Program Options

Additive Manufacturing Program

Overview

The Additive Manufacturing Program provides students with the interdisciplinary skills needed to apply cutting-edge manufacturing techniques within a wide range of industries. Throughout the program, students work with state-of-the-art industrial equipment and open-platform fabrication systems with a focus on additive manufacturing. The Additive Manufacturing teaching lab is dedicated to the program, allowing students to explore various equipment and systems. Within this lab, students have the option to work with polymers, metals, ceramics and biological materials, while optimizing structural design and capturing and interpreting important process data.

Degree Options

The Additive Manufacturing Program offers an Area of Special Interest and a Minor for undergraduate students, and a Master of Science, Non-Thesis (MSNT) degree or Professional Certificates for post-baccalaureate students or working professionals. Undergraduates can also plan a 4+1 program in which they structure their schedule to earn the MSNT following their BS with an additional year of coursework.

Enrolling students should have a GPA of 3.0 or higher (current GPA or GPA from last degree earned) and a background in science or engineering.

Area of Special Interest 12 credit hours More info
Minor 18 credit hours More info
Master of Science, Non-Thesis & 4+1 30 credit hours More info
Professional Certificates 12 credit hours More info

 

Outcomes

Graduates of the program will have the skills to:

  • Design products for additive and advanced manufacturing processes
  • Drive innovation through the effective application of simulation tools for ideation and design verification
  • Leverage advanced manufacturing systems in industry to integrate state-of-the-art technologies within various fields
  • Exploit data and optimization to reveal more and better R&D solutions

Program Options

Minor or Area of Special Interest

Minor in Additive Manufacturing: 18 credit hours
Required: AMFG 401 Introduction to Additive Manufacturing (3 credit hours) and 15 credit hours* selected from the table below (effective Fall 2020).

Area of Special Interest in Additive Manufacturing: 12 credit hours
Required: AMFG 401 Introduction to Additive Manufacturing (3 credit hours) and 9 credit hours* selected from the table below (effective Fall 2020).

*At least 9.0 of the hours required for the minor or ASI must not be used for any part of the degree other than Free Electives and must be 300-level courses or higher.

Mechanical Engineering MajorMetallurgical and Materials
Engineering Major
Other Majors
AMFG 401
Intro to Additive Manufacturing (3.0)
RequiredRequiredRequired
MEGN 381
Manufacturing Processes (3.0)
Required for ME; can be double-counted for AMFG minorOptionalOptional
MEGN 412
Advanced Mechanics of Materials (3.0)
OptionalOptionalOptional
AMFG 421
Design for Additive Manufacturing (3.0)
RecommendedOptionalOptional
AMFG 422
Lean Manufacturing (3.0)
OptionalOptionalOptional
AMFG 511**
Data-Driven Materials Manufacturing (3.0)
OptionalOptionalOptional
AMFG 531**
Materials for Additive Manufacturing (3.0)
OptionalRecommendedOptional
FEGN 525**
Advanced FEA Theory & Practice (3.0)
OptionalOptionalOptional
FEGN 526**
Static and Dynamic Applications in FEA (3.0)
OptionalOptionalOptional

**Requires approval by appropriate program directors

Master of Science, Non-Thesis and 4+1 Programs
  • Earn the Additive Manufacturing MSNT degree in as little as one academic year (late August–early May)
  • Enroll as a full-time student or as a working professional
  • Apply up to 6 credit hours of undergrad coursework for the MSNT program
  • Work in industry and experience advanced technologies firsthand while obtaining practicum credit
  • Complete coursework on your schedule from anywhere with online course options.
  • Build a 4+1 BS+MSNT program – contact the program directors to discuss applicable courses

ELECTIVE OPTIONS
Many courses within Mechanical Engineering, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Materials Science, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Physics and Mathematics can be applied to the Additive Manufacturing program as electives. Contact the program directors to discuss options and to plan your MSNT or 4+1 degree.

4+1 PROGRAM FOR METROPOLITAN STATE UNIVERSITY OF DENVER STUDENTS
Students in the Advanced Manufacturing Sciences program at Metropolitan State University of Denver can now transition to Colorado School of Mines to earn a Master of Science Non-Thesis degree in Additive Manufacturing with as little as one additional year of coursework. View the details and contact the Mines Additive Manufacturing program directors for more information.

 

 

 

Certificate

The Additive Manufacturing program offers the Additive Manufacturing Certificate. The certificate is designed to be earned entirely online; however, local students have the option to attend some courses on campus, if it fits their schedule.

  • Each online class lasts 8 weeks and requires approximately 15 hours per week
  • Earn the professional certificate in one academic year (late Aug–early May)
  • Designed for working professionals OR full-time students
  • 100% online classes allow you to complete coursework on your schedule from any location with WiFi access
  • Connect and complete your class assignments with any laptop, tablet, or handheld device

CONTACT

To learn more about degree options, or to enroll in the Minor or ASI, please contact:

Cadi Gillette
Interdisciplinary Programs Coordinator
cadi.gillette@mines.edu

Craig A. Brice
Program Director
craigabrice@mines.edu

READY TO APPLY?

Click here to visit Mines graduate admissions.

Additive Manufacturing (AMFG) COURSES

AMFG 501 INTRODUCTION TO ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING.* 3.0 Semester Hrs.

Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing in the popular press, is an emerging manufacturing technology that will see widespread adoption across a wide range of industries in the near term. Subtractive manufacturing (SM) technologies (CNCs, drill presses, lathes, etc.) have been an industry mainstay for over 100 years. The transition from SM to AM technologies, the blending of SM and AM technologies, and other developments in the manufacturing world have direct impact on how we design and manufacture products. This course will prepare students for the new design and manufacturing environment that AM is unlocking. The graduate section of this course differs from the undergraduate section in that graduate students perform AM-related research. While students in this course complete quizzes and homework, they do not take a midterm or final exam.
*This course is a co- or prerequisite to the other core courses.

AMFG 511 DATA-DRIVEN MATERIALS MANUFACTURING. 3.0 Semester Hrs.

In this course, students first review foundational principles of statistical modeling/machine learning, including those needed for Regression, Classification, Data Dimensionality Reduction, Clustering, and Inverse Modeling applications. Additionally, fundamentals of materials manufacturing data management will be taught. With this background at hand, students then learn how to apply these approaches through three different projects: 1. Accelerate the design of experiments and minimize cost for qualifying a new material manufacturing process. 2. Optimize a material chemistry for a specific manufacturing process. 3. Optimize a manufacturing process for a specific part. Students will use recommended published data sets for two of the projects, and will collect their own data (both in the lab and from the literature) for the third.

AMFG 521 DESIGN FOR ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING. 3.0 Semester Hrs.

Most parts originally designed for traditional manufacturing techniques, such as machining, casting, or molding, cannot be successfully transitioned to additive production methods by simply “sending them to the 3D printer.” This course will introduce the most common considerations that must be addressed to successfully design or re-design parts for additive manufacturing methods. Hands-on, collaborative learning experiences, industry-leading software solutions, and emerging hardware platforms will be used to explore the following key topic areas:

1. Design: topological optimization, re-parameterization of optimized topology (i.e., voxel to parametric geometry), local shape optimization, complex internal and external lattice layout
2. Production Planning: slice thickness, laser/extruder path, part orientation, support structures
3. Production Process: machine-specific characteristics, material/heat addition, thermal history, microstructure/phase transformations, multiscale material modeling, distortion
4. Post-processing and In-service: post-production heat treatment, post-production machining, part distortion and how to compensate, in-service structural performance
5. Integration: use of probabilistic methods, optimization, or parametric evaluation loops to understand interactions among phases a–d above

AMFG 501 Introduction to Additive Manufacturing must be taken as a prerequisite (not as a co-requisite).

AMFG 522 LEAN MANUFACTURING. 3.0 Semester Hrs.

Students will learn to apply skill sets to real-world problems, focusing on lean and six-sigma principles and methodologies. The course is taught with a focus on the DMAIC structure of implementation (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) for improving and implementing process efficiencies in industry. By the end of the course, students will be prepared to take their six-sigma green belt certification and bronze lean certification.

AMFG 531 MATERIALS FOR ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING. 3.0 Semester Hrs.

This course covers existing structural materials in use in additive manufacturing (AM) and their forms, the physical models for processing them (both to create feedstock as well as the AM processes themselves), and the strengths and weaknesses of these different materials for AM. The course will end with a project in which students design and demonstrate a new material for AM that solves a major gap in today’s AM materials. These gaps could include chemistry/composition, processing/forms of feedstock materials, post-processing treatments of AM materials, and/or altering/modifying/creating new AM processes for desirable materials.

AMFG581. OPTIMIZATION MODELS IN MANUFACTURING. 3.0 Semester Hrs.

This course explores the process of taking known inputs such as costs, supplies and demands, and determining values for unknown quantities (variables) so as to maximize or minimize some goal (objective function) while satisfying a variety of restrictions (constraints). Such problems arise in manufacturing operations as personnel planning, product sequencing, and plant scheduling. We examine a variety of manufacturing settings, e.g., flow shops, job shops, flexible manufacturing shops, and the corresponding appropriate models to optimize operations. The course explores a mix of mathematical modeling, software use and case studies. Prerequisite: Junior standing in an engineering major, or instructor consent.

AMFG592. ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING BUILD PREPARATION. 1.0 Semester Hr.

This course covers practical aspects of additive manufacturing build preparation, which include designing a part, part build orientation, and support structures. It distinguishes these concepts from those of traditional manufacturing methods and addresses how they influence final part outcome in regard to mechanical performance, dimensional accuracy, surface finish, and post processing requirements. Similarities and differences in these concepts are covered as they apply to various additive manufacturing technologies. These concepts are integrated to ultimately provide students with the ability to holistically approach design for additive manufacturing. Prerequisite: AMFG401 or AMFG501.