The new hub aims to lead research, development and collaboration on metal additive manufacturing, developing and testing ideas for taking the technology forward.
Image caption: Left to right: Ken Young, technology director, MTC; Ross Trepleton, chief engineer, MTC; Simon Weeks, chief technology officer, Aerospace Technology Institute; Dr Katy Milne, chief engineer, MTC and Neil Mantle, head of additive layer manufacturing, Rolls-Royce.
The new hub, in the MTC's Aerospace Research Centre on its Ansty Park, Coventry campus will also be the home of an online reference resource, as well as a manufacturing facility. Its launch underscores progress in the £15 million MTC-led DRAMA (Digital Reconfigurable Additive Manufacturing facilities for Aerospace) project, which encourages suppliers to the UK aerospace industry to adopt additive manufacturing (AM). Supported by £11 million from BEIS's Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, DRAMA has already engaged with more than 50 aerospace supply chain companies and is still inviting applications for new projects.
Among the first such centres in Europe, the new hub includes a workshop and design, research and test facilities for AM users and experts who can shape the technology.
As well as a manufacturing facility and online resource, the new centre will offer training at all levels, expert advice on AM suitability, business case and implementation, research, both bespoke and collaborative and face-to-face and online business and technical support. Participating companies will have access to facilities and expertise in a commercially neutral but technologically world-class environment. They can also get advice on funding technology development.
The MTC, part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, supported by Innovate UK, houses the National Centre for Additive Manufacturing (NCAM) bringing together one of the most comprehensive combinations of equipment and capability in the UK.
