APF - ADVANCED PROTOTYPING FACILITY
The Advanced Prototyping Facility project is provided by Aston University to assist businesses improve awareness of the opportunities available through additive manufacture (3D Printing) to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of existing designs and to develop new products all the way through to producing prototypes.
The project brings together 3D printing methods such as
VAT Polymerisation (SLA,DLP,CDLP)
Material Extrusion (FDM,FFF,CFM)
Binder Jetting (BJ)
Material Jetting (MJ,NPJ,DOD)
Powder Bed Fusion (MJF,SLS,DMLS,SLM,EBM)
Direct Energy Deposition (LENS,EBAM)
Sheet Lamination (LOM)
Allowing for additive manufacture in a wide range of polymers, plastics, ceramics and metals.
All this combined with a team of experts and academics that can help improve designs and create designs for manufacture
This project is funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund [1] and as such is bound by Minimum Financial Assistance (MFA)[2] rules, regulations and eligibility criteria, and is available to SMEs in the Shropshire region.
[2] Non financial assistance will be considered a subsidy where it satisfies all four of the ‘limbs’ of the test contained in the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Details of the Subsidy control act can be found Subsidy Control Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk).