Finland’s new 3D printing ecosystem FAME (Finnish Additive Manufacturing Ecosystem) appointed Tero Hämeenaho, Department Manager of Additive Manufacturing & Optimization at Etteplan, as Chairman of its Management Board and Sakari Pasanen, director at Patria, as Vice Chairman. The list of FAME’s founding members increased from the October establishment phase, as Finland will invest more in 3D printing in the next few years than expected. FAME also decided to start joint 3D printing pooling immediately.
“It is a great honor to lead this ecosystem of systemic change that spans organizational boundaries. I have been working for several years in additive manufacturing production, and now I get a chance to industrialize 3D-printing together with several companies,” says Tero Hämeenaho, Department Manager of Additive Manufacturing & Optimization at Etteplan.
In 2019, Etteplan conducted a study commissioned by Business Finland, which noted both the slow awakening of Finnish companies to 3D printing and the need to have a neutral party representing the private sector to lead and facilitate the development of the industry. “FAME is the answer to these bottlenecks. The bottlenecks will now be removed by unblocking them,” Hämeenaho continues.
Practice and tangibility
“We decided to start practically and tangibly. We use part of the ecosystem’s resources to build 3D printing experience pool for members. We first experiment on a small scale and bring large companies and service providers together. Later larger and more specialized testing and printing centers will be built across Finland. FAME leads to research projects, shared 3D printing infrastructure, overseas business offerings, and educational change. Not everything can be done right away, and we want to start with something, so our priority now is to print with the group. By doing, we learn, not by planning for too long,” says Sakari Pasanen, Director at Patria, who was elected to Vice Chairman of FAME.
Ready for technology revolution
The companies in the FAME ecosystem aim to reach 5 per cent of the global 3D printing market volume by 2030. This will require significant changes in how 3D printing is seen as an opportunity and an alternative to current manufacturing methods. FAME brings together leading equipment manufacturers, material suppliers, design and printing experts, and machine builders who turn their manufacturing technology towards 3D printing.
“3D printing has been in discussion for about 30 years, and a lot of research, experimentation and analysis has already been done. As the range of materials grows and production volume increases in Finland, it is no longer possible to expect others to do something first, but the creativity of the new generation of designers is now fully utilized by FAME members. This leads to the design of a significantly better energy-efficient components and equipment,” says Harri Kulmala, CEO of DIMECC Ltd, a company that facilitates the FAME ecosystem. “This all will not happen quickly, easily or cheaply, but the ecosystem has more power than trying to break through alone. We welcome everyone who wants to benefit from the technological revolution to become a member of FAME. The ecosystem is open,” concludes Kulmala.
The start and operation of the ecosystem is financed by member companies and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland. The ecosystem is facilitated by DIMECC Ltd.
Founding members of FAME ecosystem:
3D Formtech, 3D-Step, Andritz, CITEC, DBE Core, Delva, Elomatic, EOS Finland, Etteplan, Huld, Lillbacka Powerco, MiniFactory, Nordic Industries, Origo Engineering, Patria, Raute, Salon Metalelektro, Valmet, Vossi, Wärtsilä
