Knoxville, TN, May 25, 2017- The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation—IACMI-The Composites Institute, a national institute led by The University of Tennessee, Knoxville and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), announces a new project with Materials Innovation Technologies (MIT) to use big area additive manufacturing to develop preforms made with reclaimed carbon fibers. The project work in East Tennessee is being led by IACMI-The Composites Institute, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and the Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The joint effort aims to successfully utilize repurposed carbon fiber to produce low-cost, 3-dimensional engineering preforms reducing cycle time and cost for lightweight automotive components.
Industry project partner, Materials Innovation Technologies, is providing conventionally manufactured mold and fiber preform as well as combined data from materials, tooling and preforms. “The diverse capabilities of IACMI-The Composites Institute and its partners, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, allowed us to work full circle by utilizing reclaimed carbon fiber in the tooling and preforms to produce a lightweight automotive part. Combining reclaimed carbon fiber with 3D printing processes will greatly reduce the manufacturing time and cost demonstrating the viability of composite parts in vehicle light weighting,” said Jim Stike, MIT’s President and CEO. Stike went on to state, “Cycle times of conventionally manufactured aluminum or steel production tools currently range from four to ten weeks. This collaboration illustrates the ability to go from model to preform to production tool in under one week, saving as much as 50-75% in manufacturing costs.”
“This project is unique and represents why IACMI was set up- to connect with small and medium enterprises like MIT to increase manufacturing efficiency and competitiveness through ecosystem collaboration and research and development outcomes,” stated Bryan Dods, IACMI CEO. Materials and resources are also being provided by IACMI members, TechmerPM, The Dow Chemical Company, Faurecia, Local Motors, and others.
About IACMI-The Composites Institute:
The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI), managed by the Collaborative Composite Solutions Corporation (CCS), is a partnership of industry, universities, national laboratories, and federal, state and local governments working together to benefit the nation’s energy and economic security by sharing existing resources and co-investing to accelerate development and commercial deployment of advanced composites. CCS is a not-for-profit organization established by The University of Tennessee Research Foundation. The national Manufacturing USA institute is supported by a $70 million commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office, and over $180 million committed from IACMI’s partners. Find out more at IACMI.org.
About Materials Innovation Technologies (MIT)
MIT, headquartered in Fletcher, North Carolina, is a leading advanced materials company focused on developing innovative technical solutions for the manufacture of complex-shaped, performance composite parts. MIT works with advanced materials such as carbon fiber, aramid fibers, fiber glass, natural fibers, and hybrids, along with their proprietary manufacturing processes to successfully develop solutions for the emerging technology needs of the Aerospace, Automotive, Defense, Mass Transit, and Recreational Sporting Goods markets, just to name a few. Their team of leading scientists, materials engineers, mechanical engineers, industrial engineers, and quality assurance specialists have been successfully involved in moving products from the idea stage to commercialization for over 20 years and have extensive experience in working with Fortune 100 companies, national labs, university consortiums, and US governmental agencies. For additional information, please visit http://www.emergingmit.com/about_us.
About Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
The Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at ORNL is supported by the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO). EERE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) supports early stage applied research and development of new materials, information, and processes that improve American manufacturing’s energy efficiency, as well as platform technologies for manufacturing clean energy products.