Mainebiz reports on Center for Additive Manufacturing of Metals
Mainebiz reported on the University of Maine’s Center for Additive Manufacturing of Metals (CAMM), which focuses on 3D printing of metal objects and is based in the Advanced Manufacturing Center. “This is going to be the inaugural year of using this technology, and I’m excited to see how that pans out,” said UMaine undergraduate Alex Watson, a mechanical engineering major working at CAMM. Watson said he plans to use the 3D metal printing equipment for his senior capstone. The center, one of the first at a U.S. university, isn’t just for academic purposes, the article states. It’s also for businesses, including 35 companies that pitched in to fund the facility. John Belding, director of the Advanced Manufacturing Center and co-director of CAMM, told Mainebiz he sees great promise for the new system, which fuses smaller metal particles together through 3D printing to form solid metal objects. “This technology is a keeper,” he said. Brett Ellis, assistant professor of electrical engineering technology and co-director of CAMM, said he is enthusiastic about the research possibilities offered by the center. “What will separate us from others is the research and education piece,” he said. “The next question is design, and how do you make this stuff work? We all have the expertise and the skill sets to make this happen.”