AFD Systems accelerates digital transformation with Made Smarter funding

Blackpool based AFD Systems has accessed £20,000 in Made Smarter funding to accelerate digital transformation for advanced engineering and manufacturing.

AFD Systems are working to shape the future of aerospace engineering and the partnership with Made Smarter has enabled the business to unlock new digital capabilities, enter new markets, and rapidly scale our operations.

Prior to engaging with Made Smarter the team already had deep technical expertise and a growing portfolio in systems integration, airframe engineering and additive manufacturing but it recognised a critical opportunity: to integrate advanced 3D scanning technology to join up our design, simulation, and manufacturing processes.

With support from Made Smarter and the technology adoption grant AFD invested in a high-precision 3D laser scanner, capable of capturing geometrical data in fine detail at both component level through to full aircraft surveys.

Garry Sellick, additive manufacturing manager, said: “At the start of the programme our manufacturing division was at its infancy; with minimal equipment and capability.

"Reverse engineering projects began to trickle through but we could only capture data using old-school hand-measurements.

"For complex geometry and critical surfaces, we had to find a better way and it became clear we needed a scanning system.

"That’s when the opportunity came up to integrate 3D scanning technology to support our growing ambitions.

“This was more than an equipment purchase it was the catalyst behind our establishment of a dedicated metrology and reverse engineering team that has continued to invest in the latest software and technology, including a Hexagon measuring arm (CMM).

Jerrod Hartley, chief executive of AFD said: “Our work with Made Smarter has helped accelerate digital transformation across the whole business which has tripled in size since 2022.

"AFD Systems has grown from a small operation to a dynamic team of more than 30 specialists, with plans to expand by a further 20 new engineering apprentices, graduates and experts in the next two years. 

“Digital workflows have enabled AFD to produce hundreds of parts each year, with a strategic target of more than 1,500 annually over the next five years.

"To develop a highly skilled and digitally enabled workforce we’ve taken on apprentices and upskilled a dedicated team within our manufacturing division, supporting our mission to address the aerospace skills gap by ‘growing our own’.

As AFD pushes into new markets and develops its own future product lines, the foundations laid-down with Made Smarter will continue to fuel momentum and enable further growth.

It comes after Lancashire Business View reported how Airframe Designs had announced a strategic rebrand to AFD Systems to reflect the company's lines of business, services and broader sector reach.