hole measurement which can be designed to offer better flow while drilling and logging. The reduced lead times in the production tools has a positive impact on the turnaround of the entire project, while Knust-Godwin has also reported a reduction in waste.
The RenAM 500Q machines feature four 500W lasers which are each able to access the entire powder bed simultaneously. They offer build volumes of 250 x 250 x 350 mm, boast integrated sieving and powder recirculation capabilities, and are supplemented by automated powder and waste handling systems.
Registering a series of gains since installing the four RenAM 500q systems, Knust-Godwin is already looking to expand its portfolio of metal additive manufacturing systems, and better service the oil and gas market.
“Additive manufacturing started as a prototyping technology, but it is now moving into serialised production,” commented Mike Corliss, VP of Technology at Knust-Godwin. “Because we are designing components specifically for AM, we have been able to reduce customers’ lead times. A project which previously required a 24 month wait from concept to commercialisation can now be reduced to eight months. The cyclical nature of the oil and gas industry means that providing parts quickly is extremely important.
“Knust-Godwin has not only benefitted from the huge productivity gains of the machines, but also from tremendous support from Renishaw. We see AM playing a large role in our company’s future and we are expecting to see a 40% compound growth year on year in the oil and gas industry and 20% compound growth in aerospace. We are even looking at purchasing additional RenAM 500Q machines for different metal alloys.”
