Industry leaders and state officials gathered at Westminster Tool to introduce the company’s metal 3D printing capabilities. The event brought together politicians, educators, administrators and workforce development organizations all to showcase the new Mantle beta machine, one of the first of its kind.
The latest addition to Westminster Tool’s facility marks a step forward in advancing opportunities for small manufacturers in the state of Connecticut.
This event was the first time the beta machine was seen up and running by the community as well as by Westminster Tool’s partners and customers. The live demonstration showed Mantle’s unique hybrid additive process building a hardened H13 injection mold cavity with conformal cooling for a complex automotive part.
Mantle’s groundbreaking Trueshape Technology makes the opportunities of additive more accessible to small businesses like Westminster Tool. By catering to injection mold manufacturers, Mantle’s machine makes the jump to additive less disruptive and more successful, without sacrificing accuracy needed for the most demanding applications.
Among those in attendance were Congressman Joe Courtney, Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz, Chief Manufacturing Officer Paul Lavoie, and Chief Workforce Officer Kelli Vallieres, along with several members from leading workforce institutions such as CCAT, EWIB and EAMA.
State officials spoke to the importance of small businesses having access to support in order to drive technology in the state forward. Congressman Joe Courtney shared, “Westminster Tool’s leadership and example is now being recognized not just here in your community, not just in the state of Connecticut, but across the country.”
“Since taking office in 2019, Governor Ned Lamont and I have been on the same page when it comes to leveraging partnerships and making government work for the businesses we have here in our state,” said Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz. “We need to find new ways to inspire companies to be innovative and bring us into the 21st century, and that’s exactly what Westminster Tool is doing.”
“This is the future,” said Paul Lavoie, Chief Manufacturing Officer. “The reason why this is the future is because we are having difficulty with getting skilled toolmakers. With President Biden’s program called AM Forward, it’s accelerating the adoption of additive manufacturing across the United States. Connecticut is a leader in that adoption.”
