Page 22 - 3DMP Summer 2022

3D FEATURE
TECH CENTERS HELP MANUFACTURERS JUMP ABOARD THE
Metal-AM Train
20 | 3D METAL PRINTING • SUMMER 2022
3DMPmag.com
The CCAT ATC houses a metal-AM portfolio within its Additive Technology, Optimization and Machining Center that includes laser directed energy deposition, laser powder-bed fusion, binder jetting and its latest addition (far right): a high-rate AM FlexCell, performing wire-arc, cold metal transfer and wire/laser DED.
Arecently published McKinsey & Company paper, “The Main- streaming of Additive Manufac- turing” (AM), surmises that compared with traditional production approaches, AM technologies offer four potential sources of value. First, their ability to gen- erate almost any 3D shape allows design- ers the freedom to create parts that per- form better or cost less than conventional alternatives. Second, with no need for molds or fixed tooling, every part pro- duced by AM can be unique, allowing for mass-scale customization. Third, elimi- nating time-consuming toolmaking and fabrication operations reduces time to market by quickening the pace of product development and production. Finally, AM can simplify the maintenance and support of products in the field, reducing the need for spare-parts inventories.
That said, many manufacturers con- tinue to struggle to clearly identify how
AM might benefit their companies. Enter the role of the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT), an applied- technology demonstration and training center designed to help manufacturers— OEMs and their suppliers—drive advance- ments, efficiencies and the adoption of leading-edge additive and digital manu- facturing technologies. CCAT’s Advanced Technology Center (ATC), in addition to helping companies adopt AM, also works in the fields of advanced design, automa- tion, metrology, model-based definition and advanced composites.
“We’ve been in existence for nearly two decades,” Dr. Jackie Garofano, CCAT’s chief technology officer, tells 3D Metal Printing. “We were established as one of three region- al centers to help companies become more efficient and productive in response to the offshoring movement of the time. Since then, our mission has evolved considerably, as we listen to industry and its needs, and
Many manufacturers continue to struggle to clearly identify how AM might benefit their companies. Enter the role of the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT). And, more AM expertise lies just up the road from CCAT, at the University of Connecticut’s Pratt & Whitney Additive Manufacturing Center.
BY BRAD F. KUVIN, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR