The Student Innovation Center Responds to COVID-19

The Student Innovation Center was one of many programs at the University of Washington that leveraged additive manufacturing to fabricate personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical personnel. A team of Chemistry personnel (including Associate Professor Matt Bush, graduate student Cem Millik, Director of Technical Services Dr. Nick Breen, and Facilities & Machine Shop Manager Kevin Soderlund) 3D printed more than 300 headbands for protective face shields. Want to learn more about this project?

Our first 3D printers have arrived!

We just received three Fusion3 F410 printers for fused filament fabrication (FFF/FDM). We look forward to seeing the projects that will be enabled by these printers, which can use a wide range of materials. We will also add stereolithography (SLA) printers in early 2020.

Making Room for the Future!

These mills, lathes, and other equipment have contributed greatly to the success of our department and its students over the decades, but are no longer aligned with our long-term needs. Surplusing this equipment is freeing up space that will be used to add new capabilities to support students and student researchers in the future.

Preparing for Additive Manufacturing

Cem Millik, a graduate student in the Nelson Lab, is leading an effort to fund the purchase seven commercial-grade 3D printers for use by students across the broader University of Washington Seattle campus. These 3D printers that will be used to establish the Student Innovation Center in the Department of Chemistry, where students will be able to fabricate objects using a wide range of unique materials. The chief advantage of this center is that is will be housed in a space with ventilation hoods that will enable students to use virtually all materials compatible with the two most common types of 3D printers, FDM/FFF and SLA/DLP. For comparison, currently, UW students are essentially limited to printing with a single material, poly(lactic acid) (PLA). This is because the existing 3D printers available to students are housed in facilities lacking the ventilation measures necessary to safely use other materials, which may fume or release particulates during printing. Want to learn more about how students will benefit from the proposed equipment? Read about some of the anticipated project.

In preparation, Kevin Soderlund has renovated a space adjacent to the Machine Shop with the utilities and ventilation required for the success of this project. We are excited for the possibility of having this new resource on campus!

To learn more about this proposal, visit the Student Technology Fee website. If you would value the acquisition of this equipment and access to these new capabilities and have a UW NetID, we encourage you to consider endorsing this proposal.