Tales from the Tech Belt

The region received fantastic news earlier this week when the Obama administration announced Youngstown would be the site of the first public-private institute for manufacturing innovation in the United States. This partnership, known as the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII) will focus on additive manufacturing or 3D printing. This is the process of printing three dimensional objects from a digital model or CAD file. Here is a video that explains the process.




According to the press release:
The NAMII will provide the innovation infrastructure needed to support new additive manufacturing technology and products in order to become a global center of excellence for additive manufacturing. This pilot institute will bridge the gap between basic research and product development for additive manufacturing, provide shared assets to help companies, particularly small manufacturers, access cutting-edge capabilities and equipment, and create an environment to educate and train workers in advanced additive manufacturing skills.

Hopefully this venture turns out to be as good for the area as its backers are predicting. This opportunity has the potential to grow and help transform Youngstown in a positive fashion. It would be amazing if Youngstown could transform itself into a manufacturing research hub the way Pittsburgh has turned itself into a high tech hub for industries such as robotics, biomedical and nuclear engineering.   

The government contributed $30 million to the consortium but another $40 million is being contributed by education and private industry partners. They include:
 
40 Companies: Allegheny Technologies, AlphaMicron, Applied Systems and Technology Transfer, Autodesk, Boeing, Catalyst Connection, Energy Industries of Ohio, ExOne, FMW Composites, General Dynamics, General Electric, Honeywell, IBM, Johnson Controls, Kennametal, Kent Displays, Laser Technology Assts, Lockheed Martin, Lubrizol, M-7 Technologies, MicroFab Technologies, Morris, Northrop Grumman, nScrypt, OSRAM Sylvania, Optomec, Oxford Performance Materials, Paramount Industries / 3D Systems, Parker Hannifin, Plextronix, POM, RTI, Ruger, Sciaky, Stratasys, Stratonics, Timken, Touchstone Research Lab, Westinghouse Nuclear, Wohlers Associates

9 Research Universities: Carnegie Mellon University, Case Western Reserve University, Kent State University, Lehigh University, Penn State University, Robert Morris University, University of Akron, University of Pittsburgh, Youngstown State University
5 Community Colleges: Eastern Gateway Community College, Lorain County Community College, Northampton Community College, Penn College of Technology, Westmoreland County Community College

11 Non-Profit Organizations: Association for Manufacturing Technology, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, JumpStart Ohio, Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, MT Connect, NorTech, National Digital Engineering and Manufacturing Consortium, Ohio Aerospace Institute, Robert C. Byrd Institute, the Youngstown Business Incubator, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers