Innovation Manufacturing Institutes (IMI) (previously Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Institutes)
Abstract
Technical innovation and leadership in manufacturing are essential to sustaining the foundations of economic prosperity to enable our military to maintain technological advantage and global dominance. To support these goals, Institutes for Manufacturing Innovation (IMI) will serve as regional hubs to accelerate technological innovation into commercial application and concurrently develop the educational competencies and production processes via shared public-private sectors. Collaborative execution and funding by the Departments of Defense (DoD), Energy (DoE), and Commerce (DoC), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support the establishment of the IMIs will spur industry cost-share for manufacturing innovation and quickly develop a pathway for technology-focused regional hubs for collaboration among government, industry, and academia that will meet critical government and Warfighter needs. The concept of these institutes is highlighted in the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) report titled “Capturing Domestic Competitive Advantage in Advanced Manufacturing,” published in July 2012. IMI for 3D printing: The focus of the 3D printing IMI is to accelerate additive manufacturing technologies to the U.S. manufacturing sector and increase domestic manufacturing competitiveness by: 1) Fostering a highly collaborative infrastructure for the open exchange of additive manufacturing information and research 2) Facilitating the development, evaluation, and deployment of efficient and flexible additive manufacturing technologies 3) Engaging with educational institutions and companies to supply education and training in additive manufacturing technologies to create an adaptive, leading workforce, 4) Serving as a national institute with regional and national impact on additive manufacturing capabilities, 5) Linking and integrating US companies with existing public, private or not-for-profit industrial and economic development resources, and business incubators, with an emphasis on assisting small- and medium-sized enterprises and early-stage companies (start-ups). The 3D printing IMI was established in 2012. IMI for digital manufacturing and design: Advanced design and manufacturing tools that are digitally integrated and networked with supply chains can lead to 'factories of the future,' forming an agile U.S. industrial base with significant speed to market advantage. A national institute focusing on the development of model-based design methodologies, virtual manufacturing tools, and sensor and robotics-based manufacturing networks will accelerate innovation in manufacturing, increasing U.S. competitiveness. The digital manufacturing and design IMI will provide the proving ground to link promising information technologies, tools, standards, models, sensors, controls, practices and skills, and then transition these capabilities to the industrial base for full-scale application. For example, proving and progressing intelligent electro-mechanical design and manufacturing capabilities from laboratory to prototype factory environments would improve production efficiencies and costs. The focus is the smart and comprehensive use of the ‘digital thread’ throughout design, production and support. IMI for lightweight metals: Advanced lightweight metals possess properties comparable to traditional materials while enabling much lighter components and products. A national institute will scale-up research to accelerate market expansion by applying integrated computational of materials and manufacturing approach. New structural alloys face tremendous barriers to application due to lack of design guides and certifications as well as cost and scale-up challenges. The goal is to develop an advanced lightweight-metal U.S. supplier base, and to enable DoD to realize significant fuel reduction, increased payloads, and greater speed and agility of manned, unmanned, and soldier systems as well as benefits for commercial applications and energy savings. Two additional IMIs will be established in FY 2015, focusing investments in the key technical areas of Advanced Electronics and Optics Manufacturing, Advanced Materials Manufacturing, and Enterprise and Emerging Manufacturing. Each Institute is projected to be financially self-sustaining within a five year period of performance.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Accomplishment
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2015
- Source ID
- 0f4f2db573cb39c6be7aa35acc4bf4e7