This spring Albany Technical College has added new cutting-edge metal desktop 3D printing to the courses available in the Engineering Graphics Program.  Students can now take specialized courses in 3D Mechanical Modeling that will include a metal modeling aspect. These types of desktop metal procedures exist so that engineers, designers, and manufacturers can now have easier access to metal and carbon fiber 3D printing. 

The application for 3D metal printing includes a vast number of industries: Automotive, Consumer Goods, Heavy Industry, Education, Machine Design, Manufacturing Tooling, and even the Military. How the industry produces parts starting from a prototype and continuing into mass production is changing rapidly. These desktop printing options are changing the way parts are designed, manufactured, and sold.