Not long after Taiwan held the first symposium of its Additive Manufacturing of Taiwan (AMAT) institute, the country’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) has announced in a recent report that it will be launching a three-year program too, to cultivate local 3D printing capabilities. The ministry has planned to devote NT$70 million (US$2.33 million) annually to encourage the growth of 3D printing throughout Taiwan.
In its report, the MOST issued a few steps that will be taken over the course of the program. For instance, the ministry acknowledged that, at the moment, 3D printing still suffers in terms of output quality and production efficiency, issues that will need to be tackled by the program. The report also noted that, during the program’s first year, the MOST will seed 3D printing capabilities in academia and industry, urging the formation of strategic partnerships between the two, in order to catch up with the advances made by other countries in the international community. The program will also perform R&D to develop specific devices, such as those for metal molding and dentistry.
The MOST insists that Taiwan is a strong competitor in the fields of information and communications technology and, therefore, hopes to do the same in 3D printing, through the use of cloud technology. Though he may not be representative of the Taiwanese government’s views as whole, the Republic of China has gone a long way to embracing the technology since Foxconn founder, Terry Gou, labelled additive manufacturing “a gimmick” in June of last year.
Source: Focus Taiwan
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