YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-13 Ohio, has secured $10 million to create an additive manufacturing innovation research program based at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton. The initiative also involves the University of Dayton Research Institute and Youngstown State University.

The program will equip the U.S. Air Force with the technology and expertise to use 3-D printing and other emerging manufacturing techniques to fabricate low-volume replacement parts for weapons systems at a lower cost than can be achieved through current defense procurement processes, says the congressman’s office.

Ryan, a member of the House Defense Subcommittee on Appropriations, obtained the $10 million for the program in the fiscal 2015 Defense Appropriations Bill, which passed the House Appropriations Committee in June and was included in the Omnibus Appropriations bill approved last week by both houses of Congress.

“I am proud to have secured funding for this important research that will ultimately grow high-paying manufacturing jobs in Ohio and across the United States while reducing costs for the Department of Defense. Additive manufacturing is transforming every sector of our national economy and this program further positions Ohio, which already has a successful additive manufacturing hub in Youngstown, as a leader in this arena,” Ryan said.

America Makes, also known as the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, is based dowtown. Youngstown State University and the University of Dayton Research Institute already are working together on ways to increase the use of additive manufacturing in the military.

“We are pleased to be working with UDRI on this important research effort," said Dr. Martin Abraham, interim provost at YSU. "Working together with our industrial partners and our colleagues at the Youngstown Business Incubator, our faculty has established a strong program that is creating new opportunities to utilize additive manufacturing for the production of parts to be used throughout the supply chain. The Department of Defense initiative will further provide our students with a world class opportunity to be engaged in cutting edge research.”

“These funds will enable Youngstown State University and the University of Dayton Research Institute to work with the Air Force in applying our unique capabilities in advanced manufacturing technologies to improving fleet readiness and reducing maintenance costs,” said John Leland, interim vice president for research at the University of Dayton.

SOURCE: Office of U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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