3 minute read
DOES AM NEED MORE GOVERNMENT SUPPORT?
from TCT Europe 30.6
by TCT Magazine
DO WE NEED MORE GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR AM?
We asked UK-based AM professionals, consultants, and commentators for their thoughts.
PHILL DICKENS | Co-Founder | Added Scientific & consultant to the 46-page national strategy for additive manufacturing published by AM UK in 2017
“The UK Additive Manufacturing Strategy outlined a clear pathway for government to help industry adopt the technology. Unfortunately, this was not adopted and so the UK is now slipping behind its competitors. The fundamental problem is that that governments of all colours have not had a proper strategy for manufacturing and so new technologies, such as additive manufacturing, do not really fit into a vision. The [UK] government does have the Help to Grow programme, but this provides either MBA type management training or advice on digital software. The elimination of the Manufacturing Advisory Service means there is now no real route for companies to get simple, down to earth advice.
“Essentially, we need a national vision for manufacturing and clear mechanisms for it to be implemented.”
NINA GRYF | Senior Policy Manager | Make UK
“What Make UK’s latest research tells us is in the past 12 months we’ve seen a huge jump in the number of companies now in the revolution stage of the 4IR (Fourth Industrial Revolution), from 13% in 2020 to 23% in 2021. By revolution, we mean manufacturers are changing the way they derive value and interact with customers and suppliers through digital adoption. When we look at the 2018 figure of just 4% we can see how in just a few years we have seen a digital transformation within manufacturing.
“One of the main drivers for digitalisation is the need to retain the international competitiveness of the UK manufacturing sector. Other countries – such as Germany and Japan – have extensive support systems in place to help their manufacturing SMEs modernise, and it is important that their UK counterparts are not left behind. But only 9% of respondents agreed that the UK was in a leadership position compared to other countries when it comes to the adoption of Industrial Digital Technologies (IDTs). Perhaps reflecting this, only 15% of manufacturers agreed that it would be possible to realise the full potential of IDTs without government support.”
JOSHUA ROWLEY | Co-Founder | E3D
“I don't even know where to begin answering because it's not AM that's the problem. It's the whole British economy's attitude to manufacturing and making things which is the problem. In America, they have an attitude around, ‘let's get on, let's make it, let's do things, let's just make this happen.’ That attitude simply doesn't exist here in the UK. It's very, very challenging to run an engineering company in the UK[…] The British economy is not geared towards manufacturing, engineering and innovation anymore. And I think that is a massive issue.”
PHIL REEVES | Managing Director Reeves Insight
“I think government investment has actually been proportional, but sadly the vast majority has been wasted or at best failed to lever significant ROI (return on investment), because the UK lacks the private sector investment appetite to turn AM/3DP start-ups and spin-outs into world class companies. Perhaps what we need is a government-backed equity investment scheme focused on AM/3D printing processes, materials and applications.”
CLAIRE SCOTT | Industrial Digital Technology Advisor - AM | Made Smarter
“One of the main barriers that businesses are reporting to the adoption of AM and other Made Smarter technologies is access to suitable funding and whilst the Made Smarter programme has helped businesses make their first machine purchase, these are generally at the lower end of the industrial scale in both size and price. Scaling up the Made Smarter adoption programme would allow businesses to adopt more complex industrial AM equipment so they can further establish AM within their business.
