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As people learn more about the applications and capabilities of the technology , more products and systems will be designed with 3D printing suitability in mind
“ Over the last 20 years , however , the world has awakened to additive manufacturing , which deposits and layers small amounts of material to create a form . Although additive is not necessarily faster than subtractive manufacturing , it has several other benefits , and we became involved with additive manufacturing through two different technologies : laser powder bed fusion ( LPBF ) and wire arc additive manufacturing ( WAAM ).
“ We started off by selling machines in the UK and Middle East . Everyone we spoke to had similar responses ; they loved the product and its capabilities but couldn ’ t afford the initial capital expense and instead asked us to machine parts for them . In the early days , we collaborated with our German partners to machine the products , but we quickly realized that establishing our own machining arm would be a more effective way of fulfilling these requests .”
Service solutions
Hence , Kingsbury ’ s 3D printing venture , Additure , was born . “ Additure is responsible for delivering our 3D printing capabilities ; not only the printing itself , but also the supply of machines to customers interested in purchasing one ,” Richard explains . “ We established our own printing facility and employed some exceptionally talented people , one of which being Ian , to manage and monetize this arm of the business .
“ Today , people better understand the technology ; it ’ s not just pressing a button and printing a part , but analyzing the quality control , material flow , and density of that part . Some of our customers have been on a journey with us since the early days , and while we ’ re seeing continued success in printing parts , some have purchased their own machine from us too .”
Ian adds : “ Our operation helps businesses overcome the initial obstacles they typically come across when exploring 3D printing , like cost and material integrity . As we then identified a gap in the supply chain , primarily for large OEMs , oil and gas companies , and the defense sector , we now occupy two streams of business : contract manufacturing and pre- and post-sales support .
“ We ’ ve experienced phenomenal success and grown rapidly , to the point that we ’ ve recently moved to a new , larger facility . Over time , customers started to request technical products or orders of significant magnitude that we couldn ’ t appropriately service from the former site . Our growth was constrained , and so we knew it was time to move on .
Expanding capabilities
“ Our new site near Samlesbury , England , is 6000 square feet and open plan , enabling us to operate without limits and with room for growth . Also , while we have ISO 9001 certification through Kingsbury , we ’ ve received an accreditation from LRQA , which is specific to additive manufacturing sites . There are only a handful of sites in the world with this certification , but we ’ re the only commercial organization in the UK , working with both LPBF and WAAM , with such an award .
“ We ’ re already onboarding new machines to expand our capabilities ,” Ian continues . “ We ’ re on track to receive a second Gefertec machine , the arc80X , in Q1 of 2025 , which will be the first machine of this type delivered to the UK . As it ’ s a brand-new system for Gefertec , we ’ re working with them to test prototypes and develop this technology ahead of its release to the wider market .”
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