Siemens says that it plans to make a £27 million investment in a new manufacturing facility for Worcester, UK-based Materials Solutions Ltd, its additive manufacturing (AM) specialist. The new building, set to open in September 2018, will enable it to increase the number of its 3D printing machines from 15 to 50 over the next five years and is also expected to support the creation of around 55 new jobs. The new facility will also be a focal point for collaboration between Materials Solutions and the UK Siemens Digital Factory division.
Siemens acquired a majority stake in Materials Solutions Ltd in 2016. The company uses selective laser melting (SLM) technology to make metal parts and has grown its business considerably over the last two years, according to Siemens.
‘This significant investment underlines our belief that there is huge potential for innovation and growth within the additive manufacturing sector,’ said Juergen Maier, Siemens UK CEO. ‘It is also the next step towards achieving our ambition of pioneering the industrialisation of 3D printing and demonstrates how we are leading the way for the fourth industrial revolution.’
‘Our new facility will give us space and scope to continue to innovate for […] specialist and demanding industries and achieve a shift in the perception of 3D printing from being a technology associated with prototyping to a viable option for the serial production of additively manufactured parts,’ said Phil Hatherley, general manager of Materials Solutions. ‘We were incredibly proud to have achieved a world first last year – the production of a successfully tested 3D printed gas turbine blade.’
This story uses material from Siemens, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
