Tauranga's high-tech manufacturing capabilities have taken a huge leap forward with the purchase of a state-of-the-art 3D metals printer and the establishment of a commercially orientated company to operate it.
Rapid Advanced Manufacturing (RAM) took possession of a selective laser melting 3D printer less than two months ago and has already produced a handful of cutting-edge titanium products.
The printer, which cost about $1.2 million to import and install, is the largest commercially available machine of its kind and is a step up on the only other such printer in New Zealand, which is owned by Katikati dental company Triodent and TiDA (Titanium industry Development Association).
The association is a shareholder of RAM, as are its chief executive Warwick Downing and Page Macrae Engineering managing director Ian Macrae, and the two organisations share the same premises at the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic's Windermere campus.
But whereas the association is a research and development organisation, RAM has been set up to be a commercial manufacturer.