Boosted by $35 million in federal funding for research, UMaine expects to expand large-scale innovative additive manufacturing, or 3D, technology.
The plans include an addition to the existing Advanced Structures and Composites Center in order to accommodate “multiple printers, multiple robots working together as a team” to build things, according to Habib Dagher, executive director of the Advanced Structures and Composites Center.
The center is exploring printing homes, since Maine has a shortage of low-income housing.
The 3D printing process employs a wood-based material, which when combined with robotics, could potentially be used to create new homes faster and more economically than the traditional process.
Read more about the initiative here.