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16 I Companies & Markets bne May 2017
GE and the Czech government say Czech universities such as the Czech Technical University (CTU) in Prague will be critical partners for the success of the project. And here lies another major problem for AM in the Czech Republic, which is that there is a lack of experts with the necessary technical ability and experience in the country and wider region.
The Prague School of Economics/EY survey notes there is a limited amount of additive technology professionals in the labour market due in part to insufficient supply of relevant fields of study at technical schools and universities. 38% of the companies surveyed cited a lack of know-how as one of the main obstacles to the introduction of 3D printing.
“The Czech companies are looking for partners, for instance the product companies need young engineers who can design the parts and they need to be educated at the technical univer- sities, and so these universities need to start completely new forms of studies,” says Renishaw’s Fiala, adding that CTU has opened a new department focused on metal AM, the Brno Uni- versity of Technology has one focused on plastics AM, while the Technical University of Ostrava is preparing to open a new AM study program.
In April, the biggest digital laboratory in the Czech Republic opened its doors at the South Moravian Innovation Centre in Brno. Entrepreneurs and members of the public can sign up to use 3D printers and other cutting-edge technologies at Fab Lab Brno.
IDC’s Kuban says the “painpoint” of many CEE companies is that they are unable to expand the number of people with cor- responding 3D experience, especially designers who can not only use 3D tools, but also “think 3D”.
“Unfortunately, educational institutions in CEE have not joined the 3D technology trend at its nascent phase. It will take schools at least another five years to close the gap by supply- ing graduates with digital/3D skills relevant to the CEE labour market,” he says. “Especially, technical schools have been responding with purchases of AM technology to give future engineers hands-on experience, which will be greatly valued by their future employers. In a next step, schools should focus on better accessibility of the AM technology to students. Some AM vendors, especially local ones, also actively support educational institutions, for instance, during our research we have found references to Y Soft Corporation, Zortrax or MCAE Systems that collaborate with schools to popularize AM.”
Even though many smaller local manufacturers are still being put off by the costs of acquiring equipment and the expense
of training and hiring employees, while also worrying that
3D printing could harm their businesses through the process of reshoring, IDC insists that avoiding going down the AM route would be a mistake. “This approach could prove risky, or even disastrous, as competitive gaps in 3D printing experience will be difficult or impossible to close once market transfor- mation is over. In short, the future of manufacturing will not favour those that forestall innovation,” says Kuban.
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