Summary
Automation Alley is a World Economic Forum Advanced Manufacturing Hub (AMHUB) for North America and a nonprofit Industry 4.0 knowledge center with a global outlook and a regional focus. We facilitate public-private partnerships by connecting industry, education and government to fuel Michigan's economy.
For decades, industrial manufacturing has operated under a simple assumption: bigger, heavier, and more subtractive means better. But as global industries face unprecedented pressure to decarbonize, the massive carbon footprint embedded in traditional machinery and...
A growing number of Michigan manufacturers are beginning to recognize that Additive Manufacturing and 3D printing (AM/3D) is moving beyond the category of emerging curiosity. It is becoming a practical manufacturing tool with real business applications.According to...
If you print parts that live outdoors, ABS filament is probably the wrong call. Most engineers and hobbyists default to ABS because it's familiar. It runs well on most machines and has been around long enough to feel like the safe pick for functional printing. But ABS...
Verified life-cycle analysis shows that composite additive manufacturing can significantly reduce industrial carbon emissions by minimizing material waste, eliminating much of the transportation and logistics burden of traditional supply chains, and enabling localized, on-demand production.
Michigan manufacturers are increasingly adopting additive manufacturing, but realizing its full value requires disciplined application, process knowledge, and selecting the right use cases.
ABS is the default for functional 3D printing, but it has one fatal flaw outdoors: UV exposure breaks it down. ASA filament was engineered to fix that. It matches ABS on mechanical properties, prints easier in real-world setups, and holds up in sunlight where ABS does not. Here’s the chemistry, the spec comparison, and when each material is the right pick for your application.
