About David Wimpenny
Technical Fellow, Advanced Manufacturing Implementation Specialist

David Wimpenny has over 35 years of experience in manufacturing research. He established Additive Manufacturing (AM) research groups at the University of Warwick in 1989 and De Montfort University in 2001, before joining the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in 2011, where he founded the UK’s National Centre for Additive Manufacturing (NCAM).

He spent 23 years in academia, including 10 years as a full Professor, leading AM-focused research teams and teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. His roles included Course Leader for the MSc in Rapid Product Development, one of the earliest degree programs dedicated to AM and related technologies. He has authored over 80 peer-reviewed publications and has made significant contributions to industrial policy and manufacturing strategy development for companies and governments worldwide. He is a long-standing contributor to the Wohlers Report.

David has worked closely with industry partners across automotive, aerospace, defence, and space sectors. He is a Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM). He has been actively involved in early AM standards development, including JG52 (Standard Test Artifacts), and helped establish the European Space Agency (ESA) AM Benchmarking Centre and ASTM AM CoE activities at the MTC.

He brings extensive funding expertise, having successfully secured more than £150 million across a wide range of national and international programs. He has led over 30 major collaborative research projects, including EU FP7 AMAZE (23 partners, €18 million, 4.5 years) and EU H2020 OpenHybrid (13 partners, €6.6 million, 3 years), which have helped pave the way for the production of end-use parts using additive manufacturing.