Australia’s Additive Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (AMCRC) is set to give $3.25 million in funding to Australian startups and small- and medium-sized enterprises, or SMEs. The money will go to accelerate the adoption of 3D printing by these businesses. This seems like a good move by AMCRC to build out the industrial base of Australia generally, and to increase the number of firms that can use additive in the country.
The program is called STARTER and it will, dollar for dollar, match money put up by the companies. Each project runs from 3 to 12 months, and is looking at prototyping as well as end-use part production. Sustainability, supply chain, and shorter lead times will also be watchwords. The idea is that these projects will be easy to do for these small firms and lead to knowledge and capability increases.
AMCRC Managing Director Simon Marriott said.
“Many SMEs and start-ups recognise the potential of additive manufacturing, but they don’t always know where to begin or have the capability to assess where it can create value for their business. The STARTER Project Funding Program gives businesses a practical pathway to work alongside researchers, test ideas and evaluate how additive manufacturing can improve efficiency, flexibility and competitiveness.
“Businesses are using additive manufacturing to reduce lead times, overcome production bottlenecks, improve supply chain resilience and bring new products to market faster. This program is about helping Australian companies explore those opportunities in a practical, commercially focused way.”
AMCRC Managing Director Simon Marriott.
Each funding package for matching funds is between $20,000 and $75,000, meaning that between 42 and 162 businesses can be helped through the program. In total, this should see Australia spend an additional $6.5 million on implementing additive. The overall project size ranges from $40,000 to $150,000.
Companies can apply for the program here, and can work with AMCRC-connected research bodies to implement the projects. This seems like a very sensible thing to do altogether. Small businesses are real jobs growth engines. Large businesses tend to outsource a lot and, in their maturity, not really splurge on hiring. Think about being Nike: it’s hard to see how 100 new people can make an impact there, but a better shoe design or a slightly better World Cup ad will have a huge impact. I guess they could throw people at the problem, but generally these companies rely on geniuses, old hands, experts, and those who have generated trust internally or those that are there already, A small business, on the other hand, will hire their first sales person, finally a dedicated marketeer, a new R&D person, someone new to man the store, etc. So not only are they a growth engine in overall jobs, but they also hire people with advanced degrees and those leaving school at the same time. This means that the mix of people they hire is also good for the economy.
So, by spreading additive to these small businesses, AMCRC is doing well to stimulate the economy. These versatile firms can also make decisions much quicker than larger firms. If a founder is on board, then the firm will go in the direction that she points, and quickly too. This means that if it works well, 3D printing could more quickly be adopted and expanded in the firm. A small firm is much more likely to take risks in new markets, and with new processes as well. So the focus here seems more than sensible.
Usually, such programs lead to people buying kit that they don’t know how to use well, or the money is spent on reports. So I hope here that it really goes towards implementation and skill transfer. Australia’s remoteness and moderate market size means that a lot of goods are needlessly expensive there. A lot of firms become a sole importer or representative of a brand and hike processes unnecessarily, while the sheer size and low volumes also raise costs. This all compounds the potential usefulness for 3D printing on the continent. 3D printing just makes sense more often than elsewhere. Wait times for parts being longer also adds to the utility. So especially for MRO and spare parts, in the broadest sense, Australia could disproportionately benefit from additive. And the business that could benefit most of all are those small businesses that can’t keep all their spares in stock and rely on a limited number of machines, tools, or processes. So that is a good sign for this implementation. Furthermore, other large countries such as Canada and Brazil should look into similar programs, as they too could disproportionately benefit.
Images courtesy of AMCRC