Directly writing the future of production processes

摘要

Direct writing is a group of technologies that enable the precise deposition or removal of material onto or from surfaces. Here, Neil Calder from the Aerospace Innovation Centre, a North West Aerospace Alliance project, provides an introduction to the topic by looking at the process of 'designing in' functionality using direct writing and rapid manufacturing techniques, as well as exploring the novel building blocks that have fuelled the UK movement in this area so far. Imagine the ability to manufacture monolithic structural parts or components that already have a degree of functionality inbuilt, instead of adding it at a later stage in the manufacturing process or at another tier in the supply chain. A group of technologies, known variously as direct writing, solid freeform fabrication, additive fabrication or plain old rapid manufacturing, have the potential to create what some in the field are calling 'the next industrial revolution'.