Industrial 3D printer manufacturer GE Additive has announced a Binder Jet public-private partnership with Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), Indiana’s premier economic development agency.
The contract is ultimately intended to help commercialize GE’s newly developed H2 binder jetting system, all while furthering the state’s extensive manufacturing capabilities. In particular, the pair have agreed to co-invest in R&D for the technology, including factory automation, software development and manufacturing readiness for the region.
Christine Furstoss, CTO of GE Additives, says: “We are excited by the opportunity IEDC has presented to us. Binder jet is one of the most dynamic areas of additive manufacturing today, and one that the automotive and mobility industry is watching particularly closely. is. ”
Binder Jet Beta Partner Program
With GE’s Binder Jet Beta Partner Program gaining rapid traction, the company has now partnered with six major organizations in the technology and automotive sectors. The program aims to rapidly develop the company’s binder jetting technology, which will begin next year with the commercial launch of its prototype H2 system.
The state of Indiana is of particular interest to GE because it is one of the U.S. states. Is the focal point for manufacturing, with 8500 manufacturing facilities and the highest concentration of manufacturing jobs in the country. Looking at the automotive in particular, Indiana is home to more than 500 suppliers and five major OEMs, and generates the country’s second-largest automotive GDP.
Says Furstoss: “Given Indiana’s strong automotive manufacturing focus, we are very hopeful that this partnership will harness its abundant use of innovation and foster new forward-thinking applications – particularly in the fields of automation and software development In.”
As an extension of the Beta Partner Program, the R&D partnership with IEDC will provide a new test bed for working with future partners, customers and SMEs in Indiana to further innovate binder jetting.
Emerging Manufacturing Cooperation Center
As part of the Economic Activity Stabilization and Promotion Initiative, IEDC recently set aside $ 3M to set up a new Emerging Manufacturing Collaboration Center (EMC2) at 16 Tech Innovation District by the summer of 2021.
Train your employees on advanced manufacturing equipment like GE’s H2. The space will also be used to undergo contract manufacturing as well as to promote its new systems to OEMs.
GE and IEDC will also run a Virtual Industry Day on 8 December to further broaden the partnership and its potential sub-projects. The partners will discuss broader technology and economic benefits to Indiana, and how EMC2 will improve the state’s manufacturing competitiveness.
Readers wishing to participate in the program can do so here, to hear from binder jetting experts, see demos of the H2 system, and to participate in technical workshops.
Earlier this year, Binder Jetting OEM Xvon also announced the start of five similar projects with the Universities of Pennsylvania to pursue various aspects of Binder Jet 3D printing. The R&D projects are being funded through the Manufacturing PA Innovation Program established by the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).
Elsewhere, simulation software developer Simufact recently announced the launch of a simulation tool for metal binder jetting in its Simufactitive additive program. Users of the software will be able to predict and prevent – in the design phase – distortion effects that are often used in post-processing can occur on binder jetty parts.
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