A Walk Through the UCRI Advanced Manufacturing Center
The Advanced Manufacturing Center at the University of Cincinnati Research Institute is a resource for university students and faculty, as well as manufacturers.
There is much we don’t know about additive manufacturing. Unlike traditional machining, there are few references or existing answers for many of the challenges it presents.
As a result, “No one trusts it yet,” says Dustin Lindley. “But, that’s a good thing.” Lindley is the manager of the Advanced Manufacturing Center at the University of Cincinnati Research Institute (UCRI). He sees the distrust of additive as a positive, because it means that the processes, machines and materials are undergoing levels of scrutiny that previous manufacturing technologies have not. While a complete knowledge base may not yet exist, research institutes such as the Advanced Manufacturing Center are actively building one.
Founded in 2014, the Advanced Manufacturing Center serves both private companies seeking consulting or other help with additive, and university faculty and students exploring research interests or commercialization of innovations. It is under the umbrella of the UCRI, which functions as a central point of contact between industry and UC through its various centers. (Others include UC Engineers and the Center for Collaborative Medical Device Design.)
Currently the center occupies two labs (one for metals and one for plastics) within a building on the University of Cincinnati's Victory Parkway Campus, and is staffed by Lindley and a graduate engineering student. Future plans include hiring an additional full-time researcher, and expanding to a second location sometime in the next few years.
Click through the slideshow above for a quick look at the capabilities of this facility.