A National Strategy for Additive Manufacturing has been recently launched by UK AM, an independent government supported collaboration established to drive the UK’s AM strategy.

The strategy document outlines its vision - ‘to drive the UK to the forefront of commercialised AM, supporting the High Value Manufacturing sector which is the lifeblood of the UK’s manufacturing industry’

The strategy has been developed through a series of consultations and working groups bringing in opinions from over 100 experts across industry, academia and professional bodies.

The working groups cover cost / investment / financing, design, IP protection & security, skills / education, standards & certification, and testing & validation. The strategy makes a number of important recommendations across these themes to ensure the UK can capitalise on the opportunity within AM.

The business case for AM is compelling and the opportunity for the UK is large. It is estimated that by 2025 AM could generate £3.5bn per year in GVA and support 60,000 jobs in the UK.