Keeping fluid power systems in service has always relied on the availability of replacement parts, but that assumption is becoming harder to sustain across much of UK industry. Installations in water, rail, energy and process sectors are often expected to operate well beyond their original design life, while the supply chains that once supported them have thinned out. When a hydraulic component fails, the difficulty is no longer just technical. In many cases, the part itself is no longer readily obtainable, or the lead time makes repair impractical within the demands of day-to-day operations. In this environment, additive manufacturing is being used less as a development tool and more as a means of maintaining continuity. The technology is not replacing established production methods, nor is it being applied across the board. Its value lies in specific situations where a part cannot be sourced quickly enough and where the consequences of delay are significant. That tends to mean low-volume, application-specific components rather than standard catalogue items. Hydraulic manifolds Hydraulic manifolds are among the most frequently cited examples, and for good reason. Their internal geometry is often complex, with intersecting flow paths designed around a particular circuit layout. Traditional manufacture relies on drilling and plugging, or on casting followed by machining, both of which can involve long lead times when starting from scratch. When a manifold fails on an older installation, the original drawings may be incomplete or unavailable, and reproducing the part through conventional means can be slow and costly. Additive manufacturing provides an alternative route by allowing the geometry to be recreated from a physical sample and produced without dedicated tooling. The practical benefit in this context is not simply speed, but the ability to avoid prolonged downtime. A processing line or pumping station held up by a single unavailable component can incur costs that quickly outweigh the price of the part itself. Where additive manufacturing can shorten the interruption from several weeks to a matter of days, it becomes a viable option even if the unit cost is higher than that of a traditionally manufactured replacement. The same logic applies to valve bodies, actuator housings and various mounting or interface components that are specific to a particular system. Pneumatic equipment tends to operate at lower pressures, but the need for tailored fittings and brackets is common, especially in automated lines that have evolved over time. In both hydraulics and pneumatics, the parts that cause the 30 HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS April/May 2026 www.hpmag.co.uk Additive manufacturing is beginning to play a practical role in keeping hydraulic and pneumatic systems running, particularly where parts are difficult to source and downtime is costly. H&P reports. KNOWLEDGE BASE Printing spares for fluid power systems
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