A SCOTS start-up has won a grant to fund the first 3D metal printer that is commercially available in the UK.
Angus 3D Solutions has won £175,000 to buy the machine - used by Formula 1 teams - which can create new components from designs quickly and also keep engines and other equipment running by creating out of production parts through reverse engineering.
Former oil industry service sector executive Andy Simpson's idea to keep older machines working for less cost helped secure the backing from the Zero Waste Scotland circular economy investment fund.
Mr Simpson noted the Brechin firm could reduce waste in the design process as well as extend the lifespan of machinery by allowing such obsolete parts to be manufactured from 3D scans, which would be cheaper, faster and use fewer input materials than traditional manufacturing.
It is expected to help deliver up to £1 billion of benefits to the economy.
Mr Simpson, above, said: "Our customers can be anything from individuals who have an idea and they want it changed into an actual physical object, or it can be a multinational like GE Oil and Gas who have a design that they want to try out.
"Industries can be again anything from creating a medical practise rig for a surgeon at the Golden Jubilee hospital to printing off parts for rocket engines to work satellites."
He added: "The beauty about this is that we can do things quicker, we can manufacture low volume parts and we can take parts that we no longer have the drawings for and scan them and make parts from the scan."
The machine uses Atomic Diffusion Additive Manufacturing (ADAM) technology - where metal powders are encased in plastic binders which are then melted off - to create objects with unprecedented levels of detail and faster than before
The grant will allow also the firm Mr Simpson runs with his wife Jacqueline to take on one full-time and one part-time worker.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here