UMaine breaks record for world’s largest polymer 3D printer

Factory of the Future 1.0 (FoF 1.0) is four times larger than UMaine’s MasterPrint, which made it into the record books in 2019.  

Unveiled at UMaine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center (ASCC), FoF 1.0 has been designed to print objects as large as 96 feet (29.26m) long by 32 (9.75m) feet wide by 18 (5.48m) feet high, and can print up to 500 pounds (226.796kg) per hour.

According to UMaine, it presents new opportunities for eco-friendly and cost-effective manufacturing for industries including national security, affordable housing, bridge construction, ocean and wind energy technologies and maritime vessel fabrication.

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In use, FoF 1.0 can dynamically switch between processes including large-scale additive manufacturing, subtractive manufacturing, continuous tape layup and robotic arm operations. Furthermore, FoF 1.0  and MasterPrint can collaborate by sharing the same end-effectors or by working on the same part. 

In a statement, ASCC executive director Habib Dagher said: “FoF 1.0 opens up new research frontiers to integrate these collaborative robotics operations at a very large scale with new sensors, high-performance computing and artificial intelligence to create born-certified systems that meet high quality standards.”