Chris Penniston provides sought-after real-world experience with promising technology
Some of the foremost additive manufacturing minds in Canada gathered in Edmonton this summer.
Master Flo Materials Engineer Chris Penniston among them.
Presenting at the first ever Prairie Advanced Manufacturing Meeting held at the University of Alberta, Penniston brought with him something very valuable for those gathered there.
Real-world experience.
“While most of the participants and presenters were professors or students in the academic space, I was invited to provide a voice of industry,” explained Penniston in recounting his contribution to the conference.
Master Flo Materials Engineer Chris Penniston at the inaugural Prairie Advanced Manufacturing Meeting. Penniston says his real-world experience with additive manufacturing was much appreciated by those in attendance.
Having explored additive manufacturing for years in his role at Master Flo, Penniston’s presentation at the symposium primarily focused on what he has learned over that time with respect to the different materials used in the process and tests that can be done for it.
Which is the exact type of practical experience those in academia can benefit from as they push the envelope of this promising technology further, he says.
“Master Flo has made some significant progress in terms of the evaluation of additive manufacturing,” said Penniston. “We also have some insight and subject matter expertise in terms of going beyond code minimums and applying test plans that are tailored to really characterize the material and get a better sense of the suitability for different applications.”
API 20S is currently the most applicable standard for governing the use of additively manufactured components in the energy industry.
Essentially 3D printing with metal powder — adding layers thinner than a strand of hair at a time — additive manufacturing is still in its infancy when it comes to its utilization in the oil and gas sector.
Chris Penniston presents at the inaugural Prairie Advanced Manufacturing Meeting hosted at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
With Master Flo having explored additive manufacturing extensively in the past thanks to Penniston’s efforts, the materials engineer says the leader in choke technology has again furthered its reputation for being at the forefront of innovation, with his presentation helping to further communicate that to a wider audience.
“I believe that it positions Master Flo as a leader in our industry and really helps with our visibility,” said Penniston about him getting the chance to speak at the conference. “I get to do a lot of interesting things here at Master Flo and I could tell from the responses that I was getting during the presentation that people were appreciating what we’re doing.”
From multiple parts to 1
Currently best suited for simplifying complex conventional manufacturing methods, such as turning an assembly requiring multiple pieces into a single one, Penniston notes there are other exciting opportunities additive manufacturing presents.
“Certainly prototyping or even validation,” said Penniston. “You can very quickly demonstrate or validate or trial different variants of an idea in order to arrive at the best solution, or for instance validate computational fluid dynamics calculations.”
There are, however, some challenges this advanced manufacturing process still faces. Namely in its economic attractiveness and limited materials.
But both, especially the latter, are being tackled by those at the leading edge of additive manufacturing in Canada, many of whom work out of the ADAMS Lab in Edmonton.
“We’re very fortunate to have such a large and focused additive manufacturing group at the University of Alberta right in our backyard,” explained Penniston. “They’re working on things that are very relevant to us including additive manufacturing using cemented carbides.”
Which is important because cemented carbides could be a game changer.
“When we have sufficient abrasive media metals might not be appropriate for some parts, so we would need to use a harder material like a cemented carbide,” said Penniston. “Better material availability would also open up new opportunities.”
Penniston said his main piece of advice for those at the conference was to proceed with caution and apply due diligence and sound engineering to their efforts in the exciting field of additive manufacturing research.
With its ability to turn complex assemblies requiring multiple pieces into a single one, there is lots of promise for additive manufacturing in the energy sector.
People like Penniston with his practical and real-world experience through his work at Master Flo, along with those in academia such as the ADAMS Lab, are the ones who will turn that promise into something concrete.
Or cemented carbide, if you will.