Pratt & Whitney Backs Additive Manufacturing Center at UConn

Although additive manufacturing (AM) has been embraced by the manufacturing sector, the technology still has plenty of room for continued improvement. New research and development centers are popping up to further this goal. The US government has backed AM with NAMII, and recently Virginia launched its own development center, CCAM.

Now, the University of Connecticut (UConn), in partnership with Pratt & Whitney, has opened the Pratt & Whitney Additive Manufacturing Innovation Center. This new center will focus on AM with metal materials, an area of research with great potential for the engine manufacturer. In addition to the potential manufacturing impact, the center will also provide training and education for engineering and design students.

“The University of Connecticut’s outstanding technical capacity complements our fundamental research needs and will help us continue to grow our additive manufacturing capabilities,” said Paul Adams, Pratt & Whitney’s COO. “Additive manufacturing is complementary to traditional methods by enabling new innovation in design, speed and affordability, and is necessary to build the next generation of jet engines.”

The center will begin with two Arcam EBM A2X AM systems and, in addition to aerospace research, will investigate how the technology can be used to better serve biomedical science and other industries. Pratt & Whitney have invested $4.5 million in the center and will add another $3.5 million to that total over the next five years.

In addition to providing education and research, the center will also be a landmark feature in UConn’s plans for a new technology park scheduled to open in 2015. The university plans to push forward with education for manufacturing with degree concentrations and a new curriculum designed with AM in mind. UConn will also be inviting other companies to partner with it to learn how AM can improve their businesses.

With understanding about the importance of AM on the rise, expect to see other such partnerships in the future. Even if the federal government’s plan for a total of 15 research and development centers, of which NAMII is the pilot, never sees completion, private/public partnerships to further AM are in the manufacturing sector’s best interests.

Below you’ll find a video about the new research and education center at UConn.

Source: UConn