The president of a small, high-end Taiwanese injection molder has donated $1 million to his alma mater, the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, for a 3D printing and rapid prototyping lab.
Lawrence Lin, president of New Tapei City-based Grand Dynasty Industrial Co. Ltd., earned his doctorate in polymer science and plastics engineering from UMass Lowell in 1990.
The 8,500-square-foot lab, named the Lawrence Lin MakerSpace, features 3D printers, CNC machines, laser cutters and other tools to help students prototype their dreams. Catering to youthful inspiration, the facility is open 24 hours a day.
Lin made the donation with his wife, Jang-li Chang, who studied computer programming at UMass Lowell. He said he has fond memories of his time at Lowell, before he went back to Taiwan to work at GDI, which had been started by his father and older brother in the mid-1980s.
Today GDI, which specializes in rapid turnarounds on engineering plastics such as polyetheretherketone and polyetherimide, has a global customer base. Many of its products have high glass-fiber content.
"Even when I came back to Taiwan to take charge of GDI, the training I got from Lowell still supported me," he wrote in an email interview. "I feel that I owe UMass Lowell a lot."
Lin is a fervent believer that 3D printing can play a key role in prototyping parts and streamlining the toolmaking process, two keys to the future of the plastics industry worldwide. GDI uses 3D metal printing to build molds.
Lin's relationship with the university started in 1983, when he began graduate school there. In 2014, UMass Lowell gave him its Alumni Award.
Lin believes smart, environmentally friendly manufacturing is the key to overcoming what he says are the biggest threats to the industry's long-term viability: cheap molds and antiquated process management.