3D Printing And The Oil & Gas Industry

3D printing is a very interesting form of manufacturing that
allows for the creation of precise models at a small scale. For a cost
effective order, it isn’t usually necessary to order 10,000 pieces...
  3D printing is a very interesting form of manufacturing that
allows for the creation of precise models at a small scale. For a cost
effective order, it isn’t usually necessary to order 10,000 pieces. This is
great for product developers trying to prototype ideas, artists to see their
creations come to life, and for various industries. I want to cover the impact
of 3D printing on the oil and gas industry.
Before I go into details, I really want to emphasize one
point. 3D printing is great for the creation of products at a small scale. It
is also great for entirely custom designs. Anyone can create products through
3D printing! Some situations call for less than $150 for a truly custom piece.
That number typically ranges a bit higher in a machine shop and through other
methods. With that being said, I want to jump into how this technology can
impact the oil and gas industry.
Within this industry, there are quite a few service
companies. By service companies, I mean companies that will move onto oil and
gas rigs to establish systems, valves, and operations on that vessel. The
prices of these jobs range well into the millions in many cases. Before a
service can be conducted, a service must be “sold” to a team. Marketing in one
way or another generates 100% of all sales, and sales generate 100% of all
business. 3D printing can prominently help in this marketing effort for a wide
variety of services done in the oil and gas industry. I’m not a drilling
engineer, and I can’t go into depth on the exact parts and systems for drilling
processes, but I can tell you that 3D printing can help boost the marketing
efforts for these services. Many valves and physical products are involved
within these service industries, and these products have to be sold.
3D printing can easily be used to produce scaled visuals of
these parts when presenting ideas to prospective clients. When your team of
sales representatives approaches prospective clients, they are typically going
to be very prepared. Visuals such as computer images, printed out images,
specifications, and details of products will be presented to clients. This
method has definitely worked since the industry began, but why not amp it up at
an exponential rate? If every member of your sales team could bring forward a
physical visualization of the product, I can almost guarantee you that your
sales would increase. What is a few thousand dollars, or maybe even a couple
tens of thousands of dollars (to equip your entire team) if it helps create
just 1-2 additional sales? Yet again, I’m not a drilling engineer, but I can
tell you that quite a few wells cost over 15 million dollars to operate. If you
spent even $100,000 on 3D printing to equip EVERY sales representative with a
visual, and it led to ONE sale, the money would be made back. Odds are, the
money spent will be a fraction of $100,000, but I can almost guarantee you that
the profit returned for each sale will be within seven figures.