An extensive research is made in Ohio, USA focusing on the future of 3D technologies. The report called; ‘Asset Map of Additive Manufacturing Opportunities in Northeast Ohio’ is carried out by Youngstown Business Incubator, America Makes, Team Northeast Ohio, Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network technology institutions.
As additive manufacturing gains strength in global market, countries started some regulations about this. Taking a step, Ohio state in USA, demonsrated its 3D opportunities in the report; ‘Asset Map of Additive Manufacturing Opportunities in Northeast Ohio’ with the contributions of Business Incubator, America Makes, Team Northeast Ohio, Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network.
This remarkable conclusion comes from the Asset Map of Additive Manufacturing Opportunities in Northeast Ohio, which has been compiled by the Youngstown Business Incubator (YBI), America Makes, Team Northeast Ohio (Team NEO), and the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network. The study itself was launched in November 2015, funded by the Fund for Our Economic Future, and recently finished. Its purpose was, as the group put it, to determine the feasibility of a 3D printing cluster in Northeast Ohio, a “geographic concentration of interconnected businesses, suppliers, service providers and associated institutions.”
The report which offers a comprehensive look into regional efforts with 3D printing, as well as an overview of existing barriers and of the potential benefits of 3D printing. According to Fahey, it was a ‘no brainer’ to focus on 3D printing due to the strong presence of the technology in the region. “When you couple those facts with the rich design and engineering resources we have in our universities such as the University of Akron, Case Western Reserve University, and Youngstown State University, the region has an opportunity to not only be at the center of the supply chain for additive manufacturing, but to also produce the leaders of this design transformation,” he said.
According to Barb Ewing, chief operating officer of the Youngstown Business Incubator, the presence of America Makes gives the region huge potential. However, America Makes is mainly focused on technological, rather than economic, development so the Asset Map also serves as a tool for convincing numerous players to combine their forces with an eye on 3D printing. “You need all of your players on the field,” Ewing said, adding that if Northeast Ohio can see itself as part of a larger Cleveland-Pittsburgh ‘TechBelt,’ it can become a very competitive tech region.