MTC signs MoU with Lucideon to develop ceramics AM in the UK
April 20, 2020
The National Centre for Additive Manufacturing (NCAM), based at the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry, UK, reports that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Lucideon Limited, a materials consultancy located in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, UK. The aim of the MoU is to develop Additive Manufacturing technologies and their applications in the ceramics industry with the ambition of establishing the UK as a centre of excellence for ceramics AM.
The MTC explains that while the UK has some experience of using Additive Manufacturing in ceramics, it is not widespread. MTC and Lucideon will together to explore materials technology and share access to facilities, whilst encouraging ceramics businesses to improve productivity and production processes using AM.
The NCAM at the MTC brings together one of the most comprehensive combinations of Additive Manufacturing equipment and capability in the UK, and is also home to the European Space Agency’s Additive Manufacturing Benchmarking Centre. Lucideon, which was established in the 1940s as the British Ceramics Research Association, specialises in materials technology and processes across several industries, combining materials science with innovative ideas and commercial know-how to improve productivity, cost and product performance.
“Additive Manufacturing is one of the fastest growing technologies in manufacturing and certainly has a future in the ceramics sector,” stated Tom Wasley, NCAM Senior Research Engineer. “There is worldwide interest in the technology, so it is important that the UK explores how technology can provide a competitive edge.”