As additive manufacturing—3D printing—expands through a growing number of industries and applications, studies indicate that a skills shortage has slowed its wider adoption. There exists a shortage of talent and training that understands the technology, processes, and equipment involved in its use.
In a research brief released in November by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Work of the Future department, the authors observe that education dedicated to additive manufacturing is being offered at all levels, starting with K-12 on through post-graduate instruction.
“Desktop hobbyist-style 3D printers are increasingly being used in K-12 educational settings to augment lecture-based instruction through laboratory exercises. At the university level, many institutions have ‘maker spaces’ or other accessible 3D printing resources,” the brief says.
The Pennsylvania State University offers a master’s degree in additive manufacturing and design. The Ohio State University offers a Master of Global Engineering Leadership with an additive manufacturing track consisting of five courses (students may choose four). Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh offers a Master of Science in Additive Manufacturing. Other universities, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Purdue University, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, offer professionally focused workforce training programs in additive manufacturing.
Professional societies offer workforce-level training in the technology as well.
Despite a growing body of professional training and degree initiatives for additive manufacturing, there is evidence that current programs may be insufficient to address the shortage of qualified professionals. Colleges and universities are stepping up to close this skills gap as more programs are arriving on campus to develop a prepared workforce of additive manufacturing experts.
Grants and public-private partnerships are helping to drive the expansion of these programs.
At Auburn University in Alabama, a $3 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), awarded in August 2020, initiated a two-year aerospace additive manufacturing project at Auburn’s National Center for Additive Manufacturing Excellence (NCAME). Working with the FAA, NCAME aims to improve commercial air travel by carrying out research into additively manufactured metal components. The project involves fabricating metal parts produced with several “industrial-scale” 3D printers.
NCAME was established in 2017 through a public-private partnership between Auburn University and NASA.
This past October, the U.S. Army launched a $22.8 million, five-year cooperative agreement with the University of Maryland at College Park that will focus on additive manufacturing science. This alliance will foster and accelerate cutting-edge foundational additive manufacturing materials and technology development to advance hybrid materials research capabilities. In part, the alliance will use resulting advances in agile expedient manufacturing to advance Army modernization efforts.
In January, the University of Maine (UMaine) Advanced Structures and Composites Center in Orono was awarded $2.8 million from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to develop a rapid, low-cost additive manufacturing solution for fabricating large, segmented wind blade molds.
Also, the UMaine Composites Center will collaborate on a $4-million award to Oak Ridge National Laboratory to apply robotic deposition of continuous reinforcing fibers in wind blades.
“The University of Maine remains a leader in additive manufacturing and wind energy technology, and this funding will harness researchers’ expertise in both areas,” said Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King in a joint announcement of the award. “We are thrilled that the Department of Energy continues to invest in UMaine’s cutting-edge research and prioritizes the advancement of our state’s clean energy economy and the creation of good-paying jobs.”
On March 1, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), chairwoman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, announced that The University of Toledo (UToledo) to has been awarded a $50,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to support the university’s research into additive manufacturing of nickel titanium aerospace actuators. In aircraft, actuators are used to control and limit velocity and engine speed by adjusting levers and flaps.
“This award provides us with the ability to explore the potential users that value using additive manufacturing to advance the performance of shape memory alloys. These alloys are very important as actuators for advanced aerospace systems,” said Dr. Mohammad Elahinia, Distinguished University Professor and chair of the Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering in the UToledo College of Engineering in a press release.
Going forward, additive manufacturing will continue to transform product design, development, and manufacturing. A workforce skilled in the technology is vital. Higher education institutions can step in to meet this need with the development of all levels of workforce-oriented training programs. A program can start small, with labs connected to existing departments. These can expand into makerspaces, then innovation centers.
As programs grow and student participation increases, sharing knowledge and resources with other institutions and forming partnerships with industry and government will allow institutions to produce the skilled workforce required to carry this technology to its fullest potential.
Shannon O’Connor has worked in publishing throughout her life. She grew up in a printing shop and has worked as a newspaper reporter, textbook/software editor, and for the past 20 years in educational magazine/website/enews publishing as an editor and writer. Most recently she served as editor of College Planning & Management magazine where she focused on sharing best practices in higher education with her readers. Shannon can be reached at SOConnor@eSchoolMedia.com.
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