Localization Efforts Pay off
Korea Western Power Corp. announced on Oct. 7 that it has successfully tested prototypes of equipment and devices for desulfurization facilities that were produced by its own engineers through advanced 3D printing technology.
The tests were carried out at a test bed installed at the company's plant in Taean on the western coast.
Domestic power plants use various kinds of foreign-made equipment and devices. Engineers at power plants face difficulties in maintaining them when overseas manufacturers go out of business or when it takes a long time to receive replacements from abroad.
To address these problems, Korea Western Power has been promoting localization since last year. It selected foreign equipment and devices that need periodic replacements or require high-level manufacturing technology. Its engineers produced them by using 3D printing technology and demonstrated that the equipment and devices thus produced worked well.
In the past, employees would not use localized prototypes unless they were inevitable due to the burden of taking responsibility for the results if localized prototypes cause problems. Korea Western Power established a localization committee to eliminate this kind of burden. These days, engineers are able to actively carry out demonstrations of localized prototypes approved by the committee without any burden as the company indemnifies them in case of problems, Korea Western Power explained.