Protolabs, a leading manufacturer of custom prototypes and on-demand production parts, announced that they have joined MIT’s Centre for Additive and Digital Advanced Production Technologies (ADAPT) as one of its founding members. The group is aimed at accelerating the additive manufacturing technology through research and education and to invent its future.
MIT Centre for Additive and Digital Advanced Production Technologies (ADAPT)
The MIT Centre for Additive and Digital Advanced Production Technologies (ADAPT) was founded with an aim to accelerate the adoption and integration of the additive manufacturing technology through various initiatives including research, education, building an ecosystem, and strategic analysis of the capabilities.
ADAPT is founded and directed by Prof. John Hart, an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the MIT Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity, a world-renowned researcher, educator, and entrepreneur in advanced manufacturing.
The elite member list of ADAPT includes leaders like the Renishaw, Autodesk, General Motors, Renishaw, EOS and other renowned companies with a vision to continually and critically assess the status of additive manufacturing technology, develop model-based decision tools and open strategic frameworks, build a vibrant academic-industry network including MIT students, and accelerate critical additive manufacturing education initiatives for professional audiences.
Protolabs Joins as a Founding Member
Founded in 1999 by entrepreneur Larry Lukis, the company aimed to focus on rapidly reducing the time taken by traditional manufacturing processes to produce prototypes. In 2014, the company introduced 3D printing into its manufacturing workflow and in a span of half a decade, the company is one of the largest in the world (according to market cap).
Speaking on the exciting announcement, Vicki Holt, President, and CEO of Protolabs commented, “We’ve experienced first-hand, the tremendous progress that additive manufacturing has made over the past decade, and we’re quickly approaching another important milestone in 3D printing’s rapid ascent into space industrial manufacturing. My hope is that ADAPT will not only evolve additive manufacturing as a viable digital manufacturing solution for prototyping but also end-use production. We are thrilled to be a founding member of ADAPT to help make that a reality.”
According to Prof. John Hart, “AM [additive manufacturing]—and the path toward a responsive, digital manufacturing infrastructure both within and between organizations—requires multidisciplinary expertise at the cutting edge of mechanical engineering, computer science, materials, and other fields.”
He added, “I am thrilled to launch ADAPT to accelerate MIT’s efforts toward enabling the next generation of production technologies, wherein additive manufacturing is a cornerstone.”
MIT, apart from ADAPT, is also offering a 12-week online certificate program, Additive Manufacturing for Innovative Design and Production, with support from more than twenty experts from leading companies including Protolabs.
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