Applied Additive Manufacturing. 3 credits, 4 contact hours

Catalog description

Prerequisites: ( MATH 111 or MATH 113 or MATH 138 or MATH 107 or ( MATH 110 and ENGR 101 )) and ( FED 101 or MET 103 or ET 103 or MET 105 or ME 430 or ENGR 320 or ARCH 156 ). Applied Additive Manufacturing is an advanced, hands-on course that introduces students to the core principles and practices of modern additive manufacturing. The course covers the fundamentals of major polymer and metal additive processes, including Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), Stereolithography (SLA), Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), powder bed metal printing, and infused filament metal systems. Through lectures, demonstrations, and applied discussion, students will examine how these technologies work, where they excel, and where their limitations lie, with an emphasis on real-world engineering and manufacturing applications. Students will complete weekly design-and-build assignments that require them to model, fabricate, and evaluate parts using multiple additive technologies. Projects emphasize design for additive manufacturing (DfAM), material selection, process tradeoffs, and post-processing considerations for both prototyping and production environments. The course also introduces niche and emerging additive approaches, including near-net-shape technologies, and explores their role in advanced manufacturing workflows. Students are expected to enter the course already proficient in 3D modeling using a CAD package of their choice, as the course focuses on applying design skills to manufacturing outcomes rather than introductory CAD instruction.