Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has devised new techniques through 3D printing to manufacture select spare parts in electromechanical systems besides cladding parts and materials to be used in the maintenance of roads and facilities affiliated with the authority.
Maitha Bin Adai, CEO Traffic and Roads Agency at RTA, stressed on the importance of keeping pace with modern technologies in the operational plans and programmes of RTA to achieve the objectives of the Dubai government in the field of 3D printing for the production of spare parts.
She said that the authority has worked seamlessly during the past few months on this initiative, conducting several studies and experiments on providing spare parts such as propellers and other devices, control and cladding pieces for tunnels, etc. for the systems used in road maintenance in cooperation with additive manufacturing companies.
Select spare parts which were in short supply in the local markets and time-tested for public safety will be manufactured using 3D printing. Spares increased by up to 50% with added improvements based on data analysis of previous failures, reducing the percentage of failures to the lowest level. AM technology also helped in lowering cost of transportation and the time required to procure the spares from outside Dubai.
At the beginning, the Roads and Transport Authority hired the services of three leading companies to manufacture and develop 3D printing, set future plans and research to develop spare parts manufacturing processes and ensure their efficiency and effectiveness before applying them in road maintenance systems and facilities in the emirate.
