Undergrads build with new metal 3-D printer

Recently, the Department of Mechanical Engineering acquired a new ExOne Innovent Research and Education 3-D Printer, which is designed to educate the next generation of scientists and engineers. The NextManufacturing Center, which will house the metal 3-D printer in its additive manufacturing facility, believes that the Innovent will be a great tool for students interested in manufacturing and materials science because of its compact size and straightforward instructions. With the Innovent, students can now print their own 3-D models from industry-grade materials at a much lower cost than other metal 3-D printers.

Carnegie Mellon University is currently the only U.S. university to offer metals additive manufacturing to its undergraduate students, and the acquisition of the Innovent will allow the hundreds of students who take courses that address additive manufacturing to create the metal parts they design.

The NextManufacturing Center acquired the Innovent in order to reach more students and reduce program costs. Before acquiring the Innovent, professors like MechE’s Jack Beuth taught students the fundamentals of metal 3-D printing using a polymer printer, the CubePro 3-D printer, because it was too expensive to use the center’s other metal 3-D printers for such a big group.

The NextManufacturing Center stresses that employers are searching for students with additive manufacturing experience, and they understand that their students must learn how to both design and print parts to succeed in their careers. Engineering students at Carnegie Mellon now have an even greater opportunity to hone their skills with the ExOne Innovent 3-D Printer. By using this machine, future scientists and engineers will gain hands-on experience they can use in the professional world.