Robin Wilson, Innovate UK, leads UK additive manufacturing panel at TCT Show.
The more industry events you attend and application examples you see, one thing can be said for sure, additive manufacturing is maturing. That was cemented in the UK at TCT Show 2017 where the Additive Manufacturing UK National Strategy was launched to help drive the UK to the forefront of commercialised AM.
The Strategy is detailed in a 46-page document authored by AM UK, an independent, government-backed collaboration bolstered by the UK Additive Manufacturing Steering Group made up of business, research and leadership personnel to help tap into the UK’s AM potential. Since 2014, AM UK has taken part in a series of consultations and pulled together the work-group outputs to recognise what needs to happen in order for industry to adopt the technology and understand its future potential.
“Additive manufacturing is a ‘must have’ technology for UK manufacturing to remain competitive globally,” Paul Unwin, Industrial Chair, Additive Manufacturing Strategy Steering Group, AM UK, told TCT. “Alarmingly, UK manufacturing is not keeping up with its global competitors. It is imperative that we reverse this trend and additive manufacturing is an essential ingredient in enabling a step-change in manufacturing productivity and competitiveness.” It is estimated that UK’s high value manufacturing sector could generate over £3.5 billion per year GVA (gross value added) by 2025 supported by a potential 60,000 jobs - a phenomenal rise from the £235 million and less than 5,000 jobs back in 2015. Today’s wider UK manufacturing sector employs 2.6m people, generating £168 billion GVA for the national economy. High value manufacturing currently represents approximately 60% of this figure.
The strategy has been outlined in this document launched at TCT Show 2017.
Over the last five years, the UK government has invested over £200,000 into AM to encourage innovation and growth but potential in the UK is yet to be tapped. Similar initiatives are already in place across the globe - China launched its “Made-in-China 2025” plan in 2015, and Industry 4.0 is increasing advanced manufacturing in Germany. In order to remain an aggressive player on an increasingly competitive global playing field, AM UK says AM will need to be a key component of the UK’s manufacturing output and claims it will benefit from around £600m of planned investment by UK industry over the next five years to help catapult that into action.
“Unless they adopt additive manufacturing by 2025, British companies will not be winners in the global high-value manufacturing race. But they will struggle to do this on their own,” Robin Wilson, Innovation Lead, Manufacturing, Innovate UK explained. “The Strategy will inform and accelerate the adoption process whilst focusing national resources on removing any remaining barriers to success. It will help make the UK one of the most attractive places in the world for businesses to invest in this game-changing production technology.”
Research states that the UK could take around 8% or £5 billion of this global market which is set to reach £69 billion by 2025. The Strategy aims to help guide UK businesses to adopt AM with a real business case proposition and highlight the challenges that need to be overcome in order to exploit it effectively.
“We are convinced that additive manufacturing and 3D printing will transform the way UK companies, particularly those in high value manufacturing, are able to gain competitive advantage in the coming 3-5 years,” Robin continued. “But we also realise that very few companies can make this disruptive journey on their own. The Additive Manufacturing Strategy aims to provide a more knowledgeable and co-ordinated support environment, underpinned by leading edge research and innovation, to enable businesses across all industry sectors to understand and adopt this technology in whatever form suits them best. We are now working closely with AM UK to develop the implementation plan and secure significant levels of private and public investment to accelerate this transformation and enable businesses of all sizes to reap the huge benefits that it offers.”
The UK’s AM opportunity proposed by AM UK
Highlighting the applicability of the subject on the UK manufacturing landscape, a panel of leading UK authorities in AM joined together at TCT Show to discuss the need for companies to adopt additive by 2025 in order to remain competitive. In a panel session led by Innovate UK, Phil Reeves from Stratasys, Graeme Bond at FDM Digital, Jenny Westworth from BAE Systems, and Jonathan Rowley from Digits2Widgets, used their experience to debate this vision and the urgency for a UK Strategy.
“In principle it is a very comprehensive and sensible document. However, I feel that the emphasis on “adoption” implies too heavily on the perception that UK industry needs to invest as soon as possible in AM hardware, in order exploit the benefits,” Jonathan, Design Director at Digits2Widgets, commented on the launch of the AM Strategy. “Adoption doesn’t have to mean owning the technology. UK manufacturers of all sizes initially need to be encouraged to outsource AM requirements. Starting on a modest level, they need to test the waters and gradually incorporate AM parts in to their existing processes. This doesn’t limit them to a specific AM technology nor tie them to today’s version of it. It also puts them in pole position whenever their dream AM technology appears, as they will already be immersed in the principles of using AM.”
It is expertise such as this that AM UK has consulted in order to put together the document, leveraging knowledge from its Steering Group including Phill Dickens from the University of Nottingham, Clive Martell from Renishaw, and David Wimpenny from the Manufacturing Technology Centre, amongst other leading figures from UK universities and organisations.
The outcome has resulted in the following recommendations being made to implement the AM strategy:
- Develop links to all aspects of the digital space, connecting with relevant supply chain review activity and follow through any recommendations in both the digital and real world
- Clarify digital manufacturing related licensing, payment methods, design, and collaboration. Set out a collaborative work programme to action issues
- Implement Phase 2 investment in the National Centre for Additive Manufacturing , developing it through a hub and spoke model
- Support the development of an expert UK additive manufacturing User Group
- Establish and run a national help and contact point organisation.
AM UK believes the time for implementation is now and a properly funded and governed strategy will be a critical success factor for realising the benefits of AM for UK businesses.
Robin concluded: “Additive manufacturing is no longer just a niche technology for rapid prototyping and tooling, it has entered the mainstream and is set to become the “ace” card, the most powerful piece of kit in the toolbox. Not that it will replace conventional manufacturing technologies overnight. But it will certainly displace them and we may face the prospect of many smaller or specialist companies becoming fatally uncompetitive, almost overnight, if they sit in blissful ignorance or fail to act in the shadow of this displacement.”
The Additive Manufacturing Strategy is available to download here.
