Additive manufacturing in marine engineering education

3D printing of spare parts onboard ships is becoming increasingly interesting due to advances in filament materials and printing technology. Several companies and navies have installed 3D printers onboard a limited number of vessels to test the feasibility. Further tests should be conducted to determine if the printed spare part meets the stringent regulations and standards for equipment onboard ships. Thus, it also becomes a topic for future training of seafarers. In this paper, we present examples of the introduction of 3D printing into seafarer training. An ideal example of a printed spare part is the universal key for an electric locker. It is often lost. Therefore, a spare part should be available. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing technology is used by the students to make such a key. The printed key was tested on a real locker and served its purpose. In addition, students responded enthusiastically to problem-based learning, which is ideal for 3D manufacturing teaching. The paper also presents other printed parts. The parts described can be used in education. The limitations of the considered project are in real life implementation. Namely, most of the parts to be replaced are made of metals, and this type of printing is not suitable for metals. Dielectric materials (insulators) could be printed in this way. Additionally, we provided the cost analysis.