RMRDC, UNILAG, others partner on additive manufacturing in Nigeria

By Steve Agbota

The Director General and Chief Executive Officer, RMRDC, Prof. Hussaini Ibrahim, who was represented by the Director in Lagos office, Mr Tokunbo Habeeb at a press briefing in Lagos to herald the conference scheduled to hold between September 26 and 29 at the University of Lagos, Akoka, explained that the summit is apt considering the harsh business terrain for manufacturing concerns to thrive.

According to him, indeed, manufacturers spend over 40 per cent of their running cost on power in the midst of myriad of challenges already plaguing the sector.

The Director General stated that the conference is expected to spotlight innovative and effective solutions on how additive manufacturing can bring down the cost of manufacturing operations by at least 30 per cent.

In his words: “Manufacturers have been bedeviled with myriads of challenges hindering manufacturing activities, hence the conference would have not come at a better time where manufacturers are seeking innovative ways to boost their profit margins while also reducing their cost of operations.”

Also speaking, a Professor with UNILAG who also doubles as a member of the Additive Manufacturing Group (AMG), Prof. Funsho Falade, said the conference which is being organised by the AMG, RMRDC, University of Lagos, Nigeria in partnership with the Campus Additive Innovation, University of Bayreuth, Germany, stated the need for partnership between Nigeria and Germany to advance the development of Additive Manufacturing in Nigeria.

He said according to the current statistics in the Wohler Report 2021, Germany is the global market leader for additive manufacturing and the baseline activity on a national level can therefore be considered good.

“Our African youths with their intellect can easily acquire the ‘new thinking’ required by this technology as knowledge of any past manufacturing technologies is not a pre-requisite. Furthermore, Additive Manufacturing technology being software and design driven allows for innovation and creativity in developing a large variety of parts and products,” he said.

He added that the promotion of Additive Manufacturing/digital technologies is the future for Nigerian youths and ensuring sustainable employment opportunities.

He said during the conference, there would be virtual presentations from University of Bayreuth, Germany and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA while on-site presentation will be made from University of Lagos on the current stages of development in Additive Manufacturing both in Germany and Nigeria and the possible areas of collaborations between the two countries.

He noted that the exhibition stands will showcase practically some of the achievements made so far in additive manufacturing including the challenges and how they were overcome and the subsequent potentials for advancement in the industrial sector in Nigeria.

“There is a planned round-table discussion during which representatives of the key stakeholders will deliberate on issues bothering on advances in additive manufacturing and formulate policy direction to guide government on the short-, medium and long term strategies for Nigeria to embark on meaningful and purposeful journey to actualize the effective take-off of additive manufacturing in our industrial sector,” he said.

He pointed out that the much needed advancement can only be made in additive manufacturing in particular and industrial sector in general if government would pursue relevant industrialization strategies that encompass the provision of standard infrastructures (electric power, roads, transportation system, communication network etc), tax relief to the investors, and support research and development in tertiary institutions.

Additive Manufacturing or 3D Printing is the construction of a three-dimensional object from Computer Aided Design (CAD) model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer control, with material being added together, typically layer by layer. It is a newly developed Manufacturing Technology that is widely accepted worldwide in the advanced world. Additive manufacturing is revolutionizing the industrial production landscape.