Babcock International has opened a new state-of-the-art additive manufacturing centre today as part of a new partnership with Plymouth Science Park.
Credit: Babcock International
The facility will allow Babcock to ramp up its advanced technology capabilities to address critical needs across the engineering and defence support industry and will include the development of a digital and data skills programme in collaboration with PSP.
The facility will enable the company to direct print metal parts for the first time as it needs them, increasing efficiency and sustainability.
Read more: How the last Seven Years Have Shaped Additive Manufacturing's Future
The partnership builds on Babcock’s strong relationship with the academic and technology community across the South West, and the local community around Babcock’s Devonport dockyard. Recent initiatives include a polymer manufacturing capability that produced personal protective equipment for the local air ambulance service during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dr Jon Hall, Chief Innovation and Technology Officer for Babcock, said: “This collaboration will accelerate Babcock’s R&D and real-world application of additive technologies. It provides a step-change in how we’re advancing our own expertise and our partnerships to benefit our customers and the communities we operate in.
“The challenge of obsolescence and support chain resilience is key for engineering businesses. That’s especially true for Babcock where we maintain complex and critical equipment over long lifecycles. Having a manufacturing capability that allows us to direct print what we need, when we need it, in direct collaboration with our customers, means we will be able to create parts at scale, in a more efficient and sustainable way – wherever there is a demand, in any part of our business.
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Ian McFazden, Chief Executive of PSP, commented: “Babcock will be the first company to use our new additive manufacturing facilities to strengthen their engineering and technical expertise in digital and data technologies, and through the partnership, we will ensure engineers and apprentices develop new digital and data skills to enhance innovation adoption and increase productivity in the region.”
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