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A Close Up Look at GE's 3-D Innovation Lab

Jan. 31, 2014
GE's lab is charged with a simple mission: to lead, explore and advance the industrialization of 3-D printing.

GE's Additive Development Center, just outside Cincinnati, Ohio, opened its doors to IndustryWeek for an all-access tour of the facility and the machines that are making the future. What we found was a facility far more familiar—and far grittier—than we'd expected. And that might be the best sign that it is fulfilling its mission.

The Center is charged with a simple mission: to lead, explore and advance the industrialization of 3-D printing.

That sounds like an intimidating task, but it is exactly what the ADC's team of 85 engineers, designers, production workers and artists have been doing since they got their start as Morris Technologies way back in 1994—long before the GE Aviation sign showed up outside their offices, before industrial metal printing had even made it to the U.S.

And that means, inside its walls, the ADC contains not only the most state-of-the-art equipment in the industry, but some of the most experienced, knowledgeable and innovative workers in the business.

See photos from GE’s 3-D Innovation Lab on IndustryWeek.

About the Author

Travis Hessman | VP of Content, Endeavor Business Media

Travis Hessman is the VP of Content for Endeavor Business Media. Previously, Travis was the Editor-in-Chief for Industry Week and New Equipment Digest as well as the Group Editorial Director for Endeavor's Manufacturing Group.

He began his career as an intern at IndustryWeek in 2001 and later served as IW's technology and innovation editor. Today, he combines his experience as an educator, a writer, and a journalist to help address some of the most significant challenges in the manufacturing industry, with a particular focus on leadership, training, and the technologies of smart manufacturing.