Taiwan’s National Applied Research Labs (NAR Labs) and China
Medical University Hospital (CMUH) have come together to establish a strategic
partnership with the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC)
in Singapore.
An international cooperation signing ceremony was organised on
27 March, where the parties jointly announced that they will collaborate on a range
of 3D
printing initiatives focused on bio-medical applications, in the areas of
education, research, translation, and commercialisation.
The parties to the
agreement
Singapore announced plans in 2013 to invest S$500
million (US$380 million) in 3D printing under a Future
of Manufacturing scheme.
NAMIC is a national programme initiative in Singapore, led
by NTUitive, the Innovation and
Enterprise Company of Nanyang Technological University (NTU), to translate
upstream 3D printing research in universities and Institute of Higher Learnings
(IHLs) into downstream commercial applications, as well as lower barriers for
companies to incorporate additive manufacturing technologies into their core
businesses. It is supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF), Prime
Minister’s office, in partnership with SPRING Singapore and the Singapore
Economic Development Board (EDB).
The founding cluster members of NAMIC include the National University of Singapore Centre for Additive Manufacturing (AM.NUS), Nanyang Technological University Singapore Centre for 3D Printing (SC3DP), and the Digital Manufacturing and Design Centre (DManD) of the Singapore University of Technology and Design.
This is the second international collaboration initiative
from NAMIC. The first such collaboration was initiated in October 2017 with Shanghai Additive Manufacturing Association (SAMA) and Shanghai Additive Manufacturing Innovation Centre (SAMIC).
This initiative is in line with the Taiwan Government’s
Southbound Policy which aims to enhance cooperation and exchanges between
Taiwan and 18 countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia and Australasia.
To strengthen the competitive advantage of Taiwan's industry
in medical grade 3D-printing manufacturing, "NARLabs Medical Instrument
Value Creation Alliance" was established in 2014 and is headquartered at
the ITRC (Instrument
Technology Research Center). The alliance actively expands the industry value
through chain integration, in which Tongtai Machine & Tool and TTMC are key
strategic partners. Further, on 14th July 2016, NARLabs, Tongtai Machine &
Tool, China Steel, and TTMC launched a 3D-printing Joint Laboratory in Hsinchu Biomedical Park to develop
medical material and manufacturing equipment domestically, and announced a
collaboration to promote Taiwanese biotech and medical equipment on the global
market.
CMUH is the first integrated Chinese and western medicine
hospital in Taiwan. A 3D Printing Medical Research & Development Center was
set up in collaboration with Asia University, Taiwan, and the Georgia Institute
of Technology (Georgia Tech) over three years ago. The Centre carries out
advanced R&D of medical technology related to 3D printing and develops
customised biomedical devices.
The
three-party cooperation will bring international resources, funding, and
research team into the Hsinchu Biomedical Park. This will deepen the
mutual understanding between the Taiwanese and international
teams. At the same time, the access to international market resources and
marketing channels will promote Taiwan's biotechnology sector.