LAUNCHING and INAUGURATION of the ADVANCE MANUFACTURING CENTER

 

MESSAGE

Fortunato T. de la Peña

Secretary

Department of Science and Technology

Launching and Inauguration of the Advanced Manufacturing Center

June 14, 2021

Our esteemed guests,

DTI Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, DOF Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, DBM Secretary Wendel E. Avisado, NEDA Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua, represented by Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon, DPWH Secretary Mark A. Villar, represented by Undersecretary Roberto R. Bernardo;

Our very own, DOST Undersecretary, Dr. Rowena Cristina L. Guevara, DTI Undersecretary Rafaelita M. Aldaba, and Taguig City Mayor Lino Edgardo S. Cayetano;

Our partners, technology providers, supporters; our valued stakeholders; friends from the media; 

ladies and gentlemen, magandang umaga sa inyo! 

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Inauguration and Grand Launching of the Advanced Manufacturing Center, a Philippines’ first. The Advanced Manufacturing Center, or AMCen, aims to be the Center of Excellence and premier hub for additive manufacturing.

The DOST’s long-term vision is to be the provider of world-class scientific, technological, and innovative solutions that will lead to higher productivity and better quality of life, benefiting the Filipino people. By 2022, the DOST envisions to be a leading Science, Technology, and Innovation Hub in the ASEAN region. Building the AMCen is a crucial strategy to achieve this goal. 

Additive Manufacturing (AM), the process of building an object layer-by-layer from a digital model, plays an important role for the DOST’s vision, more specifically, on increasing the country’s competitiveness as we seek to join other global players in partaking of opportunities brought about by the fourth industrial revolution or more commonly, Industry 4.0.

As described by Dilberoglu et al. in Procedia Manufacturing, on The Role of Additive Manufacturing in the era of Industry 4.0, Industry 4.0 aims to build smart factories by offering cyber and physical systems. The idea in this industrial revolution is to gather and analyze information from physical entities such as products, machines, and production lines from the Internet of Things (IoT); Big Data from consumers and suppliers; and the processing of all available information via cloud computing. All these processed information are then utilized for smart manufacturing. 

Smart manufacturing necessitates the need for mass customization, which is currently impossible with conventional manufacturing techniques. This is where Additive Manufacturing (or AM) comes in. AM enables the production of highly customized and complex-shaped objects using existing and newly developed advanced materials.

With this in mind, the DOST funded the construction of AMCen, with a total budget of 10 Million dollars, including the Materials Development Laboratory of the DOST-ITDI. In September 2019, we were also here at the MIRDC to celebrate the Philippine Additive 

Manufacturing day. Back then, the land where AMCen is now, was an old Citric Plant. Layer by layer, we built the AMCen. 

Despite the global pandemic which started last March 2020, hindi tayo huminto.  We went against all odds to build the Philippines’ first additive manufacturing facility, granting workers for a skeletal workforce system. 

Fast forward to today, March 2021.  Here we are, inside the AMCen, surrounded by world-class and cutting-edge 3D printing equipment and technologies. Quoting Usec. Guevara from AM day, ‘we are aiming to be ahead of everyone else, globally, in the next five years. One of our visions is that we, Filipinos, will be as good at AM as we are at BPO’s.’

The inauguration of AMCen is just the beginning. The DOST will continue its support to AMCen for the development of a pool of AM experts, and for the expansion of its capabilities. In the near future, we will explore the applications of 3D printing in other fields, such as bio-printing for medical applications, and 3D printing of electronic components to support the semiconductor industry, among others. Soon, expect more trained engineers, scientists, and well-versed technicians achieving prominent breakthroughs in the development of innovative additive manufacturing technologies, products, processes, and materials.

The DOST will continue supporting our innovators from different sectors requiring additive manufacturing in their technological applications. We will get there, the Philippines’ global competitiveness index number will rise as we play our role in terms of science and technological advancements.

All of these will not be possible without the fruitful efforts of the MIRDC and the ITDI project leaders of AMCen, Engr. Fred P. Liza and the retired Dr. Blessie Basilia, now succeeded by Dr. Marianito Margarito, along with their project teams, the RAPPID-ADMATEC personnel, and the MATDEV team. I also would like to acknowledge the support of the MIRDC and the ITDI Executive Directors, Engr. Robert O. Dizon and Dr. Annabelle V. Briones; our partners from the different sectors: the academe, start-ups, the government, our technology partners, and the industry. Together, we are going beyond the conventional.

From this day onwards, we will witness our AM success story unfold – and with our success story comes the success of Filipinos.  

More power to AMCen.  More power to the collaborators and partners.  More power to all of us who will be behind all of AMCen’s success stories in the years to come.

Maraming salamat po.

We are currently in constant communication with AM consultants, ASTM and universities, in developing curriculum and training materials for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students. As for our in-house engineers, scientists, and technicians, their next tranche of overseas training will commence once the travel restrictions have been lifted.