YSU Awarded $1.9M Grant for Hybrid Manufacturing Project

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Youngstown State University has been awarded $1.9 million through America Makes and the Air Force Research Laboratory to investigate the repair process for tooling using a hybrid additive/subtractive process technology. 

The project is a continuation of the hub-and-spoke consortium on hybrid manufacturing that has been active in the Youngstown area for the past several years.

Other project participants include the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of Texas at El Paso, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Youngstown Business Incubator. 

The team will investigate various hybrid technologies based on wire and powder, or a combination of both, to repair metallic parts and tooling of interest to the industrial sector.

“This grant will allow the Youngstown area to remain an integral participant in the national effort to incorporate advanced manufacturing platforms in real world challenges and applications,” said Pedro Cortes, professor of chemical engineering, who will lead the effort for YSU.

The award is being carried out in collaboration with Jackie Ruller, director of the Excellence Training Center, John Carballo, machinist at the Excellence Training Center, and YSU STEM professors Brian Vuksanovich, Holly Martin, Virgil Solomon and Bharat Yelamanchi.

The project uses a laser hot wire cladding Directed Energy Deposition Mazak 3D printer, which was installed at the Excellence Training Center last year. The printer takes advantage of the interwoven benefits associated with the additive process (production of complex shapes and incorporation of cooling channels) and traditional machining (surface finish quality and tight dimensional tolerances) to provide restored metallic tooling and end-use parts.

Pictured at top: The Excellence Training Center at Youngstown State University.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.