Grant will aid additive manufacturing

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, announced a $495,910 federal grant for the Consortium for Advanced Hybrid Manufacturing-Integrating Technologies.

The consortium, which was established with the assistance of Youngstown State University and North Carolina State University, will be the first to develop a comprehensive road map for integrating additive and subtractive metal manufacturing technologies in order to accelerate the adoption of the technology.

This combined method is more commonly referred to as “hybrid manufacturing.”

“YSU continues to be a leader in the field of advanced manufacturing, and together with YBI and America Makes they have made Youngstown the focal point of this emerging and transformational technology,” Ryan said in a news release. “This grant will ensure that American manufacturing continues to be a world player by helping U.S. manufacturers develop tailored plans to integrate additive manufacturing into their production methods.”

The award will allow YSU to bring together individual stakeholders to collaborate on the accelerated adoption of precision additive manufacturing metal parts.

The program will enhance advanced manufacturing capabilities, improve the efficiency and reliability of additive manufacturing processes, develop workforce training and education requirements, and further develop the supply chain for hybrid manufacturing.

“The advanced manufacturing community in the U.S. will greatly benefit from improved processing capabilities that produce complex functional parts through this hybrid approach,” said Guha Manogharan, YSU assistant professor of mechanical and industrial engineering.