Maine magazine highlights Composites Center’s innovation 

Maine magazine detailed how a research and development team at the University of Maine printed the largest 3D object in the world. “It started as a glob of bioplastic. At the end of 72 hours, it was a 25-foot-long patrol boat weighing 5,000 pounds,” began the feature about how the University of Maine Advanced Structures and Composites Center made national headlines last fall when it unveiled the vessel — the largest 3D printed object in the world, printed by the largest 3D printer. The center has received inquiries from around the world about using the printer to make other objects, from buildings to train cars, said Habib Dagher, executive director of the Advanced Structures and Composites Center. “It’s going to open up and allow entrepreneurs in Maine and beyond Maine to realize things they’ve never realized before.”