Boston university's Engineering Product Innovation Center (epic) was designed to provide access to state-of-the-art design, prototyping, and small-scale manufacturing technologies to all members of the school’s community. This allows engineering students access to new ways they can explore innovation, the entrepreneurial process, product design and manufacturing.
“In the broadest sense, our mission is to prepare students with the skills they need to excel in for careers in design, manufacturing, and engineering,” said Dr. Gerry Fine, professor of practice and director of EPIC.
Serving 1000 students per semester, EPIC offers a full range of technologies to help their students learn product development and manufacturing from start to finish. Their list of tools included CAD, CNC machines and automated robotic manufacturing. In 2016 they introduced Stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing with the addition of the Formlabs Form 2. They then expanded to six Form 2 printers due to the demand. Students are producing 400 prints per month while the printers run for 16 hours a day!
For Dr. Fine, equipment dependability is a top priority. “The Form 2 offers the kind of reproducibility and reliability we were hoping for, and has been much more fruitful than working with other technologies,” Dr. Fine said.
