RISE, a Swedish state-owned research institute, is opening up the Application Center for Additive Manufacturing together with industrial and academic partners to form a a national ecosystem for 3D printing.
Combining additive manufacturing, or 3D printing with new sustainable materials, allows for a more flexible and resource-efficient production. But for companies to be able to fully utilise the strength of the technology, support is needed in every step along the supply chain ranging from development of new business models to product design and testing in a real production environment, said a statement.
Additive manufacturing enables a paradigm shift for the industry and is relevant for many sectors such as the aerospace, space, automotive, telecom, maritime, and consumer goods to name a few. Some of the advantages are the mass customisation enabling unique tailor-made components that are produced with minimal material waste and that are optimised with regards to their weight.
The global market for additive manufacturing is expected to continue to grow, and for metallic materials the market is expected to increase by a factor of two by 2025. It is important that Sweden continues to invest in additive manufacturing to strengthen its position in this rapidly growing market.
“By gathering end users, suppliers of services, technology and materials with our researchers and experts at RISE, the Application Center for Additive Manufacturing enable us to form a robust national ecosystem for additive manufacturing in Sweden,” says Seyed Hosseini, Director of Application Center for Additive Manufacturing.
In the centre, the industrial partners will have access to the latest research carried out by the research partners, test and demonstrate different additive manufacturing technologies including their pre- and post-operations, as well as access expertise and competence along the supply chain. To be successful in such an environment, collaboration, and cooperation between all partners in the Center is vital as each partner has unique competence and experience. The center creates an independent and open environment for such collaboration to take place in Sweden.
“The centre is a good example of how we gather expertise along the entire value chain and create a way to accelerate digital development in the Swedish industry. Additive manufacturing has great potential and now RISE can boost this transformation in taking important steps forward,” says Pia Sandvik, CEO at RISE.
“Additive manufacturing is one of the new resource-efficient manufacturing technologies that, in addition to more circular material flows, is needed to make the future industry more sustainable. The investment in the Application Center for Additive Manufacturing both broadens and strengthens Västra Götaland’s position in innovation and sustainable and digital manufacturing technologies,” says Kristina Jonäng (C), chair of the regional development committee in the Västra Götaland region.
15 partners are onboard from the start. The target group for the centre is manufacturing companies, both large and small and medium-sized, but also suppliers of materials, software and equipment for additive manufacturing. The partnership provides the opportunity to take full advantage of the skills and infrastructure that exist and as a partner you also contribute to the center. With the help of the center, the threshold to test and evaluate the technology can be reduced.
The centre is run by RISE together with the centre’s 15 partners: AddUp, Alfa Laval, Chalmers, Digital Metal, DNA.am, Ericsson, Höganäs, Materialise, Modul-System HH, Nikon Metrology Europe, RENA Technologies Austria, Ringhals (Vattenfall), Siemens Energy, Volvo Cars, Volvo Group and through support from the Västra Götaland region, Vinnova and European Regional Development Fond. It is physically located at RISE in Mölndal but uses the entire research institute’s expertise and knowledge.
