Brussels welcomed the third annual Additive Manufacturing European Conference this past week-end. The European Association of Machine Tool Industries (CECIMO) encourages EU policy makers to realize the scope of 3D Printing in Europe.
The conference laid emphasis on the sectors where the EU is performing well in the 3D printing industry and the issues to tackle in order to spread its use in Europe.
Filip Geerts, CECIMO Director General explains “the European advanced manufacturing industry has maintained over time a global leading position, and it can be considered a gem of the European economy. With the rise of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies on the shop floor, industry entered a new round of innovation.”
He also warns policy makers that the European Union needs to industrialise additive manufacturing in order to remain leader on this sector and avoid big competitors such as the US, China, and Japan to take the lead in the production and innovations.
A 20-page CECIMO Strategy whose main message is “more is more” describes the opportunities and initiatives to be implemented in order to adopt 3D printing in Europe.
If standards and patenting remain key issues, the first steps in the adoption are education. This implies sharing curriculums, creating fab-labs as well as providing 3D printing courses at all levels.
Other topics of the strategy include standards to cybersecurity, safety, global trade as well as access to finance for SMEs and AM companies.