Montana Tech enhances 3D printing capacity
The more than $1 million expansion includes systems from Xact Metal and One Click Metal
According to Montana Tech, its Mechanical Engineering department has recently acquired more than $1 million worth of equipment to enhance its 3D printing capacity. The equipment includes an Xact Metal system, two One Click Metal MPrint laser powder bed fusion systems, and two MPURE power handling systems.
The combined capabilities of all three pieces of equipment – arriving between 2023 and 2024 and totaling more than $630,000 – give Montana Tech Advanced Manufacturing (MTAM) members the ability to print stainless steel, titanium, and nickel-based alloys. Funding for the printers was obtained through a cooperative agreement with the Army Research Laboratory. Other recent equipment purchases include a $46,000 3D scanner and a $170,000 high-speed infrared camera.
“We have some of the finest additive manufacturing capabilities in the area,” said Associate Professor Dr. Nathan Huft, who leads the Montana Tech Advanced Manufacturing (MTAM) Research Group with Dr. Peter Lucon.
Several pieces of equipment are available to mix powdered alloys – including multiple vibratory mixing machines that Lucon patented, and a powder rheometer.
The lab is also home to a 3D printer that can print polymers on a large scale of up to 1.5m x 0.75m. Another printer can print specialized inks that are used for circuit boards. Five others can print resins.
“We really try to give the students the ability to learn the printer, because they can’t do the research unless they really understand,” said Huft. “We encourage them to do their own projects, because if they just do the research they will never learn what the printers are capable of.”
Researchers from Montana State University in Bozeman have used the facility, and private businesses have also expressed interest in collaboration. Graduate student Emily Maynard is focusing her research efforts on testing the strength of the different printed parts as part of a project for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, in Keyport. Another graduate student, Layton Bahnmiller, recently 3D scanned antique parts and produced digital models for a local theater group’s historic theater seats. He then used the digital models to 3D print resin patterns to be used by a foundry to cast metal replacements.
