State Opens Additive Manufacturing and Multifunctional Printing (AMPrint) Center at RIT

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul joined state representatives, corporate partners and Rochester Institute of Technology leaders in launching the Additive Manufacturing and Multifunctional Printing (AMPrint) Center, one of New York state’s newest Centers for Advanced Technology.
 
The center, located on RIT’s Henrietta campus, is among the first research labs in the world to focus on development of next-generation multi-functional 3D printing technologies, materials and devices. It will bring together university and corporate researchers to advance two industries the Finger Lakes region is noted for – printing and imaging – and enhance the global and national competitiveness of New York state manufacturing.
 
“Governor Cuomo’s economic development strategy is founded on regional collaboration and the merger of business and academia,” Hochul said. “The AMPrint center symbolizes this approach and affirms RIT’s leadership in establishing the Finger Lakes as a nexus for advanced manufacturing and imaging technology. RIT students are learning the skills that will make them marketable to today’s employers, and that is the model that will lead to jobs and renewed prosperity across the region and all Upstate.”
 
The 3,200-square foot AMPrint Center, housed in RIT’s Institute Hall, will be under the direction of Denis Cormier, RIT’s Earl W. Brinkman professor and a national expert on additive manufacturing and the rapidly growing field of multi-functional 3D printing.
 
Cormier said the AMPrint Center will support the growth and development of the Finger Lakes region’s multi-functional printing “ecosystem,” building on its existing depth and breadth of expertise in print materials, print process systems design, high volume sales and distribution channels and flexible electronics.
 
Additive manufacturing and multifunctional 3D printing refer to processes in which materials are printed, usually layer upon layer, to make objects from 3D model data. It is most often used for design and modeling, fit and function prototyping and parts production, and is acclaimed because it can result in significant savings of time and money, as well as enhanced quality and functionality of products, such as flexible electronics.
 
These new technologies are capable of blending multiple materials, including metals, ceramics, plastics and composites, within a single component to produce high performance products that would be impossible to produce any other way.
 
The new AMPrint Center is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, including an Optomec Aerosol Jet printer, Stratasys additive manufacturing equipment and a NovaCentrix photonic curing system. Usually found in industry, the NovaCentrix is rare in a university setting and will be a resource for both faculty-researchers and regional companies creating new devices using metals and ceramics.
 
One of the center’s founding partners, Xerox, entered into an agreement with RIT in 2015 to help create the AMPrint Center. Company representatives announced Xerox will invest up to $1.5 million in the center. The partnership affords Xerox direct access to a world-class facility and the potential to collaborate with leading researchers to enhance and propel research and innovation at Xerox, as well as the ability to recruit the next generation of talent, said Karl Dueland, vice president, Digital Manufacturing, Xerox Technology Group.
 
At the ceremony, Hochul also announced that RIT will acquire the first liquid metal 3D-printing system from Vader Systems, a Buffalo, NY-based company. Among other highlights of today’s ceremony were several demonstrations of current work underway by RIT researchers and their corporate partners, including:
 
• A collaboration between RIT and Hardinge Corp., an Elmira, NY-based equipment manufacturing company, to develop hybrid manufacturing equipment that allows fabrication of metallic parts through a combination of laser material deposition and traditional machining.
• The development of intricate nano-structures for a micro-pump implanted system designed to deliver bio-therapies to address hearing disorders;
• A project between Sensor Films Inc., a local start-up company; Xerox; and RIT to integrate RIT’s NovaCentrix system with a large-scale, high-speed material ink jetting system;
• A football helmet with 3D-printed, custom protective padding developed by a multi-disciplinary team led by RIT graduate business school student Kayla Wheeler ’15 (biomedical engineering).
 
RIT’s partners in the AMPrint center include Clarkson University, SUNY New Paltz, Xerox, GE Research, Corning Inc., Eastman Kodak Co. and Stratasys. Smaller, regional companies will also collaborate with the center and make use of its equipment on such work as developing next generation polymer, metal and composite technologies; synthesizing advanced functional materials; developing additive manufacturing technologies; designing novel devices using the new materials and technologies as well as devising a means to commercialize the materials, processes and applications.
 
The state is investing in the center to further propel an industry that’s experiencing remarkable growth. According to Wohler’s State of the Industry Report, 2016, the additive manufacturing industry consisting of all additive manufacturing products and services worldwide, grew 25.9% to $5.165 billion in 2015. For the second consecutive year, the industry grew by more than $1 billion.