Carnegie Mellon Launches 3D Print Consortium

Engineers at Carnegie Mellon University have launched an initiative aimed at advancing 3D printing technology in traditional manufacturing. The university has formed a new consortium that will include representatives from industry, government and professional associations, and so far includes participants from GE, Alcoa, U.S. Steel, the Federal Aviation Administration, SAE International and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory.

The group will work in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon’s NextManufacturing Center, which brings together students from the college of engineering, school of computer science, and college of science to develop new ways to use 3D printing in manufacturing.

The center announced the consortium on July 22.

"Additive manufacturing is here now, and it's here to stay," said Jack Beuth, director of the NextManufacturing Center and professor of mechanical engineering. "One of the most important steps in making real progress with this technology is to bring all the key players — academia, industry, government, nonprofits — together to share knowledge, ideas and challenges. It's an integral part of creating a thriving additive manufacturing ecosystem, and today, we get do that here at Carnegie Mellon."

"With Carnegie Mellon's deep history in additive manufacturing research and the innovative ideas of our faculty and students, the NextManufacturing Center is extremely well poised to tackle the challenges of this advancing technology," said James Garrett, dean of the College of Engineering. “This new consortium is an important opportunity to bring leading industry, government and nonprofit insight into the center’s research goals.”

Carnegie Mellon is also leading an America Makes project to develop a computational system and educational materials for the design and manufacture of 3D core structures for the aerospace industry.

Source: Campus Technology