$1M 3-D sand printer brings spotlight to YSU and Leetonia business

LEETONIA

A three-year vision met reality at Humtown Products on this morning, said Mark Lamoncha, Humtown’s president and chief executive officer.

Representatives from Humtown of Leetonia, America Makes and Youngstown State University’s President Jim Tressel cut the ribbon on a nearly $1 million 3-D sand printer that will further advance additive manufacturing in the Mahoning Valley.

Additive manufacturing – or industrial 3-D printing – is a process by which digital 3-D design data are used to build up a component in layers by depositing material.

The printer is the only one of its kind in Ohio, said Brett Conner, YSU mechanical and industrial engineering associate professor and advanced manufacturing workforce initiative director.

“However, it’s just the first – there’s more coming,” Conner said.

There are only two universities in the nation that have access to the printer – the University of Northern Iowa and YSU.

The industrial device prints large, complex sand cores or molds directly from computer-assisted design data – eliminating the need for physical pattern or tooling. The sand cores are used for metal casting.

It was purchased by YSU and America Makes with a grant from Ohio Third Frontier.

Lamoncha expressed appreciation for all of the partnerships involved in procuring the printer.

Conner said both the printer and the partnerships are saving jobs, creating jobs and developing economic growth across the state.

Read more about the equipment and the partnerships that brought it here in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.