In addition, UMaine will utilize the printer to support the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center in its mission to develop lightweight rapidly deployable shelter systems for soldiers. UMaine will also work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to create a 21-foot-long 3D-printed mold for a new 76-foot-long composites bridge girder. The girder has been licensed to a UMaine spinoff company, Advanced Infrastructure Technology, that is fabricating girders for a bridge to be constructed in Maine in summer 2020.
Habib Dagher, executive director of UMaine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center, said “With this large printer, we will be able to accelerate innovation and prototype development in both the civilian and military sectors. This 3D printer is an outgrowth of research we have been doing for 15 years in combining cellulosic nano and microfibers with thermoplastic materials.”
David Horner, director of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center Information Technology Laboratory, added, “The large 3D printer capability will greatly support research in applications to both military engineering and national civil works infrastructure.”
Photo Credit: UMaine
