Advanced Manufacturing

Contacts

John Irwin

  • Professor and Chair, Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering Technology
  • Affiliated Professor, Psychology and Human Factors
  • Director, Research and Innovation in STEAM Education Institute (RISE)

Walter Milligan

  • Chair, Materials Science and Engineering
  • Franklin M. St. John Professor in Materials Science and Engineering

Jason Blough

  • Chair and Distinguished Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
  • Clean Snowmobile Team Faculty Advisor
  • 80%
    weight reduction with epoxy composite
  • micron
    scale nanoindentations
  • 1
    order of magnitude improvement in the physical effect responsible for isolator operation
Advanced Manufacturing showing ink samples.

3D Nano-inks Push Industry Boundaries

A new, 3D-printable polymer nanocomposite ink has incredible properties — and many applications in aerospace, medicine and electronics. Mechanical engineering researchers at Michigan Technological University have created a way to make a 3D-printable nanocomposite polymeric ink that uses carbon nanotubes (CNTs) — known for their high tensile strength and lightness. This revolutionary ink could replace epoxies — and understanding why its properties are so fantastic is a first step toward its mass use.