Whilst covering all aspects of industrial digitalisation, the course will centre around 3D printing. The aim of the programme is to educate and train work-ready, capable and equipped professionals; better placed to fulfil the requirements of higher-paid positions within Industry 4.0 and contribute to its further research and development.
You will learn how to digitally model, design and evaluate components and products; some of which cannot be made using other methods of manufacture. We strongly embrace a ‘fail-fast, fail-often’ design approach so that you can learn which parts of your designs work, and which need redesigning. You will 3D print a large number of these models on-site using our wide range of stereolithography (SLA) and fusion deposition modelling (FDM) printers. In addition, you will perform post-production operations in a dedicated laboratory to finalise your creations.
Duration and start date: 1 year, September
The PrintCity team says ...
"Primarily, PrintCity is about education; developing and up-skilling people to plug the holes in the digital skills gap but it has become more, and quickly. We realised that there were many SMEs that wanted to get going with 3D printing but did not have the finances to gamble with buying the wrong kit and then trying to find the human capital to use it. Huge corporations can experiment with new technology and have the clout to ride the financial bumps unlike smaller companies where the finances may be tighter.
"The word 'manufacturing' usually follows additive but it is not always a perfect fit for us. In the past year, we have used additive with students from engineering, art, fashion, dental technology, product design, 3D design, architecture, sports science, animation and more. They have used it to create artefacts, in many cases, that cannot be (and have not been) made in any other way. Manufacturing suggests the conversion of materials or parts into finished goods for a customer whereas what we do is ‘enable’ students to do things differently. I’m not sure ‘additive enabling’ is yet a term but it reflects what we do more accurately."
