Page 32 - 3D Metal Printing Fall 2017

3D GRIMM’S TALES BY TODD GRIMM
Conversation with 3T RPD Ltd
For this column, I interviewed Dr. Ian Halliday, CEO of 3T RPD Ltd, who joined the company in 2005 and within two years had realigned its focus to
series production. Entering into metal additive manufacturing
(AM) when demand was small, Halliday has experienced, first-
hand, the challenges of change. Adding his years of experience from the automotive industry, he shares his thoughts on change management and the challenges to metal-AM adoption.
Just the Beginning
Back in 2007, in conjunction with its new strategy to focus on production applications, 3T RPD took on metal AM as part of its long-term strategy. Accord- ing to Halliday, “We looked at metal ver- sus plastic, and to me it was obvious that metal was going to be the future for additive manufacturing of series parts.”
Halliday notes that he was extremely optimistic about how rapidly other peo- ple would realize the obvious. “I think
Todd Grimm (todd.grimm@tagrimm.com) is the founder and president of T. A. Grimm & Associates, Inc., a consulting and communications company dedicated to additive manufacturing. A 26-year veteran of the AM industry, he is a consultant, author, writer, speaker and researcher. He also has served as an advisor for various associations and publications.
This column presents a balanced, unbiased view (no Grimm’s fairy tales) of metal additive manufacturing. Its messages are those that users feel are important to share and that are discovered through informal conversations with Todd Grimm. There are no agendas, and there are no pre-prepared interview questions.
3T RPD manufactured this aerospace- engine casing combining multiple com- ponents built using metal AM.
this is where the over-optimistic engi- neer in me comes out, because when it came to the time scales, I didn’t forecast that it would take as long as it did to get to where we are today, especially in the aerospace industry, a target for 3T RPD.
“We are at the beginning,” he contin- ues, “and yet 28 years ago, we thought that was the beginning.”
While all industries adopt- ing metal AM are more or less at the beginning, according to Halliday, some remain at the starting line while others have advanced. With this in mind, 3T RPD has targeted the aerospace, motorsports and automotive industries, as well as industrial markets such as oil and gas.
“We changed our focus toward those who were more
TODD GRIMM
likely to want to use additive manufac- turing,” Halliday says. “These industries are more aware and have realistic expec- tations.”
Yet, even the aerospace industry, which appears to be leading the way in production applications of metal AM, is just out of the starting blocks. Halliday says, “It is about waking up a giant. It’s a long, slow and sometimes delicate process. Yet, it’s going to be a massive, massive industry.”
Although the medical industry is on pace in terms of awareness and expecta- tions, and the firm does do some med- ical work, Halliday says that the impedi- ments and associated litigation risks have motivated the company to seek opportunities elsewhere.
Change Takes Time
Long ago, Halliday learned a simple lesson in change management when he spearheaded CAD/CAM and five-axis CNC initiatives at Rover Group. That les- son: change takes three times longer than expected. Halliday recalls, “I managed a
Dr. Ian Halliday, CEO of 3T RPD Ltd.
“You have to build an infrastructure around the technology (metal AM), one that adapts to it and with it. Success, then, requires much more than a metal-AM machine and a skilled operator.”
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