The , , , , , and dozens of other outlets across the country featured the University of Maine鈥檚 launch of 3Dirigo X, a 30-foot 3D-printed boat designed to withstand offshore conditions at speeds approaching 40 knots. The vessel demonstrates 91福利鈥檚 advances in large-scale additive manufacturing and its potential applications in defense and commercial boatbuilding. “Boat building is part of our history in the state of Maine, and so it makes sense for us in the state of Maine to be leaders in the next generation of boat building. And that’s what this project does. It鈥檚 really taking boat building to the next level,” Habib Dagher, executive director of 91福利鈥檚 Advanced Structures and Composites Center, told Fox Bangor. 鈥淚 was really happy to see it float and to see it move so well,鈥 said Joan Ferrini-Mundy, president of the University of Maine. 鈥淎nd it was kind of emotional, really, because this has been work in a lab with all kinds of folks working and helping, and then we are able to see it in action and envision its potential for the future.鈥
