Contest Win Earns YSU a Trumpf 3D Printer
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — A new Trumpf Inc TruPrint 1000 3D printer is coming to Youngstown State University for a year after a win at a national research contest focused on additive manufacturing.
YSU, Drexel University in Pennsylvania and the University of Michigan were all winners among 22 applicants at the competition last fall that tasked universities, colleges and research institutes to outline specific research projects using the TruPrint 1000. The Trumpf printer will be located in a collaboration space for metal additive manufacturing at the Youngstown Business Incubator and America Makes in downtown Youngstown.
“This is yet another prime indicator of YSU’s continuing emergence as a national center for excellence in advanced and additive manufacturing,” said Eric MacDonald, YSU professor of electrical and computer engineering and the Friedman Chair for manufacturing.
The equipment will be used in two additive manufacturing courses offered by YSU, as well as four research projects shared among six faculty and other local researchers. The group looks to leverage the system to obtain funding from federal agencies including NASA, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation. Small businesses in the region will be recruited to work on Small Business for Innovation and Research federal projects.
Among the research projects is the development of complex fractal-shaped satellite antennas, led by MacDonald. Jason Walker, YSU assistant professor of mechanical and industrial engineering, will use the equipment for research into process parameters for shape memory alloys such as NiTi and NiMnGa, while Pedro Cortes, associate professor of materials science and engineering, will use the printer for research into the production of printed fiber-metal laminates used as cargo containers or skin structures in airplanes such as the A380 and the Boeing 787.
Trumpf, Farmington, Conn., is a manufacturer of fabricating machinery and a leader in lasers used for industrial production technology.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
