Advanced Innovative Manufacturing

Advancing Innovative Manufacturing (AIMs) in the South of Scotland is a project led by Dumfries and Galloway Council, which Dumfries and Galloway College are delighted to be a part of, along with Borders College and South Borders Council.

The project aims to provide access and training to digital manufacturing technologies to support SME’s in the South of Scotland. Leading the way in innovation, we want to show how these advanced technologies could help to upskill workforces and increase productivity throughout the region.

Dumfries and Galloway Council has installed several new pieces of equipment at our Dumfries campus to provide access and training for businesses in the South of Scotland. 

We are welcoming businesses to make an appointment, come and view the equipment and talk to the experts about how advanced manufacturing could benefit your business and find the right solution for your workforce. 



Benefits of Advanced Manufacturing

Finding out the needs of businesses and bridging the skills gap in training to use this machinery is the key to developing manufacturing businesses in the South of Scotland and aligning with the future of this growing technology.

Businesses can expect to see many benefits from the training and use of advanced manufacturing equipment, including: 

  • Increased productivity
  • Increased staff morale through investment in their skills and the workplace environment
  • Upskilled workforce ready for the future
  • Ability to grow your business
  • Improved efficiencies across the board – both manual and automated processes

We can help your business

Supporting small/medium sized enterprises (SME’s) in the South of Scotland, advanced manufacturing equipment allows businesses to access state-of-the art technology and equipment which will enhance the efficiency and service quality of your business.

We want to help our region thrive by continuing to grow manufacturing across the South of Scotland – starting with a needs assessment to see how we can tailor a training approach to help your business in the right way to help you progress.

If you’d like to take a tour of the facilities on offer at our Dumfries campus and undertake a needs assessment, you can arrange an appointment and one of our experts will be happy to arrange a viewing and discuss how advanced manufacturing equipment could help your business.


The Equipment

The metal X 3D printer is capable of printing 3D parts in metal – whether you need to create prototypes or a fully-designed model.

This printer allows you to increase the pace in which you can create models, meaning your output and efficiency improves.

The Stratasys 3D is a state-of-the-art polymer printer, capable of printing 3D parts in plastic. This will save your staff time and money without losing the quality of printing.

The precision of this equipment means it is capable of providing accurate measurements of large-scale pieces that are second-to-none in detail.

This is typically thought of as part of the end of line process for verification checks and ensures products are measured with automation, whilst keeping time frames for production down.

A CNC mill provides state-of-the-art versatile machining which emulates the simplicity of a manual mill, combined with the power and flexibility to make it work better for your business.

This piece of equipment is ideal for tool rooms and shops and is largely used for machining blocks of metal.

This machine is incredibly easy to operate, making it an easy transition for your staff, whilst also automating traditionally manual operations such as compound angles, ID and rigid tapping.

This 5 Axis CNC Lathe is generally used for machining circular metal shapes.

hese digital robots work collaboratively with a human to automate processes such as packaging or assembling lids to bottles.

“Coby” the cobot at our Dumfries campus has also proved a great talking piece and showcases a fantastic visual representation of what many see advanced manufacturing as and helps to bring to light the efficiencies that can be made with the help of advanced manufacturing.