Montclair State University Opens NJ’s First 3D Printing MakerBot® 3D Design and Printing Lab
MONTCLAIR, NJ – Montclair State University has partnered with MakerBot® to open a MakerBot® Innovation Center at MSU’s Feliciano School of Business.
The center, located in Montclair State’s new $66 million Feliciano School of Business building, houses 35 state-of-the-art 3D design and printing devices with cloud connectivity. The facility is the first of its kind in New Jersey, the only one in the New York City area, and only the ninth such center in the world. Montclair State also is the only university in the nation to have a MakerBot® Innovation Center physically located within a school of business.
“We are excited to open the first Makerbot® Innovation Center within a business school,” said Greg Cant, dean of Montclair State’s Feliciano School of Business. “3D printing is revolutionizing every industry in every sector around the globe, and it is imperative for tomorrow’s successful leaders and visionaries to be proficient in groundbreaking innovation and technology.”
In fall 2015, Montclair State students began pursuing the University’s new Certificate of 3D Printing and Design. The certificate program involves a nine-credit curriculum which is open to any student of any major. The expansive reach of 3D printing on campus already is being evidenced by the variety of majors participating in the certificate program. The group includes students majoring in Biology, Finance, Art History, Psychology, Biochemistry, Information Technology, Political Science, Management, History and Economics. Innovation Opportunities Beyond Campus Montclair State also will be collaborating with area high schools, including those in Paterson and Montclair, to introduce 9th through 12th grade students to 3D printing and design concepts.
This program will educate students about these concepts from an entrepreneurial perspective. Working with the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program, Montclair State is in the process of also establishing a program to offer rapid prototyping via 3D prints for local small manufacturers. 2
“For the past year we have been developing a new campus-wide innovation hub and we have known all along how important it would be to have a MakerBot® Innovation Center at the heart of this initiative,” said Dennis Bone, founding director of the Feliciano Center for Entrepreneurship. “It is critically important for us to bring 3D printing and design thinking to three populations: Montclair State students, local high school students and the state’s small manufacturers. The rapid prototyping offered by our 35 3D print devices will allow students to learn the latest skills, while students and small manufacturers will be able to expand their creativity while working on their products.”
The Makerbot® Innovation Center at Montclair State University includes 35 MakerBot® Replicator 3D Printers (24 MakerBot® Replicator Desktop 3D Printers, 3 MakerBot® Replicator Z18 3D Printer, 3 MakerBot® Replicator Mini Compact 3D Printer, 3 MakerBot® 2x Dual Filament 3D Printer), and a large supply of MakerBot® PLA Filament, 2 MakerBot® Digitizer™ Desktop 3D Scanners. At the core of the MakerBot® Innovation Center is the MakerBot® Innovation Center Management Platform, a proprietary 3D printing software platform that links the MakerBot® Replicator 3D Printers together, streamlines productivity and staffing of the center, and provides remote access, print queuing and mass production of 3D prints.
“The possibilities for national and global collaborations are limitless,” said Bone. “We are excited to open this new Center and will soon launch our new hub for our students, our communities and New Jersey’s business and entrepreneurial sectors. Design thinking and such technology tools will be our next economic drivers.”
There are few other University’s in the country that have MakerBot® Innovation Centers. They exist at SUNY New Paltz, Florida Poly Tech, Florida International University, Central Michigan University, Xavier University, University of Maryland, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and LIUC in Italy.