Researchers who design parts for rocket ships are looking to help Abu Dhabi become a manufacturing-on-demand hub for major industries like aerospace and energy.
Three-dimensional printing was meant to revolutionise how we made things.
However, over three decades of development, it has not quite caught on — you didn't print your last pair of running shoes from a tabletop machine in your home.
While consumer-facing 3D printing, or additive printing, is likely to remain the stuff of science fiction for some time, its use in modern supply chains is now mainstream.
The manufacturing landscape in the UAE is relatively young comparatively
Nesma Aboulkhair,
Technology Innovation Institute
"Most consumer products, sporting goods, automobiles and aeroplanes have benefited from additive manufacturing at some point in their design and production lifecycle," according to the Wohler's Report, a research publication that has been tracking the industry for the last 28 years.
For example, Boeing uses 3D-printed parts in commercial jet engines manufactured by GE. And if you've driven a Dodge Challenger Hellcat, you've used a 3D-printed rotor to brake.
The 3D printing process reduced the weight of the part by more than half and improved how it handled heat, making it a better performer than a traditionally made cast-iron piece, according to Wohler's.
In Abu Dhabi, a team of seven researchers is working to get a place at the table, which has long been dominated by the US, Germany, the UK and China.
Their work at the additive manufacturing lab at the Technology Innovation Institute, a government-backed entity for applied research, is focused on identifying applications for the local market.
They are also expanding the available library of materials and metals used by 3D printers, identifying mixtures of metallic powders to create high-performing metals that are good heat conductors, strong and lighter weight.
Rocket parts
Down the hall from the additive manufacturing lab at TII is the propulsions and space research centre.
"They work on the design of rocket engines and the rocket parts, then they talk to us," Nesma Aboulkhair, head of the additive manufacturing lab, told The National.
In traditional manufacturing, a rocket engine part may be three separate pieces, she said. But by using their 3D-printing machines and improving their ability to print using multiple materials, Ms Aboulkhair's team are developing a way to print the part as a single piece.
The machines they use are open-source platforms imported from Germany, equipped with sensors and monitors to capture data that helps the team develop better compounds.
"You can print the whole thing in one go ... no fasteners or screws," she said, adding that this capability changes the conversation.
"We push them [propulsions and space research centre] to design for performance, rather than design for manufacturing."
For now, their work is all prototyping, that is building a preliminary model for how something might be made in the future.
Print on demand
Over time, a commercialisation arm of the institute will work with its research labs to identify potential customers in aviation, aerospace, healthcare and energy to bring their best functional devices beyond the prototype to market.
"Let's say that BMW releases a new car, " she added, "they don't have to have spare parts for the next five to 10 years in stock to make sure that they covered the customers for the foreseeable future. All they need is to store a digital inventory of all the spare parts they need and print them on demand.
"That's the vision that we're going for, we want the factory of the future to be manufacturing-on-demand."
No tools are needed for this kind of manufacturing, things can be made one at a time and costs are fixed, making on-demand manufacturing a very competitive way to make things, according to Thierry Rayna, a professor at Ecole Polytechnique in Paris who studies additive manufacturing.
He predicts that once data collection and internet-enabled devices become more ubiquitous, 3D-printed objects "will thus cease to be a niche technology".
"It will then be possible to print a large number of objects ... for which customisation will be fine-tuned and automatic, with real added value," he added.
This capability will allow the UAE to become a more self-sufficient manufacturing hub.
"The manufacturing landscape in the UAE is relatively young comparatively," Ms Aboulkhair said.
She sees 3D printing as allowing the country to leapfrog others.
"We saw in the Covid-19 lockdown that if you didn't manufacture your own things, you were just stuck, because the whole world came to a stop," she added. "So you couldn't get any products or spare parts.
"Whereas the country that was a manufacturer was the one that was self-sufficient. And that's when governments started to realise how additive manufacturing can be empowering and a key enabler."
The institute's research lab dovetails with Abu Dhabi’s industrial strategy, a 10-year plan that aims to double the sector’s GDP contribution by 2031, increasing development in infrastructure, bringing down operational costs and improving regulations and access to financing.
The "Make it in the Emirates" campaign encourages local and international investors to manufacture and export products from the UAE.
Additive manufacturing still has hurdles in order to scale, such as a lack of global standards and the high start-up costs to enter the space.
It's also still time-consuming. At the institute, a small rocket engine prototype part about 13cm in height takes 24 hours to print.
But analysts say the pandemic reignited interest in on-demand manufacturing, and governments, including the UAE's, are doubling down on making progress.
"It's a complete paradigm shift," Ms Aboulkhair said, and her team are working to accelerate the change.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
65
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
SUNDAY'S ABU DHABI T10 MATCHES
Northern Warriors v Team Abu Dhabi, 3.30pm
Bangla Tigers v Karnataka Tuskers, 5.45pm
Qalandars v Maratha Arabians, 8pm
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
FIGHT%20CARD
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
How England have scored their set-piece goals in Russia
Three Penalties
v Panama, Group Stage (Harry Kane)
v Panama, Group Stage (Kane)
v Colombia, Last 16 (Kane)
Four Corners
v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via John Stones header, from Ashley Young corner)
v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via Harry Maguire header, from Kieran Trippier corner)
v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, header, from Trippier corner)
v Sweden, Quarter-Final (Maguire, header, from Young corner)
One Free-Kick
v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, via Jordan Henderson, Kane header, and Raheem Sterling, from Tripper free-kick)
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Honeymoonish
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
The biog
Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists.
Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.
Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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