JOME Rebuilds a Drawing-Less Marine Propeller with 3D Scanning and WAAM
Dubai-based JOME Engineering recreated a marine propeller with no available CAD data by scanning the part and depositing an SS316L replacement on Caracol's robotic WAAM system.
According to 3D Printing Industry, JOME Engineering created a digital model from a 3D scan of an existing propeller and produced the replacement on Caracol's Vipra AM XP robotic WAAM system. The finished SS316L part measures 685 mm in diameter and weighs 26 kg; no original CAD data or tooling was available.
The central boss was deposited and machined first, followed by dye-penetrant inspection and deposition of the three blades. Deposition took about 20 hours, while machining took roughly 100 hours. The team also rescanned the part between stages, then ground, checked pitch, and balanced it. In this case, finishing and inspection accounted for most of the production effort.
Caracol claims the route reduced lead time by about 60% and cost by about 40% versus casting. Those figures are manufacturer claims and were not independently cost-validated in the source. A more directly verifiable benefit is that the scan-derived digital master can be reused for future replacements of legacy marine hardware.
Key facts
- The finished part is SS316L, weighs 26 kg, and measures 685 mm in diameter.
- It was produced on Caracol's Vipra AM XP, with about 20 hours of deposition and 100 hours of machining.
- With no original CAD or tooling, the production model was created from a 3D scan of the existing part.
- The claimed 60% lead-time and 40% cost reductions come from Caracol.
Context
Combining 3D scanning with WAAM can make one-off replacement of large legacy parts practical, but machining, inspection, and balancing remain central to the business case.
