EGCC Begins Installation of New Additive Manufacturing Lab
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – A portion of East Federal Street in downtown was closed off Friday morning – not for construction – but to accommodate a large boom crane as it hoisted a massive 3D printer into place at Eastern Gateway Community College.
The printer, a Tradesman Series P3-44 manufactured at Juggerbot 3D in Youngstown, will serve as the core of EGCC’s new Additive Innovation Center, said Amelia Taggart, EGCC’s director of workforce.
“Over the next two months, we’ll be finishing the room,” Taggart said. The next step is to drop in the electrical infrastructure and then fill the space with approximately a dozen additional desktop 3D printers, desks and other fixtures.
EGCC expects the center, housed in a space at the northwest corner of its building at East Federal and Champion streets, to be completed by the end of the year, Taggart said.
The new 3D printer is part of a $3.5 million grant from the Ohio Department of Development, Taggart said. EGCC partnered with Youngstown-based America Makes – a national advanced manufacturing hub that supports research and development and advocates the use of 3D printing – to secure the funds.
The grant money was released approximately a year ago, she said. It took JuggerBot between nine and 12 months to build the new printer, which stands nearly 9 feet high, 10 feet wide and 5 feet deep.
Taggart said the new center will be focused on introducing the community to additive manufacturing and the role it can play for the future workforce and industry.
“Part of the grant involves outreach,” Taggart said. “We’ll work with schools, community groups and organizations and use America Makes’ curriculum,” she said. That curriculum would also be integrated into EGCC’s academic and training programs.
Taggart said the new center will be marketed toward attracting community organizations; elementary, middle school and high school students; and entrepreneurs who may have an idea for a new product or device they could prototype.
“It’s a maker space,” Taggart said. “It’s about getting the word out and creating outreach regarding what 3D printing is about.”
Pictured at top: A new 3D printer is hoisted into Eastern Gateway Community College.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
