ONE day Teddy D. Tiu of Autodesk would become president, and Philippine manufacturing would have a solid advocate.
Pending that, Tiu is recommending small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) adopt three-dimensional (3D) design technology, or at least apply for the $10-million Spark investment fund, the world’s first 3D printing investment program.
No Filipino company has applied for the fund yet, Tiu said in a news briefing on September 30. “We haven’t been aggressively promoting it, I guess,” he told the BusinessMirror when asked why.
Start-ups and SMEs can tap the fund for seed funding in 3D printing innovation. Tiu, Autodesk Asia Pte. Ltd. Philippines country manager, said interested manufacturers can either start with buying the firm’s printer priced at $6,000. Called Ember, it is the first hardware that Autodesk, which sells 3D design, engineering and entertainment software, ventured into.
The alternative cost to that is $100,000, which is a full-scale 3D printer, according to Tiu who aded the printer could be used for modeling or manufacturing small parts.
He explained the printer could also be used for prototyping and allows faster time-to-market and thereby cutting costs to manufacturers.
Tiu said, however, the company can also make their own 3D printer as the source code for Ember is distributed for free by Autodesk.
According to the International Data Corp. (IDC), opportunities abound in the 3D printer market based on an IDC survey.
IDC said in May that 90 percent of respondents at companies that use 3D printing “are ‘very satisfied’ with their experience.”
“Much of this high satisfaction is tied to the business benefits gained from the ongoing use of 3D printers in the creation process,” IDC said.
“If I were president, I’d give my full support to manufacturers who leverage technology in their production process,” Tiu said during the media briefing.
He added he sees a mature manufacturing sector as helping the Philippines become fully prepared in engaging the open Asean market, a trade community composed of members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.