Public-private partnership pushes ‘3-D printing’

The Associated Press//May 30, 2013//

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ALBANY — A New York college and business leaders say they are creating a program to train people to operate in the burgeoning field of three-dimensional printing.

The so-called 3-D printing program is scheduled to be announced Thursday at the State University of New York at New Paltz.

It would lead to the first certificate program in the state in the high-technology field in which medical devices, machinery, toys and other products can be manufactured quickly. The process turns digital models on computer screens into three-dimensional solid objects using plastics and other materials.

The growing field is credited with recently saving a baby’s life by allowing the speedy manufacturing of medical devices to keep his air passages open, and NASA is exploring ways of using 3-D printing to provide food to astronauts. It’s also used for customized toys, medical implants on demand, and lightweight aircraft parts.

A total of $1 million is being devoted to the public-private partnership.