The ability of Additive Manufacturing (AM) to be a significant disruptive technology for UK manufacturers will receive a special event at MACH 2022. Spearheading the initiative will be the only trade association dedicated to the Additive Manufacturing sector, AM-UK.
AM-UK is specifically designed for companies who work with Additive and 3D printing technology – such as materials suppliers, design services, machine suppliers or post processing services. The association is actively promoting the transformational technologies that are increasingly having a disruptive impact on traditional methods of production, enabling businesses to develop new and better products at lower cost and with greater sustainability.
The wider MACH 2022 exhibition will see a strong emphasis on the ability of the technology to revolutionise the productive resources of UK manufacturers and transform the digital supply chain.
One of the companies exhibiting within the MACH 2022 3D Printing & Additive Manufacturing Zone, Tri-Tech 3D, sums up the performance-enhancing capabilities of the technology like this: “Once a business has identified 3D printing as a design solution, the design to manufacturing process can put a rocket boost on productivity.”
Setup in 2014, AM-UK was initially a government-supported collaboration to help drive the UK’s additive manufacturing strategy. In 2020 AM-UK became part of the wider Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA) family.
The MTA is now positioning AM-UK as the authoritative voice of the UK’s addictive manufacturing sector, and over the next 12 months will develop and implement a series of services supporting, promoting and ultimately contributing, towards the growth of the UK’s AM and 3D Printing community.
James Selka, CEO, MTA, which organises the MACH exhibition, said: “The ability of AM-UK to be the voice of the sector will be crucial in the development of the technology and the firms using it. Our aim is to establish the UK as a world leader in the development and adoption of Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing technology across all industry sectors.”
At MACH 2022, AM-UK is sponsoring the 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing Zone and is using the occasion to highlight the benefits of the association to a wider audience.
Companies are being invited to visit the Zone, which is located in Hall 17, to find out more about what the network does and see how they can sign-up to be involved.
Part of the special focus will be a series of seminar presentations on Wednesday (6th April) taking place in the exhibition’s main Seminar Theatre, located at 6-860.
Firstly, Kieron Salter, CEO at the Digital Manufacturing Centre, will discuss how to utilise the opportunities posed by AM to develop cost-effective component production. This will be followed by a presentation from Ed Cant, Advanced Research Engineer at the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), who will discuss The Future of Tooling and Fixturing in Additive Manufacturing.
The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) is one of the UK’s High Value Manufacturing Catapult centres and is home to the National Centre for Additive Manufacturing (NCAM), specialising in manufacturing process development from technology readiness level (TRL) 3 – 6. It is equipped with one of the widest arrays of Additive Manufacturing equipment in Europe and has a dedicated facility specifically for polymer additive manufacturing.
This presentation will discuss the current state-of the-art for creating tools and fixtures utilising polymer additive manufacturing and what challenges lie ahead for the technology.
Stuart Watt, Advanced Research Engineer at the MTC, will round off the AM presentations by outlining where those looking to utilise the disruptive technology of 3D Printing within their business should begin.
Companies wishing to be part of AM-UK and help shape the association’s future can sign up now by visiting www.am-uk.org.uk
