X-onics Ltd, a UK-Bangladesh joint venture company, organised a free workshop for engineers and technicians on digital manufacturing and digital reverse engineering for mold, dice and spare parts in Gazipur on Saturday. Total 25 engineers and technicians nominated by different companies and Bangladesh Engineering Industry Owners Association participated in it.
At the beginning of the workshop, while virtually addressing the inaugural session of the workshop, technical consultant of the company Dr Mahbubunnabi Tamal said that plastic goods worth more than Tk 28,000 crore are sold in the local market of Bangladesh every year.
To produce this amount of plastic goods, around Tk 10,000 core of injection mold is required and only 30-40 per cent of these are facilitated by local entrepreneurs, explained Dr Tamal, also an associate professor at Dammam University, KSA, and former researcher at The University of Manchester, UK.
“Capacity building in digital manufacturing with sophisticated computerised simulation can increase skill, productivity and reduce material consumption compared to traditional trial and error-based methods. Overall, it can help reduce not only the dependency on foreign suppliers but also the carbon footprint in manufacturing industries,” he opined.
Dr Tamal further said Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BPGMEA) expects a 20 percent yearly growth in domestic sales; the trade body estimates that per capita consumption of plastic goods in the country will reach 35 kg by 2030, which currently stands at 9 kg.
If Bangladesh can capture 1.0 percent of the world market, it is possible to export products worth more than Tk 6,000 crore every year, added Dr. Tamal.
Officials of Exonic Limited said that there is a plan to organize similar workshops on a larger scale in the future in coordination with various business organizations. Organizers believe that the use of digital manufacturing through computerized simulations will increase the efficiency of local manufacturers while increasing productivity and reducing import dependence. The use of this technology will also reduce harmful carbon emissions in the atmosphere.
