What is The Rapid Prototyping Center?
The Rapid Prototyping Center (RPC) at Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) is an applied research center that focuses on applications of additive manufacturing (also known as 3D printing). The RPC is housed within the MSOE Applied Technology Center, the research arm of the university. The RPC is supported by an industrial consortium of more than 40 companies, and is staffed by four additive manufacturing professionals and numerous undergraduate and graduate student research assistants.
Our Mission
The mission of the Rapid Prototyping Center is to:
- provide value to our industrial consortium members, through additive manufacturing services, applied research efforts, product/process development projects, and educational services;
- support the academic mission of MSOE, by providing additive manufacturing support for MSOE student projects and research assistant opportunities for MSOE students, and
- provide faculty development opportunities, through access to additive manufacturing technologies and expertise for faculty research efforts.
Our Services
The laboratory is equipped with a variety of commercially-available rapid prototyping systems, including:
Overview of the Consortium
Membership in the industrial consortium is open to any organization interested in the application of additive manufacturing technologies. The consortium members include public and private corporations, as well as nonprofit educational institutions. Membership is available at three member levels (Full, Half, and Quarter Memberships). In order to encourage the sharing of information, this is a non-compete consortium; consortium member at the Half or Full Membership level can maintain exclusivity in their industry.
Member benefits include:
- access to the lab facilities for the production of parts
- access to additive manufacturing expertise for product/process development and applied research
- participation in educational seminars focused on advances and applications of additive manufacturing technology, offered for MSOE continuing education credit