Additive Manufacturing for Innovative Design and Production is a 12-week online course that will introduce you to the concepts and practices of Additive Manufacturing and the growing role of 3D printing in 2021 at various scales and from the perspective of logistics, finance, production, and more. You will develop a cutting-edge perspective on the digital transformation of manufacturing and a vision for the factory of the future.
The course teaches the fundamental principles and workflow of additive design and manufacture with polymers, metals, and composites. You will learn how to design parts for additive manufacturing that combine engineering intuition with computationally-driven design and process-specific constraints, how to select AM processes and materials for specific applications, and how to navigate the complex landscape of AM equipment materials and applications. You will be able to assess and predict the value of an additively manufactured part based on production cost and performance, identify how, when, and where AM can create value across the product life cycle, and evaluate the business case for transitioning a product to using AM versus conventional manufacturing—in part or in whole.
The course is well-suited for engineers in every field, from manufacturing, construction, oil and gas, aerospace, defense, and transportation, to information technology, healthcare, education, consumer products, and beyond. If you implement additive manufacturing in your current role—or your company implements AM elsewhere—and you would like to pivot towards an AM-centric role, if you have an opportunity to make an impact in your organization or industry with AM, but you need to tools to get started, then this course may be for you!
Past learner job titles have included: Materials Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, Manufacturing Engineer, Product Design Engineer, Production Engineer, Software Engineer, Systems Design Engineer, Civil Engineer, Sales Engineer, Designer, Machinist, Sales Professional, Academic Researcher, Technician, Architect, Project Manager, Senior Manager, Director or Executive
This is a technical course, and comfort with secondary or undergraduate-level mathematics and physics is recommended to excel. The course makes use of Autodesk Fusion 360 to share CAD files, structure course activities and case files, and otherwise provide learners with access to professional-grade engineering tools. For more information, refer to this FAQ article.
The coursework features practice activities with immediate feedback and makes heavy use of scenario-based learning. Learners will complete two large, MIT-designed case studies, and you will be able to choose from several available AM perspectives, including financial planning and CAD design. The course makes use of peer-review for collaborative learning, but does not feature group work.
The first weeks of the course will be dedicated to familiarizing you with general information about additive manufacturing, its use, and its current place in industry. You will learn how additive manufacturing works, with introductions to the many different AM processes, including metal and plastic.
The middle weeks will focus on the applications of additive manufacturing, including prototyping and design architecture, utilizing 3D printing kits as test examples. You will be introduced to and begin working with Autodesk Fusion 360 to understand and implement additive design, and explore best practices in AM.
The final weeks of the course will delve into financial planning considerations for additive manufacturing before ramping up to the case studies. Two weeks of the course will be dedicated to completing each of the large case studies. In the final week, you will synthesize all of the course material to envision a future of production where additive manufacturing plays an integral role in automated factory systems—the factory of the future.
Your industry already has been or will soon be impacted by additive manufacturing. The course will prepare you to implement additive manufacturing in your current role, prepare you to pivot to future opportunities in your industry or others, and provide you with the tools to create and take advantage of opportunities to make an impact in your organization or industry with AM.