W.M. Keck Center for 3D Innovation at UTEP

https://www.additivemanufacturing.media/articles/utep-students-win-2026-am-in-steel-competition-with-3d-printed-multi-tool-

UTEP Students Win 2026 AM in Steel Competition with 3D Printed Multi-Tool A team of students from UTEP have designed and 3D printed the winning metal multi-tool for the third annual AM in Steel competition.

We were happy to host faculty members from the UTEP Chemistry Department for a visit to the AMAC facility, home to the W.M. Keck Center for 3D Innovation and the Aerospace Center.

The visit was a great opportunity to share our work, showcase the facility, and continue building relationships across departments at the university. In addition to our ongoing connections with industry, government, and engineering partners, we value opportunities to collaborate with faculty and researchers from many different disciplines.

Interdisciplinary partnerships are an important part of advancing research, supporting students, and creating new opportunities for innovation at UTEP.

Thank you to the Chemistry faculty for visiting. We look forward to continuing these conversations and exploring future collaborations.

At the W.M. Keck Center for 3D Innovation, students are using engineering to solve practical challenges.

Sayuri Komiyama, working under Dr. Frank Medina, played a key role in a project supporting ROTC training and competition preparation.

Her work focused on reverse engineering a critical component. Using a high-precision 3D scanner, she created a digital twin of the original part to ensure accuracy. She then modified the mesh design to incorporate UTEP representation and manufactured 12 identical components using a Prusa XL 3D printer.

Through this project, Sayuri strengthened her understanding of reverse engineering accuracy, material selection, and the importance of choosing the right manufacturing process. She also gained hands-on experience optimizing parameters to achieve consistent, high-quality results.

🚀 What a moment to witness together!

The Keck Center community recently gathered with family friends and peers from the Aerospace Center and the UTEP Miguel Loya Engineering Department to watch the splashdown of Artemis II—and it was nothing short of inspiring.

Seeing innovation, teamwork, and exploration come to life reminds us why we do what we do every day in the lab. Congratulations to NASA and the entire Artemis team for this incredible achievement!

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As part of our Internal Keck CAD Contest, participants were challenged to design a 3D printed part for guests and promotional opportunities, something that could be produced efficiently in one color while representing what Keck does best.

Congratulations to Emilio Ceniceros, whose winning design featured a small orange pick with the UTEP logo at the center. Emilio developed the part using DFAM (Design for Additive Manufacturing) principles, creating a design that is practical, recognizable, and aligned with effective additive manufacturing strategies.

Great to welcome visitors from EPCC to the Keck Center at UTEP.

We were excited to host Blayne Primozich, Michael Gonzalez, Jonathan Nickerson, and Fan Chen during their visit and share more about the work happening in advanced manufacturing, innovation, and workforce development.

Visits like this are a great opportunity to connect, exchange ideas, and strengthen partnerships across our region. Thank you to our guests from EPCC for taking the time to visit the AMAC building.

Meet Eduardo Carrera Hernandez, a student researcher at the W. M. Keck Center for 3D Innovation.

Eduardo joined the Keck Center in Summer 2025, where he works under Mahesh Tonde for Engineering Services and Polymers Operations. His work focuses on maintaining and optimizing additive manufacturing systems, including calibration, maintenance, and post processing for both FDM and SLA technologies. He also contributes to reverse engineering and CAD based design to support a range of prototyping needs.

His role is primarily operations based, and it is essential to keeping systems running efficiently and ensuring printed parts meet quality standards. Through this work, he supports students, researchers, and collaborators across the lab.

Here’s what he’s gained from the experience:

“Through this experience, I’ve developed strong technical skills across multiple software platforms for CAD and 3D scanning, as well as a deeper understanding of print optimization, troubleshooting, and quality control.”

What he finds most rewarding:

“One of the most rewarding aspects of my work is being able to directly contribute to other people’s projects by helping turn their concepts into functional prototypes.”

The W.M. Keck Center for 3D Innovation recently welcomed Luke Schwartz, Student Regent for The University of Texas System, for a visit to the Advanced Manufacturing and Aerospace Center (AMAC).

Schwartz was hosted by Arturo Barrio, UTEP Assistant Vice President for International Relations, and Ryan Boatright, President of the UTEP Student Government Association.

During the visit, guests explored the cutting-edge research taking place inside AMAC, where students and researchers are advancing additive manufacturing and aerospace technologies.

We were excited to welcome Dr. Caleb Carreño and Dr. Ruben Castañeda from CIMAV for a tour of our facilities. They were joined by UTEP faculty Dr. Cesar Terrazas and Dr. Carmen Rocha, along with Dr. Jorge Mireles and Abraham Ramirez from AconityUS.

From advanced additive manufacturing systems to ongoing research projects, the visit sparked meaningful conversations about innovation, materials science, and future collaborations.

Opportunities like this strengthen partnerships across institutions and industry—driving forward the future of 3D printing and advanced manufacturing.