A Midlands firm which is ‘changing all the rules’ of manufacturing components for the aerospace, automotive and medical sectors is going from strength to strength after marking a year in business.
Innovate 2 Make (i2M) was launched in July 2012 before beginning trading in December and has worked with some of the UK’s major players in the sectors, including Formula 1 teams, to adopt Additive Manufacturing (AM) into production processes.
The company has invested heavily in an EOS laser melting platform at its base on Tachbrook Park Industrial Estate in Leamington and is being supported by Midlands chartered accountants Spencer Gardner Dickins.
Within its first six months of trading, i2M has won work with Formula 1 teams to design and create lighter components such as roll hoops – making significant weight and cost savings.
But it was a fashion company which first sought the support of i2M to create a titanium stiletto.
Director Ian Campbell said: “This is 24/7 lights out manufacturing, and from a design point of view we are able to design components from the inside outward.
“For instance we’re able to use this technology to create ‘impossible’ geometrics, which is incredible to see and is changing all the rules of creating complex components.
“The AM process works directly from the Computer Aided Design model (3D CAD) and orients the components and slices the CAD data into layers which are then drawn in the build using a laser onto a powder bed containing fine metallic particles. Each layer is grown together to produce a final component.