Consortium Aims To Unlock 3-D Printing Potential

General Electric Among Key Players in Center's Research, Training. By Hannah Diorio-Toth From airplane parts to custom hip replacements, 3-D printing - also known as additive manufacturing - is changing how everything can be constructed. Carnegie Mellon University's NextManufacturing Center has created a consortium to bring together major companies and organizations in industry, the nonprofit sector and government to help unlock the huge potential of additive manufacturing in the United States. The center announced the consortium at a July 22 launch event on campus. "Additive manufacturing is here now, and it's here to stay," said Jack Beuth, director of the NextManufacturing Center and professor of mechanical engineering. "One of the most important steps in making real progress with this technology is to bring all the key players - academia, industry, government, nonprofits - together to share knowledge, ideas and challenges. It's an integral part of creating a thriving additive manufacturing ecosystem, and today, we get do that here at Carnegie Mellon." For businesses, additive manufacturing has many benefits including on-demand capabilities, product customization (both aesthetically and mechanically) and producing less waste than traditional manufacturing processes.