The innovative and skilful employees of Design Department of SAIL, Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) used advanced 3D printing technology to help restore Horizontal Boring Machine Number 109 of Repair Shop (Mechanical). The ingenious effort enabled developing Clutch Plates of the critical machine equipment of RS (M) thus bringing about substantial savings for the company.

Notably, this machine, an HEC model installed in the late 1970s, had been out of service due to the damage of crucial components. The machine was rendered inoperative because of a clutch issue that affected the feed transfer to the spindle measurement. The spare clutch plate had become obsolete, and similar clutches from other makes were not dimensionally suitable for fitting. The old clutch was required to be replaced with a new one which needed major machining of the fitment area. The RS (M) team collaborated with the Design department to address the issue. The Design collective promptly took the initiative to not only develop the drawings but also to print the complex-shaped clutch plate with a thickness of 1.5mm and close tolerance. The process began with scanning the sample clutch plate and developing a 3D model. Using this model, 15 clutch plates were printed using A2 tool steel. These plates were successfully fitted into the machine’s clutch, and the Horizontal Boring Machine No. 109 is now operational.

The cost of a new machine is Rs. 1.2 Crore.  The in-house development of these clutch plates has resulted in substantial savings of around Rs. 10 lakhs, which would have been the cost of a new clutch with necessary fitment machining of the housing

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