Our evolution over the last 20 years featured in Metal AM Magazine

From rapid prototyping to rocket engines: The evolution of 3T Additive Manufacturing Ltd.

With two decades of experience in part production using Additive Manufacturing technologies, 3T Additive Manufacturing Ltd, based in Newbury, UK, today enjoys a strong position as an international developer and supplier of cutting-edge metal AM components. At a time of transition for the company, Metal AM magazine’s Nick Williams and Emily-Jo Hopson met with outgoing CEO Ian Halliday and his successor, Nigel Robinson, to discuss the evolution of the metal AM industry to date and the business’s plans for further expansion.

In 2019, 3T Additive Manufacturing Ltd, formerly known as 3T RPD, celebrates twenty years of additively manufactured part production. Throughout this period, the business’s growth has closely tracked the evolution of the AM industry as a whole, moving from the rapid prototyping of plastic products through to end-use part production, the introduction of metal AM and more recently a ramping up of production capacity to meet demand for the series production of components.

This year also marks the end of Ian Halliday’s tenure at the helm of the business. Having taken over as CEO in 2005 from the company’s founder, Tim Plunkett, Halliday has guided the company through a long period of growth that has seen fundamental changes in all areas of the industry, from technical capabilities to materials and end-user markets.

The growth of 3T as a metal AM producer

3T-am is today a leading European commercial AM parts producer that serves an international portfolio of clients in industries including aerospace, automotive, motorsport, oil & gas and general engineering. It is also one of several EOS ‘e-manufacturing partners’ and benefits from a close relationship with the German machine builder, operating twenty-four EOS AM machines, including twelve M 290s and four M 280s. The business is today within the portfolio of Dr Hans J Langer companies.

The future

3T-am has ambitious plans for the future that centre on a continuing expansion in internal capacity, whilst supporting key customers with complete AM installations on their own sites and pushing for an international expansion of the 3T-am business. Robinson told Metal AM, “We are working on all three options, and expect the future of the company to develop in these directions. The centre of service, R&D, product development and production of 3T-am will remain in the UK for many years to come. However, if the company is to benefit from the knowledge built up over the last twenty years in AM, we need to multiply the use of that knowledge by supporting our customers through the AM journey to create their own stable production facilities either run by the customer or 3T-am”.

Read the full article here.