SUNY New Paltz Builds 3D Printing Superlab to Serve Students and Support Community
A new additive manufacturing lab at The State University of New York at New Paltz will make a variety of 3D printers — including industrial-grade machines — available both to students and the surrounding community. Part of the institution's Hudson Valley Advanced Manufacturing Center (HVAMC), the facility is being touted as one of the country's most advanced 3D printing "superlabs" — a term reserved for labs that employ high-end 3D printers of both PolyJet and FDM technologies.
Opened June 22, the lab is equipped with technology from Stratasys, including an industrial-grade Objet260 Connex multi-material 3D printer, a Fortus 400mc production 3D printer, two Dimension units and more than 40 MakerBot 3D printers. The lab will be open to the entire campus and serve as a central 3D printing service center for Hudson Valley communities and businesses. HVAMC will provide its users with education and advice on 3D printing processes, materials and design.
Stratasys has designated the facility a "SMART lab," named for "Stratasys MakerBot Additive Research & Teaching." According to Dan Freedman, dean of the School of Science and Engineering and director of HVAMC, "Our designation as a SMART lab is huge step for the HVAMC. The combination of our unique focus at the interface of art, engineering and science, and the recognition and support by the world's leading manufacturer of 3D printers, will move us to an unparalleled interdisciplinary educational experience, help us support regional businesses, and give our faculty the tools and expertise to do cutting-edge scholarship in art, engineering and design."
More information on HVAMC is available at the SUNY New Paltz site.
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Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].