DOE awards IACMI $1.5M grant

for South Appalachian coal resources technology

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded IACMI $1.5 million to develop and deploy new technologies for manufacturing critical minerals and valuable non-fuel, carbon-based products from coal resources in the South Appalachian Basin of east Tennessee, northwest Georgia and northern Alabama.

DOE announced these efforts will revitalize distressed South Appalachian coal communities, reduce reliance on foreign imports, and create advanced manufacturing jobs producing coal-derived products in new ways that do not emit carbon dioxide from coal-fired power generation.

Production of rare earth elements and critical minerals, which serve as key components to several clean energy applications such batteries in electric and conventional vehicles and magnets in wind turbines, is a prime example of how DOE is supporting regional economic growth and job creation in regions traditionally home to the fossil fuel industry.

The two-year IACMI grant is part of 13 projects totaling $19 million announced by DOE. Read DOE's announcement here. Managed by the Collaborative Composite Solutions Corporation, IACMI will share more details about the project soon.

ACE Milestone Alert! UT Fibers and Composites Manufacturing Facility (FCMF) receives new Haas CNC equipment

This week, University of Tennessee, Knoxville students in the Fibers and Composites Manufacturing Facility and the facility's director Dr. Uday Vaidya welcomed the arrival of a new Haas VM-3 5-axis CNC vertical machining center. The precision machine will better equip the college and ACE to develop the next generation of U.S. machine tool workforce.

A national initiative to restore the prominence of the U.S. machine tools sector through advances in training and technology, ACE is supported by the Department of Defense (DOD) Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment Program as a national imperative under the Office of Industrial Policy. DOD is utilizing the scientific expertise of the DOE's ORNL and the workforce development leadership of IACMI. IACMI is partnering with UT and Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville to pilot the new machine tool training framework.

Learn more at www.iacmi.org/ace

MITO Material Solutions joins IACMI

IACMI would like to officially welcome MITO Material Solutions to our 150+ member community of industry, academic institutions and government agencies leading innovation and workforce development initiatives to drive the adoption of advanced composites and strengthen U.S. manufacturing competitiveness.

MITO Material Solutions manufacturers polymer additives to enable composite manufacturers to create tougher, lighter, and more durable products. MITO Material Solutions is the only U.S. company focused solely on developing and supplying functional hybrid additives with novel ingredients like graphene oxide. The company's products add multifunctionality to materials which enable composite manufacturers to create tougher, lighter, and more durable products.

Haley Marie Keith & Kevin Keith

“We joined this amazing organization not only because several of our friends recommended it, but because we wanted to interface with like minded professionals looking to collaborate on implementing composites into our everyday lives," said Kevin Keith, Co-founder & Director of Product Engineering at MITO Material Solutions. "We know that in order to make the future more sustainable, you have to focus on material development which is what IACMI is all about.”

Are you interested in becoming an IACMI member? Click here to learn more.

New Innovation Insights webinar series to highlight

recent industry advancements from IACMI members, core partners

You're invited to join IACMI Chief Commercialization Officer Dale Brosius in a new monthly webinar series entitled "Innovation Insights" aimed at featuring recent composites technology advancements that industry may not be fully aware of.

Beginning Monday, May 17 at 12PM ET, you are encouraged to sit in on a one hour series of presentations from IACMI members and partners, where they will provide background on the technology, the products and key advantages and some application examples.

In our first kickoff episode you'll hear from:*

Andrew Maxey, Vartega
- "Sustainable carbon fiber for the masses"
TBD, BASF Corporation
- "Advances in thermoplastic composites for demanding transportation applications"
Doug Adams, Vanderbilt University
- “Novel uses for thermal imaging in large part fabrication: Seeing the unseen"

Join us during your lunch break for these engaging presentations. There will be Q&A opportunities for the audience.

Click here to learn more and register!

*Speakers are subject to change

Scaling excellence in defense industry's

composite manufacturing workforce

IACMI Workforce Director Joannie Harmon, left, led a team last week to south Alabama to tour Alabama Aviation College (AAC), a unit of Enterprise State Community College (ESCC). IACMI is partnering with the college, part of the Alabama Community College System, to implement the Advanced Composites Career Pathways (ACCP) Program in support of local defense manufacturing partners and the Fort Rucker military installation.

It is all part of the Manufacturing Engineering Education Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Office of Naval Research aimed at developing qualified, skilled workers for manufacturers within the DOD supply chain. The community college is strategically located in Ozark, Alabama; adjacent to Fort Rucker, headquarters for U.S. Army Aviation.

IACMI has teamed up with Davis Technical College to expand its successful composites manufacturing technology program to key locations within the DOD supply chain.

"The ACCP program team identifies locations that align with the DOD supply chain and have a need for a skilled advanced composites workforce," said Joannie Harmon. "Working with local community colleges to customize program content to the local manufacturing ecosystem, IACMI leverages its national members, partners and subject matter experts to inform that design with the latest in technology advancements. Manufacturers in the Ozark area require career ready, skilled employees to perform critical composite repair work and understand manufacturing processes for composites in support of Fort Rucker. ACCP provides the means to develop a talent pipeline for the local labor market."

Shown with Joannie, from left, are AAC President Stan Smith, ESCC VP and Dean of Instruction Danny Long and National Director for Composites Pathways Wes Hobbs. Supporting the visit to explore establishing an innovative composites lab were IACMI Workforce & Community Development Manager Tyler Blevins and Composites One Marketing Technology Manager Kevan Rusk.

Learn more about the Advanced Composites Career Pathways (ACCP) program here.

LIFT, Department of Defense Hypersonics Challenge

now accepting proposals

LIFT, the Detroit-based, Department of Defense-supported national manufacturing innovation institute, in partnership with the Department of Defense, is now accepting proposals for a hypersonics development challenge.

Operating at speeds of Mach 5 or higher, hypersonic and counter-hypersonic vehicles are among the Department of Defense’s top priorities, as well as the development of a safe and secure domestic supply base.

Open to the U.S. manufacturing industrial sector, the Hypersonics Challenge is a call for project proposals on three specific topics dealing with the materials and manufacture of hypersonic vehicles. They are:

Topic 1: Seeks to develop modeling and simulation and integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) tools to improve understanding of material processing, resulting materials structure and properties, and appropriate selection of materials for given hypersonics applications. Primary materials of interest include high temperature composites additively manufactured metals, and coatings.
Topic 2: Advanced manufacturing methods including, but not limited to, in-situ sensing and non-destructive inspection (NDI) techniques to ensure reliable and repeatable manufacturing of hypersonic components to ensure successful operation.
Topic 3: Seeks alternative production methods for high-temperature composites, and their feedstock materials, relevant to hypersonic vehicle aeroshell glide body, leading edge, control surface, and nose tip components that increase yield, throughput, reliability, and affordability compared to traditional labor-intensive and subtractive billet-to-part manufacturing.

Proposals to provide solutions in hypersonic vehicle systems’ materials and manufacturing will be accepted until July 2, 2021.