DIGI-TOOL

There is a large emphasis across the tool and die (T&D) sector to develop new methods which reduce cost, improve life and functional performance. The European T&D market is estimated at 11 billion USD per year and the UK spends £130m on closed die forging and sheet metal dies alone. These industries are made up of a large number of SMEs and adopting new methods require significant investment. The approach will develop an additive manufacturing digital framework which has cross sector applicability in all re/manufacturing applications and can be integrated with existing legacy machine tools, providing an affordable solution. The potential benefits are; rapid T&D re/manufacture (hybrid single platform); circular economy approach; gain on material utilization; saving on machine time; saving on consumable costs; lead time reduction; reduced energy consumption; improved performance. TTL (lead), Advanced Forming Research Centre, Hybrid Manufacturing Technologies, Hexagon and ATS Global will collaborate to achieve this. Mills Forging will provide an end user demonstrator case that will provide them with opportunities to be more competitive and diversify into different markets (automotive and aerospace) and employ staff in highly skilled areas.