Lancaster businesses offered funded training to 3D print their own parts, products and prototypes

Lancaster businesses can now send staff on a government funded course that teaches them to design and 3D print the parts, products and prototypes they would otherwise buy in or wait for from suppliers.

The 3D Printing, 3D CAD and Industry 4.0 Skills Bootcamp is delivered by 3D 360 Skills Training in partnership with the Lancashire Skills & Employment Hub.

On the hands-on days, learners build a 3D printer, which they receive free of charge, and learn to run and maintain it.

They also learn to design their own parts on a computer using free software.

The programme has trained more than 2,500 learners and more than 800 employers have benefited from it.

For firms, the practical uses range from replacing a broken component that nobody stocks to testing a prototype or making a product to sell.

3D printing can also produce things that conventional manufacturing struggles to make. Complex shapes, internal channels and even moving parts such as working hinges and complex gears can come out of a single print with no assembly, which surprises many people who are new to the technology.

The course goes beyond the printer. Learners also study Industry 4.0, including AI, robotics and automation, the Internet of Things, cyber security and big data, VR and AR, and how to commercialise 3D printing.

The 10 training days must be completed within 16 weeks and the dates are flexible. Six days are delivered live online and four are hands-on practical days in person, taken one at a time on a schedule that fits around work, with evening and weekend sessions available. Most learners choose to finish in eight weeks.

Paul Bullock, managing director of 3D 360 Skills Training, said: “Some learners arrive having never touched a 3D printer and a little unsure what to expect.

“Alongside them might be someone with years of experience in industry who wants to put new skills to work. By the end, every one of them has built their own printer and knows how to design for it.”

The training is funded by UK Government for people aged 19 or over on August 31 2026 who work in Lancashire. Employers can put staff through the course at a heavily subsidised rate, and funded places are limited.

More information is available at 3d360printer.co.uk/training-courses/funded-3d-printing-cad-training