Valuechain Intelligence Trading Authorisation Ledger for Additive Manufacturing Ecosystems (VITALam)

The objective of this project is to streamline the capture of real-time digital factory data from multiple Additive Manufacturing (AM) sources (people, plant, process, powders, products and partners) to create an AM accurate record (digital thread); and utilise artificial intelligence to optimise machine, atmosphere, powder (raw material) and AM build parameters. VITALam will securely share and consolidate data from multiple organisations to create a digital AM ecosystem whereby stakeholders, such as Aerospace Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs); AM agencies; AM plant vendors; AM powder / raw material vendors; and post-processing suppliers; can exchange and benefit from real-time intelligence and performance monitoring to optimise product quality and productivity levels. This will accelerate aerospace AM technology advances and ultimately unlock the scalability of this game-changing technology which has the potential to disrupt all advanced manufacturing sectors, such as more environmentally friendly and economical component design and production techniques, supported by agile global supply chains.

The main project output is a working prototype solution that will be piloted by FDM Digital Solutions, which is now owned by Gardner Aerospace (a global tier 1 supplier into Airbus) and/or several SMEs to refine the following:

- innovate world's first dedicated Manufacturing Execution System (MES) for AM and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions that can support every AM technology from "Fuse Deposition Modelling (FDM)" to "Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)" for all sizes of AM business from OEM to start-up SME

- uniquely integrate with disparate real-time data sources to create reliable and granular digital thread

- deploy innovative machine learning, with state-of-art insights from University of Huddersfield to curate big data, predict issues and optimise AM product quality and productivity

- unique deployment of blockchain technology to provide secure AM intelligence exchange platform with unique insights from University of Liverpool

- establish a digitalised AM ecosystem with FDM Digital Solutions and other existing Valuechain clients / partners

Valuechain will work with FDM Digital Solutions in order to help guide the development of the functionality provided by VITALam, with the goal to offer as much value to customers as soon as possible. Also, to introduce Valuechain to other AM partners who may be interested in the development of such a solution.

Valuechain will initially focus on the global aerospace AM due to the significant and immediate market opportunities; such as compliance legislation, significance of the product quality, significant financial and operational savings, such as weight saving component design and the potential for spare part production anywhere in the world. Following the completion of this project, Valuechain will innovate VITALam with its automotive, defence, nuclear, industrial gas turbine, marine, rail and medical clients and then scale into these other global advanced manufacturing sectors once traction and substantial aerospace market penetration has been secured.