UMass Lowell faculty will have a workshop at the upcoming SPE AutoEPCON in Troy, Michigan on May 10, 2016.  Come learn about 3D printing with Engineering Thermoplastics. 

 

This workshop will cover lightweighting and rapid manufacturing as it comes together in the 3D printing of engineered thermoplastics. But there are many different processes (such as fused deposition modeling, selective laser sintering, stereolithography, and polyjet) and materials (such as abs, acetal, nylon, peek, polycarbonate, and polyetherimide). What are the real capabilities and costs? What does the future hold? Well, attending this workshop is a good starting point.

 

Leading experts in the field will provide you with necessary background and tools to assist you with selecting the right manufacturing process and materials for your specific application.

 

This workshop begins with a constructive evaluation of alternative 3D printing technologies. Each technology is considered from an application engineering perspective with an assessment of print resolutions, tolerances, print rates, and costs. Heterogeneous 3D prints – e.g., metallic, ceramic, and electronic components, as well as nanomaterials – are possible but present many challenges that will be discussed. Working 3D printed devices and the challenges to achieve state of the art performance will be presented. Emerging design, materials and processing technologies are then presented by leading faculty and industrial researchers.  The workshop will culminate in an interactive event where participants can discuss 3D printing technologies, applications, and research towards the next generation of 3D printing.

 

Drs. Carol Barry, Chris Hansen, David Kazmer, and Nese Orbey are faculty at UMass Lowell where they teach courses and perform research related to design and processing of engineering thermoplastics.