Section A: 3D Printing - In your view, is 3D printing the most important opportunity facing manufacturers in the UK?

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  • Created by: Megan
  • Created on: 14-06-15 14:00

Section A: 3D Printing - In your view, is 3D printing the most important opportunity facing manufacturers in the UK?

Advantages

  • Yes, it is the most important opportunity because... 3D printing can result in cost reduction in manufacturing.
  • Companies such as BAE systems in the UK have been using this method for years to create components.
  • BAE systems has high component costs, so now that 3D printing can use a range of materials, they may see cost reductions and can use print-on-demand for these.
  • Unit costs should fall for many capital intensive manufacturers and this should improve competitiveness of UK manufacturing as well as cutting waste by up to 90% by replacing labour intensive with 3D printing.
  • Manufacturers within the UK will invest more capital into manufacturing here through 3D printing and remain in the UK.
  • EVALUATION: Potential widespread impact across most manufacturing industries, so an important opportunity. However, it may change the nature of production from labour intensive to using 3D printing - could be bad for UK employment.
  • Yes, it is the most important opportunity because... It is reducing product design errors and speeding up 'time to market' while reducing time and cost of R&D.
  • Reduce the time it takes for manufacturers to create products that are being developed, making it quicker.
  • Quick manufacturing processes can be a source of competitive advantage for UK manufacturing.
  • More overseas manufacturers may re-shore or move production to the UK in order to meet customer demand quicker.
  • 3D printing plays well to UK's reputation for technological advances, so if they take the advantage.
  • Increase manufacturing output for the UK as a result of more manufacturing being done in the UK.
  • EVALUATION: Other countries have also been involved in 3D printing and it has been around for more than 25 years. Other countries may begin to invest in it too.

Disadvantages

  • No, it is not the most important opportunity because... the UK is not already a leader in 3D printing, other countries such as the US have invested heavily.
  • UK may not be able to use 3D printing as a source of competitive advantage as other countries have already lead the way in 3D printing.
  • Investment into this opportunity may be too late and not result in much gain through reduction in costs or increased production within the UK.
  • Heavy investment may be wasted and there is an opportunity cost of investing into 3D printing and not other areas such as green energy.
  • Other areas of UK manufacturing may suffer and not improve, so overall production may be reduced within the UK as it becomes uncompetitive in other opportunity areas.
  • EVALUATION: It might not be too late if the UK does invest in 3D printing because it can still specialise in high value added areas it does, as 3D printing is ideal for products that are customised.
  • No, it is not the most important opportunity because... It is more of a threat than an opportunity.
  • 3D printing enables complex components to be produced on demand which means that it could harm the engineering sector within the UK.
  • More components will be made using 3D printing, which reduces the need for skilled labour to make the components, as the computers can do it more accurately.
  • Higher levels of unemployment in these areas and higher costs to manufacturers of reducing the labour in production.
  • EVALUATION: Swapping from labour intensive to capital intensive will have it's benefits of less waste and more accuracy and could lead to higher levels of innovation, which is an opportunity for the UK.

Evaluation

3D printing is an important opportunity to UK manufacturing because it will increase productivity and innovation, which in turn can lead to higher value added. However, with this comes the threats of other countries who have already invested heavily into this sector and therefore it may be hard to compete with manufacturers based in those countries who utilise 3D printing. On the other hand, if the UK doesn't invest in 3D printing while it is seeing recent leaps and improving over time, it may eventually become too late and they lose competitiveness. It still has some way to go before it becomes mainstream in all manufacturing. Furthermore, there is other opportunities to UK manufacturing such as the green energy. Therefore, I believe that it is an important opportunity to the UK that they should invest in, however it is not the most important opportunity, as other areas may improve the competitiveness of UK manufacturing more.

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