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New additive manufacturing consortium sets out to unlock the potential of 3-D printing in the US

July 26th, 2016 Hannah Diorio-Toth
New additive manufacturing consortium sets out to unlock the potential of 3-D printing in the US
Credit: Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering.

If 3-D printing is only viewed through the lens of plastic trinkets or simple prototypes, it could be misconstrued by some as a passing fad or a technological flash in the pan. But 3-D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, should not be underestimated. This technology is changing how everything can be manufactured, from airplane parts to custom hip replacements. "Additive manufacturing is here now, and it's here to stay," says Carnegie Mellon University Professor of Mechanical Engineering and NextManufacturing Center Director Jack Beuth.

As one of the world's leading research centers for additive manufacturing, the NextManufacturing Center is defining the future of the field with its commitment to overcoming the challenges of this evolving technology so it can join the ranks of other mainstream manufacturing processes. The center will use these challenges not only as a focus for research, but also as a testbed for developing new tools for a broad range of complex manufacturing processes. Recently, the center has taken a significant step forward in this goal by creating the NextManufacturing Center Consortium. The consortium brings together major players in industry, nonprofit, and government to share knowledge and ideas with the goal of unlocking the potential of additive manufacturing in the United States.

For businesses, additive manufacturing has many benefits including major product customization (both aesthetically and mechanically), less waste than traditional manufacturing processes, and on-demand capabilities. But there are still kinks to iron out—challenges which NextManufacturing Center researchers plan to tackle in the next five years. Harnessing the power of collaboration, the consortium will quickly disseminate these research findings into real-world manufacturing applications in order to increase the widespread adoption of additive manufacturing technology.

"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," says College of Engineering Dean James H. Garrett. "This new consortium is an important opportunity to bring leading industry, government, and nonprofit insight into the center's research goals."

The NextManufacturing Center Consortium's 11 founding members are leading companies and organizations from across the country who are interested in optimizing the design, materials, and processes of additive manufacturing for applications such as aerospace and automotive. (Please see full list of founding members below.)

Notably, industrial additive manufacturing leader General Electric Company (GE) will join the NextManufacturing Center Consortium as the founding premium member. GE will take a unique role in the center's research as well as receive specialized additive manufacturing training in the center.

"GE is proud to continue our collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University, which we already partner with on a robotics accelerator, and with Pittsburgh, where we just opened a Center for Additive Technology Advancement in April," said Edward D. Herderick, GE's Additive Technologies Leader. "In order to be competitive globally, we need to strengthen the skills of the workforce and propel the industry forward. This consortium, made up of strong advocates and partners that believe in additive manufacturing, is an important step in maturing advanced manufacturing technologies and processes, so we can precisely and cost-effectively accelerate the speed of industrial innovation."

These consortium partnerships, including corporations such as GE, will open up new pathways for NextManufacturing Center researchers to think about additive manufacturing design, research fundamental elements across all additive manufacturing processes and materials, evaluate new tools and methods, develop critical knowledge and experience, and train the next generation of additive manufacturing professionals.

"Collaborating across disciplines and with outside companies has been a huge reason that we have been able to deliver such impactful results here in the NextManufacturing Center," says Anthony Rollett, professor of materials science and engineering and NextManufacturing associate director. "We are very excited that the NextManufacturing Center Consortium is creating more valuable partnerships for Carnegie Mellon's additive manufacturing researchers. These collaborations will not only ensure that our research directly targets real-world problems, but that real-world problems directly influence our research."

Launching the NextManufacturing Center Consortium

The NextManufacturing Center held a launch event on July 22nd, welcoming approximately 75 guests to Carnegie Mellon's campus to celebrate the center and the important partnerships created by this newly formed consortium. The guest list included consortium founding members, NextManufacturing faculty and students, prominent faces from regional government and industry, Carnegie Mellon Vice Provost for Research Gary Fedder, and College of Engineering Dean James H. Garrett.

The launch event began with a speaking program about the new consortium and the role this technology plays in the future of manufacturing and regional economic development. The event was emceed by Sandra DeVincent Wolf, executive director for the NextManufacturing Center and associate director for research partnerships in the College of Engineering. Speakers included Carnegie Mellon's Garrett, Beuth, and Rollett, along with Director of Allegheny County Economic Development Bob Hurley and Chief of the Manufacturing and Industrial Technologies Division at the Air Force Research Laboratory Roland Dutton. Attendees also got a sampling of the center's cutting-edge research at table demonstrations and a poster session. Faculty and students highlighted research in a variety of topics including 3-D bioprinting, machine vision for additive manufacturing, metals additive manufacturing processes and parts, and printing soft materials for medical applications. Following the launch event, the founding consortium members met for their first membership and advisory board meetings to officially begin their new partnerships and start to define research projects for the consortium.

"This is a big moment for the NextManufacturing Center, but also for the field of additive manufacturing," says Beuth. "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."

NextManufacturing Center Consortium founding members:

More information:
Hannah Diorio-Toth
hdiorio@andrew.cmu.edu
412-268-1208

Provided by Carnegie Mellon University Materials Science and Engineering

Citation: New additive manufacturing consortium sets out to unlock the potential of 3-D printing in the US (2016, July 26) retrieved 30 September 2025 from https://sciencex.com/wire-news/230992611/new-additive-manufacturing-consortium-sets-out-to-unlock-the-pot.html
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