University of Puerto Rico opens metal Additive Manufacturing lab
September 16, 2024
The College of Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) Mayagüez Campus (RUM) recently opened its metal Additive Manufacturing laboratory, reported the San Juan Daily Star. The university launched the venture with a Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB) Additive Manufacturing machine from Renishaw in its Department of Industrial Engineering.
“It is an innovative piece of equipment, which is not unique in Puerto Rico, but it is unique in the UPR system for academic, research and industrial purposes,” stated Dr Cristina Pomales García, interim dean of engineering, in a written statement provided to the San Juan Daily Star. “This equipment was born from a gift from the Department of Defense, [via a grant application] written by Dr Oscar Marcelo Suárez and a team of collaborators who had the vision to bring it. This means the development of education and human talent with cutting-edge technology.”
Dr Ricky Valentín and Dr Pedro Quintero (Department of Mechanical Engineering) and academics from the Department of Industrial Engineering and the Department of Materials Science & Engineering also participated in the university’s Additive Manufacturing initiative. The initiative was further supported by a second grant from the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust (FCTIPR), which funded the lab development.
“We received the approach that the institution had received this funding and grant from the Department of Defense to establish this capacity in Puerto Rico,” Lucy Crespo, CEO of FCTIPR and a RUM graduate, told the San Juan Daily Star. “They needed support with the construction of the physical infrastructure. For the Trust, it is a wonderful experience to collaborate with all those who are working on this. We will have the capacity to do 3D printing for metals. We already have 3D printing of other filaments, using polymers and other materials. We are just getting into printing with organic materials, but this is extremely important. It is a capacity that can be used in sectors such as aerospace, biomedicine and biotechnology.”
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