Additive Manufacturing (AM), or 3D Printing, has incredible potential in the UK and the number of AM systems going into companies, greatly outnumbers the amount of skilled workers available. The 2018-2025 National Strategy document created from AMUK (the Additive Manufacturing UK trade associations) emphasises that by 2025 the UK could potentially capture £3,500M GVA of the global AM Market. However, this still needs Government endorsement and investment to make that happen.
AM offers many benefits:
1. The entire process from concept to print, can all be accomplished in a single environment.
2. Through the inclusion of true parametric geometry, AM allows manufacturers to design and create uniform lattice structures to perfection.
3. With the capability to derive large amounts of actionable data from the printers, designers are able to intensify potential manufacturing issues early on, so there are less surprise problems in a project.
4. Teams can build, track, validate and manage each job and store them for future use which cuts down on repetition, wastage, time and money.
5. Being able to connect to the i.materialise service bureau provides access to over a hundred metals and finishes to enable designers the ability to instantly know the visual and financial impact of their models.