UMaine has unveiled a next-generation printer that’s 4x bigger than its predecessor – surpassing its personal 2019 Guinness World Report for the most important polymer 3D printer. The brand new printer, dubbed Manufacturing unit of the Future 1.0 (FoF 1.0), was unveiled on April 23 on the Superior Buildings and Composites Heart (ASCC) to an viewers that included representatives from the US Division of Protection, the US Division of Vitality, the Maine State Housing Authority, business companions, and different stakeholders who plan to make the most of this know-how.
The thermoplastic polymer printer is designed to print objects as giant as 96 toes lengthy by 32 toes extensive by 18 toes excessive and may print as much as 500 kilos per hour. It provides new alternatives for eco-friendly and cost-effective manufacturing for quite a few industries, together with nationwide safety, inexpensive housing, bridge development, ocean and wind vitality applied sciences, and maritime vessel fabrication. The design and fabrication of this printer and hybrid manufacturing system was made attainable with assist from the Workplace of the Secretary of Protection by way of the US Military Corps of Engineers.
The FoF 1.0 dynamically switches between numerous processes comparable to large-scale AM, subtractive manufacturing, steady tape layup, and robotic arm operations. Entry to it and MasterPrint, the ASCC’s first world-record-breaking 3D printer, will streamline manufacturing innovation analysis on the heart. The 2 giant printers can collaborate by sharing the identical end-effectors or by engaged on the identical half.
“UMaine and the Superior Buildings and Composites Heart possess the innovation, capability, and workforce to assist the longer term wants of the Division of Protection in superior manufacturing,” stated Susan Collins, US Senate. “It is a nice day for our College, our State, and our Nation. I congratulate President Joan Ferrini-Mundy and Dr. Habib Dagher on one other essential milestone and sit up for witnessing this Heart’s continued innovation that’s invaluable to our nationwide safety.”
Since fiscal 12 months 2022, Senator Collins, Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Subcommittee on Protection, has secured greater than $93 million in assist of this initiative and different protection tasks on the ASCC.
“FoF 1.0 opens up new analysis frontiers to combine these collaborative robotics operations at a really giant scale with new sensors, high-performance computing, and synthetic intelligence to create born-certified methods that meet high-quality requirements,” stated Habib Dagher Govt Director of the ASCC. “We’re grateful for Senator Collins’ assist, for assist from Maine’s congressional delegation, and for collaborations with the Division of Protection, Division of Vitality, Oak Ridge Nationwide Labs, Maine Housing, and our business companions right here in Maine and past.”
The Guinness World Report-holding 3D printer will advance numerous initiatives, together with the event of biobased feedstocks from wooden residuals ample in Maine. This know-how will advance commercialization efforts comparable to BioHome3D and the creation of sustainable, inexpensive housing, whereas additionally propelling essential technological developments for nationwide safety, notably in light-weight quickly deployable buildings and vessel applied sciences.
“The Division of Protection has been advancing composites and manufacturing applied sciences with the College of Maine ASCC for almost 20 years. The newest improvements in manufacturing, composite applied sciences, and supplies coming from our universities have and can proceed to be instrumental to the safety and financial vitality of the US and its allies and companions worldwide,” stated Heidi Shyu, Undersecretary of Protection for Analysis and Engineering and Chief Know-how Officer for the Division of Protection.
“I wish to congratulate the College of Maine on reaching yet one more main analysis and improvement milestone and thank our state, federal, business, and philanthropic companions for his or her steadfast assist that makes this progress for Maine attainable. With this huge new 3D printer and the soon-to-be-built Inexperienced Engineering and Supplies Manufacturing unit of the Future, Maine’s R1 college will additional its international management in superior manufacturing and supplies science, guarantee our flagship is a vacation spot for training and analysis on the intersection of engineering and computing, and speed up options that strengthen the state’s economic system and communities,” stated Dannel Malloy, System Chancellor at UMaine.
“This new functionality not solely reinforces UMaine’s Carnegie R1 analysis designation but additionally reaffirms our standing as leaders in composite supplies analysis and superior manufacturing. With the participation of various departments, college, college students, and college companions, in the present day stands as a testomony to UMaine’s dedication to collaborative excellence. It not solely empowers us to nurture the leaders of tomorrow but additionally ignites progress and prosperity inside Maine’s native industries and throughout the nationwide stage,” stated Joan Ferrini-Mundy, President of UMaine.
The FoF 1.0 unveiling comes forward of this summer season’s deliberate groundbreaking of a brand new 47,000-square-foot analysis laboratory referred to as the Inexperienced Engineering and Supplies (GEM) Manufacturing unit of the Future. Scheduled for a gap in August, the power is positioned to boost manufacturing innovation throughout a number of sectors. Its major intention is to facilitate and scale up extra sustainable manufacturing practices by introducing next-generation options and biomaterials, addressing challenges comparable to a diminishing workforce and strained provide chains with native options.
“Maine wants an estimated 80,000 extra houses by 2030, many particularly for households with incomes at or beneath the world median earnings. This new know-how permits UMaine-ASCC to scale up its analysis and manufacturing of its progressive biobased 3D printed residence know-how,” stated Mark Wiesendanger, Director of MaineHousing’s Improvement. “This effort creates one other means of manufacturing high quality inexpensive housing, whereas additional driving prices down, and utilizing ample wooden residuals from Maine’s sawmills. We sit up for persevering with our collaboration with Dr. Dagher, the employees, and college students at UMaine/ASCC in demonstrating how 3D printed houses and different next-generation housing applied sciences will shortly and effectively contribute to enhancing Maine’s housing inventory.”
The analysis facility won’t solely scale up superior manufacturing processes but additionally discover progressive supplies methods by prioritizing recycled and biobased supplies. Maine, essentially the most forested state within the nation, yearly produces a couple of million tons of wooden residuals in its sawmills, which can be utilized as feedstock for 3D printing. As well as, UMaine, with the GEM initiative, has prioritized manufacturing workforce improvement by providing experiential studying and entrepreneurial coaching packages geared toward nurturing the following era of leaders.
In tandem with analysis and improvement, the GEM Manufacturing unit of the Future aligns with the formation of the Maine Faculty of Engineering and Computing (MCEC), a statewide initiative funded by the Harold Alfond Basis as a part of UMS TRANSFORMS that prioritizes growing a workforce ready for the more and more interconnected and digital international economic system.
“The Maine Faculty of Engineering and Computing is proud to be a powerful companion in growing the Manufacturing unit of the Future 1.0. This partnership brings collectively engineering and materials applied sciences along with superior computing, creating unprecedented hands-on studying experiences in superior manufacturing for our college students and offering venues to develop new lessons, digital credentials, and new majors,” stated Giovanna Guidoboni, Inaugural Dean of MCEC.
