White House Week of Making: Carnegie Mellon Experts Project Top-10 "What's Hot in 3-D Printing Out of Metal"

PITTSBURGH--()--In conjunction with the inaugural National Maker Faire and the White House Week of Making kicking off this week in Washington D.C., Carnegie Mellon experts have projected the top 10 things to be 3-D printed out of metal:

Top Ten What’s Hot in 3-D Printing Out of Metal (graphic: www.engineering.cmu.edu/metals-top-ten)

1. High Performance Racing Car Parts

2. Custom Dental Implants

3. Jewelry

4. Metal Art

5. Classic Car Parts

6. Custom Surgical Tools

7. High Performance Bicycle Parts

8. Leg Braces

9. Lightweight Jet Engine Parts

10. Hip and Knee Replacement Parts

“At Carnegie Mellon, we have many faculty working to improve 3-D printing of metals, from powder properties and manufacturing outcomes to cost and public policy issues,” said Jack Beuth, professor of mechanical engineering and director of the NextManufacturing Center at Carnegie Mellon University. “Much of this learning is being applied to jet engine parts but the technology is already beginning to trickle down to a wide variety of custom metal components and replacement parts.”

Beuth’s research focuses on mapping outcomes of various 3-D printing processes, also known as additive manufacturing, to ultimately make the process faster and cheaper when applied to metals. This past semester, Beuth taught the course Additive Manufacturing for Engineers, integrating business, design and engineering aspects of product development while introducing undergraduate students to all types of 3-D printing.

Zachary Francis, the course’s teaching assistant, has been selected to showcase the products developed and printed during Beuth’s additive manufacturing course at the inaugural National Maker Faire in Washington, D.C.

“The course teaches students about a technology which is becoming increasingly more important in industry,” said Francis, a second-year Ph.D. student in the mechanical engineering department. “It gives students experience in the new and evolving field of 3-D printing and allows them to create new designs with the needs and desires of customers in mind.”

A team of students from Carnegie Mellon’s Integrated Innovation Institute has also been selected to present at the inaugural National Maker Faire. These students will showcase their project on portable, heated homeless shelters that provides the homeless a new and easy way to stay warm during the cold winter season.

The inaugural National Maker Faire, to be held at the University of the District of Columbia from June 12-13, will bring inventors, tinkerers, and makers of all ages and expertise to share their creations and ideas in the company of other curious and inventive people from around the nation. Over 215,000 people were in attendance at the two flagship Maker Faires in San Francisco and New York City in 2014.

About the College of Engineering: The College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University is a top-ranked, engineering college that is known for our intentional focus on cross-disciplinary collaboration in research. The College is well known for working on problems of both scientific and practical importance. Our acclaimed faculty have a focus on innovation management and engineering to yield transformative results that will drive the intellectual and economic vitality of our community, nation and world. The College offers graduate and undergraduate degree programs in biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, civil and environmental engineering, electrical and computer engineering, engineering and public policy, information networking, materials science and engineering and mechanical engineering. Our “maker” culture is ingrained in all that we do, leading to novel approaches and transformative results.

Contacts

College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University
Daniel Tkacik, 412-268-1187
dtkacik@andrew.cmu.edu

Release Summary

Carnegie Mellon experts have projected the top 10 things to be 3-D printed out of metal.

Contacts

College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University
Daniel Tkacik, 412-268-1187
dtkacik@andrew.cmu.edu