3D manufacturing ray of light: Sanlam

"During the past month reporting on the South African economy has been dominated by the events at Lonmin's mine at Marikana and the negative picture painted of the mining industry and SA at large. The dividing lines that run through SA's political economy were exposed graphically and the negative impact on investor confidence‚ locally as well as internationally‚ should not be underestimated. But amid all the negative comments there was one report which again demonstrated SA's ability to compete with the best in the world that caught my eye‚" he said.

Laubscher added that in order to understand the meaning of this report‚ the background first had to be explained.

Globally it was increasingly being realised that the manufacturing sector was undergoing radical changes that held far-reaching consequences for the future of the industry.

"Referring to a third industrial revolution is becoming more and more common‚ with the first industrial revolution traditionally referring to the development in the field of energy sources and mechanisation in Britain‚ especially during the first half of the nineteenth century‚ and the second industrial revolution referring to Henry Ford's invention of the conveyor belt and the associated revolution in work processes. The third industrial revolution in turn revolves around the application of so-called three-dimensional (3D) printers in manufacturing processes‚" he noted.

"With this technology consecutive thin layers of material are fused together in the exact required form by means of lasers to construct complex objects. However‚ the new technology goes beyond this and entails greater convergence in the application of 3D printers‚ robotics‚ artificial intelligence and nanotechnology. Although the development of the new technology started slowly‚ experts believe it is near the point where the process will accelerate exponentially‚ as has happened in the case of computer technology over the past two decades."

"The third industrial revolution is expected to bring about large-scale changes in existing global supply chains. It will simply no longer make sense to transport raw materials‚ components and semi-finished products over long distances for final assembly‚ often far from end-product markets. It will make more sense to manufacture products near the source of raw materials or markets‚ which could benefit SA‚ as an important provider of raw materials."

"As with all technological development‚ the new technology holds significant implications for the labour market. Greater automation will mean a reduction in the labour intensity of production processes‚ in other words fewer jobs‚ although new jobs to perform new tasks will also be created. It will furthermore mean that cheap labour will become less competitive relative to more expensive‚ skilled labour owing to the latter's increased productivity. The more mobile the labour force is‚ the easier it will adapt to the new circumstances."

"Therefore it is expected that the increasing use of 3D printers will have serious negative implications for China - currently the dominant role player in the international manufacturing sector - and that the manufacturing of certain products‚ which has moved to emerging economies‚ could return to developed countries. China could respond to this by itself automating or by channelling manufacturing to regions and countries with lower production costs‚ which could include Africa."

"SA's industrial policy‚ as defined in the industrial policy action plan (IPAP)‚ is inter alia aimed at creating a knowledge-based economy. One of the features of a knowledge-based economy in a developing country is that it has the ability to take international technology and adapt it for application in local conditions. This raises the question of whether SA is ready for the third industrial revolution‚ in other words whether the South African manufacturing sector could make the leap to 3D printers."

"This brings us back to the report referred to earlier. According to this‚ a South African company‚ Aerosud‚ in collaboration with the CSIR's National Laser Centre‚ is building the world's fastest and largest prototype 3D printer. The development phase has largely been funded by the Department of Science and Technology. The machine will be ten times faster than any available machine of the same kind and be able to produce components that are 46 times larger than any 3D-alternative."

"The printer will use titanium powder to build aircraft components if engineers succeed in making the technology commercially viable. Airbus has also become involved in the pilot project to test the ability of the prototype machine to build large‚ complex aerospace components. Should the project be successful‚ this will ensure it will immediately be part of an international supply chain.

"One of the many benefits of this technology is that it is suitable for short production runs‚ in other words it is not dependent on economies of scale to be commercially viable. It even creates the possibility of shared production facilities. It therefore offers numerous niche possibilities for small to medium-sized enterprises‚ which should suit SA's business environment."

"Nevertheless‚ it is clear that the third industrial revolution will have complex consequences and that it will present huge challenges for SA's manufacturing sector. On the one hand the Aerosud/CSIR project demonstrates SA's ability to be at the forefront of technological development. On the other hand it holds serious implications for strategies to counteract the oversupply of unskilled labour‚ and the idea that the manufacturing sector is the answer will have to be reconsidered.

"However‚ the world keeps on moving and SA will have no option but to ride the wave‚" Laubscher concluded.

At the recent Africa Aerospace and Defence at Waterkloof Air Force Base‚ Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) chief director Nomfuneko Majaja said the aerospace industry support initiative (AISI) would boost exports and create jobs.

"SA has the largest aerospace industry in Africa and is already part of the global supply chain. The AISI is a fully government-funded mechanism‚ which exists to support the SA aerospace industry. The aerospace sector development plan recommended that a joint action steering committee be set up to further improve co-ordination in the sector. The chairperson of the committee will be independent and a sector expert and it will have its own secretariat. It will initially meet on a monthly basis and then move later to a quarterly meeting schedule‚" she said.

SAAB Technologies SA President Magnus Lewis-Olsson said at a media briefing that SAAB had delivered the last of the Gripen fighter jets to the South African Air Force in April‚ and there would be ongoing support for the fighter with software upgrades every two to three years.

"What I am personally most exited about is the land electronic defence system‚ which was developed at our Capricorn research and development centre in Cape Town. It sounds like science fiction but is already in prototype mode and should be ready by 2015. The system will protect vehicles from laser designated ammunitions such as rocket-propelled grenades. Although the research is funded from Sweden‚ the intellectual property resides with SA. This could have a major impact on South African exports once it is sold to countries like Brazil or India‚" he said.

SA has about 140 companies in the aerospace and defence sectors whose products were on display at Waterkloof.