PCE News
GVSU engineers win prize at 2025 America Makes "Additive in Steel" competition.
May 16, 2025
This week, Dr. Abishek Balsamy-Kamaraj took his Additive Manufacturing class to compete in the Additive in Steel competition in Cleveland, OH.
This event, organized by America Makes, is an event that draws university students from across the country to design and fabricate a functional "Everyday Carry" (EDC) device using additive manufacturing (AM) with steel. This challenge encourages students to harness their knowledge and the unique capabilities of AM to create compact and versatile tools for real-world use. Teams consult with first responders and service professionals to gain a deeper understanding of the tools and critical features that contribute to the successful deployment of a multi-tool. Mutli-tools such as these date back to the Roman Empire.
Teams are evaluated on:
- Design and Considerations for Additive
- Manufacturing & Process
- A team-made video
- Performance of their multi-tool with provided testing criteria.
Three teams from the Grand Valley State University Padnos College of Engineering attended this event, and one of our teams, named "The Powder Pros" scored THIRD PLACE ($1,000) for their innovative multi-tool design. The multi-tool combines the functionality of a typical multi-tool, and the required criteria included a seatbelt cutter, Allen Key, Phillips-head screwdriver, a pry bar, a hammer, a flat-head screwdriver, a hammer, a 1/4in Hex extension, a wrench, wire snips, and a glass breaker. All of these functions had to be tested individually and recorded in the team video. Watch the video here! (gvsu.edu/pce/powderpros)
A special thanks to our industry partner, Next Chapter Manufacturing. Next Chapter MFG was instrumental in this project, as they manufactured all of the parts, answered any and all questions asked by our students regarding the powder-bed fusion process, and provided tips on the general design of the multi-tool. With their help, the students were able to incorporate gyroid latticing, and topology optimization.
Industry partners like Next Chapter Manufacturing allow us to provide an exceptional level of education here at the Padnos College of Engineering at Grand Valley State University. Their steadfast commitment to our student's success is crucial, and we appreciate everything they do for us.
When asked for a comment, Dr. Balsamy-Kamaraj stated "I would like to thank our industry sponsor (Next Chapter manufacturing) and also appreciate the student team for completing the project under a lot of constraints, given that we do not have the printer on campus. They used all the information learned from the new AM class and implemented it in the project, leading to their success."
Great job and congratulations to everyone involved!