Scottish firms need to adopt 3D vision to remain competitive in the global market

Andy Simpson extols the virtues of additive manufacturing

Why do we need 3D printing? is unfortunately not an uncommon response from Scottish companies when I ask if they’re interested in using additive manufacturing in their business.

Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing as it’s fondly known, is a process of making three-dimensional solid objects from a digital file. The creation of a 3D-printed object is achieved using additive processes, where an object is created by laying down successive layers of material.

Companies wrongly presume they have to be involved in one of the ‘sexy’ manufacturing industries like aerospace, F1, automotive or medical to benefit or use this technology, which is far from reality. Additive manufacturing was used signifi-

cantly in the creation of concept and prototype models for new designs and products.

Due to minimum materials choices and the high costs associated with the technology, these were seen as prohibitive to the majority of manufacturing companies and therefore the technology was deemed only suitable for the ‘sexy’ industries.

Scottish manufacturing can now learn from these industries and benefit from how they’ve used and developed the processes and materials used.

The technology is no longer limited to the manufacturing of concept-ofprototype models in plastics. It’s used to manufacture finished products in high-grade plastics, composites and metals.

The processes and materials are

such a high grade that the final manufactured parts are commonly found and used in planes, cars, rockets and to replace bone in surgery.

The majority of Scotland’s manufacturers aren’t involved in these ‘sexy’ industries, but they are in some of the most innovative and world-impacting technologies. So, why do they think this technology isn’t for them? We need to challenge this outdated opinion and show how this technology can help most manufacturing industries in Scotland.

Three areas where additive manufacturing can benefit Scottish manufacturing are new design, manufacturing support and extending product life.

Producing concept and prototype parts to check design will always help

to verify and aid communication before manufacture. This reduces design time, costs and, more importantly, allows changes to be identified quickly to help produce products that meet the operational requirement.

For the manufacture of final components which are customised, complex, lightweight and have the ability to consolidate parts – all using less materials and promoting design freedom – this technology enables us to focus on the function, increase frequency of design changes, refine the design, question manufacturing tradition and make products featurerich.

One of the largest opportunities is in the manufacture of special tooling and jig and fixtures to aid production, inspection and assembly. Jigs and fixtures don’t have the glamour