Center for Rapid Prototyping and Innovation (CRPI)
If you are looking for an extension of your own Research and Development capabilities, look no further than the Center for Rapid Prototyping and Innovation at SVSU. "We're the place to come to create new products," says Dr. Robert Tuttle, the Center's director. "We're an evolution of the manufacturing environment."
The CRPI services include:
- Prototypes from ferrous materials
- Competitive prices
- State-of-the-art equipment
- Preparing students for the real job world
- Incubate and commercialize ideas
The Center for Rapid Prototyping and Innovation (CRPI) is the first such research center in Michigan to be able to work with ferrous metals, aluminum and plastic. The special prototyping machine from the Ann Arbor-based Solidica company is able to construct parts directly out of ferrous or aluminum materials and eliminate the multi-part plastic process. Solidica will provide the Center with prototyping projects as it explores working with ferrous materials, which, Dr. Tuttle says, will be of much more interest to the auto industry.
In a manufacturing environment that calls for continuous product improvement, that process is easily accomplished with rapid prototyping. "This greatly simplifies and speeds up the process of creating new things out of metal," says Dr. Ronald Williams, Dean of the College of Science, Engineering and Technology. "And that means the cycle time to market goes down."
The Center invites larger manufacturers to learn about the technology and determine if it's right for their company to purchase. At the same time, smaller companies and entrepreneurs may be more attracted to the capabilities of actually contracting for the prototype services to turn ideas into products.
Helping staff the Center are SVSU senior engineering students, who are encouraged to create their own careers and learn how to function in the changing manufacturing environment.
"The Saginaw Valley is the place to come to create new products," Dr. Williams explains. "It's an evolution of the manufacturing environment."
Or, as he likes to put it, "Instead of producing a million widgets, we're creating a whole new one."
The Center for Rapid Prototyping and Innovation.
Real people. Real results.