NMIS joins new AM body
THE NATIONAL MANUFACTURING
Institute Scotland (NMIS) has
become the rst UK member
of a new global trade group to
advance sustainability in additive
manufacturing.
NMIS is one of 12 leading
organisations to join the Additive
Manufacturer Green Trade
Association (AMGTA), created to
promote the environmental bene ts
of additive manufacturing.
Additive manufacturing (AM)
- commonly thought of as 3D
printing but also includes powder
bed fusion, laser metal deposition,
and fused deposition modelling -
builds a three-dimensional object
by successively adding material
layer by layer. It results in less
waste and greater e ciencies than
conventional manufacturing and,
in many cases, can o er greater
precision and uniformity.
AMGTA will serve as a key
industry resource to educate the
public and industry about these
positive environmental bene ts,
to help develop industry best
practices, and to promote the
adoption of AM as an alternative to
traditional manufacturing.
Stephen Fitzpatrick, Additive
Manufacturing and Machining and
Team Lead at NMIS, said: “Additive
is a key focus for us going forward
at NMIS and we want to be at
the forefront when it comes to
sustainability for the manufacturing
industry. One of the ways that we
are doing this, is by using additive
manufacturing as an enabler for new
remanufacturing processes.
“We are developing a number
of new AM techniques but we
don’t yet know enough about the
sustainability bene ts of the many
processes. Working as part of
AMGTA, we will be able to tap into
information from a cross section of
industry and that will better allow us
as an organisation, and collectively
as a global industry, to understand
more about the part AM has to play
in the net zero agenda.”
NMIS is a group of industryled
manufacturing research and
development facilities where
industry, academia and the public
sector work together on groundbreaking
manufacturing research to
transform productivity levels, make
companies more competitive and
boost the skills of our current and
future workforce. It is operated by
the University of Strathclyde and
supported by Scottish Government,
Scottish Enterprise, Highlands
and Islands Enterprise, High Value
Manufacturing Catapult, Skills
Development Scotland, Scottish
Funding Council and Renfrewshire
Council.
NEWS | EUREKA!
IMMAENCUHAEL L FAOURN DCEHAELSI WITH COVID-19 NG THE INSTITUTION OF
Mechanical Engineers
is launching a “manual”
of best mechanical
engineering practice
and approaches for
dealing with COVID-
19, focusing on how
to ensure people
stay safe during the
pandemic.
The manual is the work of the
leading to practical solutions and
Institution’s COVID-19 task force
also it considers how people in
which started work earlier this
di erent parts of the world have
year when the crisis rst struck.
reacted to the pandemic and
Members of the Institution
what impact this has had.”
have been involved in e orts
The document highlights the
worldwide to defeat the virus,
work that is being undertaken
from helping to set up hospitals
in a range of areas from virus
in the UK and Hong Kong to
transmission to building
building ventilators in India. They
ventilation and air cleaning, to
have also contributed to the
give a better understanding of
Scienti c Advisory Group for
what people and organisations
Emergencies (SAGE) which gives
can do to stay safe.
scienti c and technical advice to
It also looks at how biomedical
the UK Government.
engineering is contributing to
“Members of the Institution
the management of the COVID-
are making a major contribution
19 pandemic. Members of the
to nding mechanical
Institution have been involved
engineering approaches and
in developing new breathing
solutions to the problems caused
devices to help patients, in one
by COVID-19,” said Prof Joe
case building on existing patents
McGeough, a past President of
to build a new device in less than
the Institution who leads the task
two weeks.
force.
The document is online on the
“This manual brings together
Institution’s website and will be
best practice across many
continuously updated to re ect
areas from around the globe. It
developments in technology and
highlights how engineers have
the latest results from relevant
worked to ensure that science is
trials.
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