Intelligent Design and Manufacturing Lab

The Intelligent Design and Manufacturing (IDM) Lab is housed in a dedicated ~2,700 sq. ft. (NC2205, NC2405) research facility on the CU Denver Downtown Campus. It supports advanced research in additive manufacturing, materials characterization, and mechanical testing.

3D Printing Capabilities:

• Multiple commercial and custom-built 3D printers
• Technologies supported:
  • Direct Ink Writing (DIW)
  • Material Extrusion (ME)
  • Stereolithography (SLA)
• Supports printing of thermosets, thermoplastics, and fiber-reinforced composites
• Commercial Anisoprint continuous fiber printer with G-code control for programmable fiber paths

Characterization and Fabrication Tools:

• Optical light microscope (2–5×)
• Polarized light microscope (20–50×)
• Atomic force microscope (~10–100 nm resolution)
• Muffle furnace for thermal processing
• UV curing ovens and UV light systems
• Drill press and band saw for mechanical post-processing
• Fully equipped tool chest with diamond-tipped coring bits

Mechanical and Thermal Testing Equipment:

• Uniaxial mechanical tester
• Cyclic mechanical tester
• Dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA)
• Thermal chambers integrated with each system
• Load cell range: 0.1 mN to 30 kN
• Temperature range: −200 °C to 400 °C

These resources support multiscale experimental mechanics, thermal-mechanical research, and the development of next-generation manufacturing techniques.

Additive Manufacturing Lab

The Department of Mechanical Engineering Additive Manufacturing (AM) Lab is located in NC1809 and was newly renovated in 2025. This student-run facility supports the College of Engineering, Design, and Computing at CU Denver, providing hands-on experience in 3D printing and digital fabrication.

The lab features a Print Farm with over 15 Prusa MK3 printers, along with 2 Prusa XL and 5 Bambu A1 printers capable of multi-material printing. It also includes a metal extrusion printer and a kiln for sintering metal green parts, enabling advanced fabrication capabilities.

The AM Lab processes student printing orders for a variety of mechanical engineering courses:

• MECH 1025 – CAD
• MECH 2024 – Materials Science
• MECH 3035 – Design of Mechanical Elements
• MECH 4035/4045 – Senior Design

Trained undergraduate assistants manage the lab operations and help process print jobs. The lab also serves as a Maker Space for:

• MECH 3045 – Fundamentals of Additive Manufacturing

In this course, students learn to operate 3D printers independently to complete their hands-on projects. The lab also hosts undergraduate research in areas such as:

• Multi-material printing
• FFF-based metal printing
• Advanced 3D printing technologies