Watch our full interview with University of Louisville Professor Kunal Kate speaking on his newly formed graduate level course “Additive Manufacturing (AM) with Polymers.” Here he introduced the ICME platform, Digimat – AM, that teaches students about 3D printing thermomechanical process simulations. As a case study, the students did EOAT design and 3D Printing for a Tier 1 Automotive Manufacturer – Murakami. This success story connects the KY NSF EPSCoR research on 3D Printing and EOAT’s (End of Arm Tools) with a new class deployed in the mechanical engineering department and links with industry. Hexagon (MSC Software) provided the thermomechanical process simulation software for the class. The students successfully designed and produced printed EOAT tools with 5 parts instead of 40, weighed 60-70% less, and a reduced production time of 1-2 seconds. As KY NSF EPSCoR advances manufacturing in Kentucky, these partnerships between academia and industry are vital for innovation, workforce development, and economic success.
