Teaching Introductory Materials Engineering Via Additive Manufacturing

Additive manufacturingAdditive manufacturing (AM) is of great interest to industry and students alike, but many students receive little or no formal education on the topic until the graduate level. Described here are two introductory coursesIntroductory courses in materialsMaterials engineering that integrate additive manufacturingAdditive manufacturing (AM) projects into a hands-on formal learning experience wherein students learn fundamentals of engineering design and structureStructure-processing-properties thinking. The goal of these courses is to capture the interest and excitement of young engineers and engage them in additive manufacturingAdditive manufacturing (AM) beyond the typical “maker” experiences. In the freshman course, which serves as a broad introduction to engineering, students conduct metalcastingMetalcasting projects involving iterative design of printed lost-PLAPolylactic acid (PLA) patterns and printed sand molds. In the sophomore course, which is designed to replace a traditional lecture course in statics, students study solid mechanics in materialsMaterials by additively manufacturing test specimens and comparing computational models to their physical experiments. Students completing these courses should be well-prepared for upper-level coursework in engineering design, lab courses, structural materialsMaterials, and computational materialsMaterials science while also having a more sophisticated understanding of the pros/cons and applications of additive manufacturingAdditive manufacturing (AM).