Timken Co. technologist Praveen Pauskar loves the idea of three-dimensional printing -- the concept of taking an image from his computer screen and getting a finished metal part within a few hours.

But for all the promise that the technology holds, it's not ready for big industrial companies yet, he and other representatives from Northeast Ohio manufacturers told University of Akron engineering professors Monday.

"It's been on our interest radar for about 15 years now," Pauskar told engineers gathered to hear details of the new federal additive manufacturing laboratory in Youngstown. "We weren't sure how we could use this technology, and we're still struggling with that."

Earlier this year, several universities, manufacturers and economic development groups in Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania raised $40 million to establish the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute at Youngstown State University. Several federal agencies contributed another $30 million.

The goal of the new institute is to take 3-D printing and other methods for translating digital images into parts that you can hold in your hand from laboratories and specialty shops into factories.

Most large manufacturers use 3-D printers to create prototypes for parts so they can test them in large machines. But when it comes time to go into production, those companies typically used cheaper, time-tested methods such as metal stamping for production.

Terry Ellis, general manager of Arco Tool & Die in Akron, said the technology is hugely promising because with it, companies could design parts that can't be made using traditional fabricating techniques.

Airplane parts could be hollow on the inside, cutting weight and improving fuel economy. Fuel injectors for cars could be smaller and more precise. And custom-made tools used in every factory in the country could become even more customized.

"Even though we're a 62-man shop, and Timken is a massive company, we have the same problem with this technology," Ellis said. "It's close, but it's not quite ready yet."

The big limitations are price and speed. Though 3-D printing works quickly for plastic parts, it can be slow for the metal tools that Timken and Arco envision. And while 3-D printers that make plastic parts have fallen in price, the ones that can do metal still cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"For us to be able to justify this kind of investment, we would have to run this equipment around the clock," Pauskar said. He added that even if demand for such complex parts was high enough, the machines couldn't produce enough parts quickly enough to earn back those startup costs.

Lisa Camp, assistant dean for strategic initiatives at Case Western Reserve University, said those are the sorts of problems that researchers at CWRU, UA and other schools hope to solve with help from grants and technical assistance from NAMII.

"This isn't necessarily tech push from universities. We want to hear what industry needs from this technology," Camp said at the Akron event. CWRU and UA were two of the lead institutions that helped crafted the NAMII concept.

Ellis said several of his customers, primarily large tire companies that need specialized molds and tools, are coming up with designs that are so complex that they may need 3-D printing and other forms of additive manufacturing in the future.

"They're all excited about it, until I tell them that prices are going to triple for the parts," Ellis said. He added that if researchers can lower costs and raise quality, manufacturers will embrace the technology.

The key will be when companies start designing parts that can't be produced any other way than with commercial-grade 3-D printers.

"Prototyping is only going to support additive manufacturing for a limited amount of time," Ellis said. "We're going to have to move it to the production level."

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