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ACE (America’s Cutting Edge) – Training & Workshop in Machine Tools

  Outreach, Releases, Tech Blog 

FCMF students at ACE training

FCMF students at ACE workshop

The Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Industrial Policy (IndPol) is enabling work in machine tools technology development for America’s Cutting Edge (ACE). This DoD-led initiative, funded through the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) Program, aims to revitalize the U.S. machine tool sector through transformative thinking, technology, and training. ACE has partnered with the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI), and University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT) to deliver machining workforce training. As part of ACE, the FCMF has set up a HAAS VM-3 and Kuka robot machining centers to train and connduct research in composites machining and machine tools. In Summer 2021, the first of a series of workshops was offered to a team of 20 undergraduate students. The week long ACE-IACMI training covers – (a) basics of constituent materials – fibers, resins & composites; (b) basics of composites machining, (c) concept part and CAD creation, (d) machining of 2-cavity tool, (d) manufacturing of the composite part via injection or compression molding and (d) post-machining parts and quality inspection / NDE. To learn more or sign up for a workshop, please contact Vanina Ghossein, vghossei@utk.edu

For more details on ACE workshop conducted in July 2020, please click here.

NSF IUCRC – Center for Hybrid Materials Interfacing (UT-Georgia Tech-Oakland University)

  Releases 

NSF IUCRC Center on Composite and Hybrid Materials Interfacing

UT FCMF is pleased to announce it is now a NSF IUCRC site… Details below.

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Center for Composite and Hybrid Materials Interfacing (CHMI)

A National Science Foundation (NSF) Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC)

University of Tennessee – Georgia Institute of Technology –  – Oakland University

Mission and Vision of the CHMI Center

The mission of the NSF Center for Composite and Hybrid Materials Interfacing (CHMI) is to leverage collaborations among industry, government, and academic stakeholders in materials and manufacturing industries to advance science and technology, and develop workforce in the field of interface engineering and joining/bonding of hybrid materials and structures. The three-university (Georgia Institute of Technology (GT), Oakland University (OU), and University of Tennessee/Knoxville (UTK) collaborative research team will work closely with the industry members to develop and disseminate basic and applied, pre-competitive research on methodologies, technologies, and tools that will facilitate rapid, reliable, and cost-effective composite and hybrid materials joining and interfacing. The mission scope benefits various sectors – automotive & transportation, ground & air vehicles, marine structures, wind turbine blades, infrastructure, oil & gas, and industrial applications.  Hybrid/multiple material systems including reinforced composite, metals, and other structural materials are within scope. The vision of the CHMI Center is to transform the current labor-intensive, experience-based joining and repair practice into fast, automated, and reliable processes enabled by advanced analytical, computational, experimental, and digital techniques and tools. The goal of the CHMI Center is to significantly reduce cost, cycle time, and variation (by at least 50%) of related operations within 10 years.  The CHMI comprises – Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI), University of Tennessee (Fibers & Composites Manufacturing Facility, FCMF) & Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) and OU’s Fastening and Joining Research Institute (FAJRI) along with their industry networks for dissemination and technology transition of the enabling technologies for composite and hybrid materials joining and interfacing.

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UT-IACMI add Automated Tape Placement Capability

  Tech Blog 

Automated tape placement laying up C/PEEK tape

IACMI-UT has enabled Automated Tape Placement (ATP) equipment in Knoxville, adding significant integrated manufacturing capabilities to the East Tennessee region. ATP is a family of manufacturing techniques, which refer to the precise laying of continuous fiber tapes to manufacture multi-layered composite products for high-performance applications. The features of the equipment are:- (a) Head with compaction roller; (b) Thermoplastic tape and/or thermoset tow-pregs feeding system; (c) Robotic mechanism holding the head; and (d) Human machine Interface. The ATP commissioned by IACMI has an Automated Dynamics (Trelleborg) 6-axis Kawasaki Model ZZX130LD CNC Robot to feed thermoplastic tape and/or thermoset tow pregs. Materials ranging from carbon (C), glass (G) /polypropylene (PP) to C or G/Polyether ether ketone (PEEK) and C/epoxy can be used. The equipment is flexible in terms of different mandrels including – cylindrical, flat and asymmetrical shapes. Custom shapes can also be produced through the CAD interface with additively printed mandrels. The ATP will be used in IACMI stakeholders and collaborator projects as well as broad workforce development efforts. The next generation workforce of graduate and undergraduate students will receive state of the art training with the ATP asset and stem tangible technology innovation. This technology has immediate benefits for the aerospace, defense, high-performance automotive, infrastructure, and power transmission sectors. Any industry partners or IACMI members interested in learning more about this technology should contact IACMI CTO, Dr. Uday Vaidya at uvaidya@iacmi.org

 

50000 Face Shields for COVID-19

  Releases 

Proud of our team in their dedication and effort to produce 50,000 face shields for the University of Tennessee (UT) campus in response to Covid19 needs. Every student, staff and visitor will receive a UT-shield, a brilliant patented design by Dr. Maged Guerguis, of the College of Architecture.  Our own Fibers and Composites Manufacturing Facility (FCMF) team was responsible for the engineering, development and production of the face shields. Each face shield features an injection molded ergonomic lightweight frame and a snap-fit PETG visor. The product can be used 1000s of times, and cleaned with soap-water, alcohol wipes and other methods of sterilization. A 2-cavity injection molding tool and steel-rule dies were used to produce the components. A 100% closed-loop recycling strategy was developed by fully recycling the PETG scrap into flakes of aspect ratio suitable for producing additional parts with the recycled PETG.

Thanks to the UT Chancellor’s office, IACMI-The Composites Institute, Eastman Chemical Company, UT College of Engineering & College of Architecture and all our students & staff (led by Stephen Sheriff and Joe Gausphol) who helped with this major undertaking.

If you are interested in a complimentary face shield, please write to Vanina Ghossein, vghossei@utk.edu.

 

 

Funding Opportunity For Veteran Graduate Student / Graduate Assistant At FCMF

  Releases, Student Highlights 

The Fibers and Composites Manufacturing Facility (FCMF) has graduate assistantship opportunities for US Armed Forces Veteran student(s). This will be an excellent opportunity to advance your graduate, networking and community support skills.

Minimum Qualifications:

1. Currently admitted to the Graduate School in an Engineering Field

2. Be a Veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces

3. Be in good academic standing

4. Be registered full-time for the respective semester (nine semester credit hours during the fall semester, nine semester credit hours during spring semester), or in the required number of semester credit hours to fulfill the only remaining requirements on the degree plan.

Preferred: Graduate Assistant in Mechanical Engineering (or related field) interested in composite materials research. Student should be interested assessing STEM education programs for veterans.

Maximum appointment is limited to twenty (20) hours per week.

Discipline Specific Required Qualifications

The Graduate Assistant assistantship award is available to master’s and doctoral students who are assigned to a specific faculty member. Duties are split into two categories.

1) Duties related to SERVE (Shaping Experiential Research for Veteran Education), a veteran’s program in partnership between UT Knoxville and UNC Charlotte. These duties will include but are not limited to:

a. Working with faculty and preparing URE (Undergraduate Research Experiences) projects at UTK.

b. Planning travel between UTK and UNCC for program participants

c. Planning and coordinating housing for student participants at UTK

d. Assisting evaluation team with gathering information on program participants

e. Assist faculty in various administrative tasks

f. Developing and publishing marketing material on program

g. Giving program orientations and holding interest meetings to veteran undergraduate students

h. Co-authoring research papers (Engineering and/or Education) with faculty

These duties will be a small portion of the GRA hours during the normal semesters (~5 hrs/wk) but will be substantial during the summer months (~15-20) and may include several trips between UTK and UNCC to monitor the progress of the program.

2) Duties related to the student’s field of study and will vary depending upon the project and assigned responsibilities. Graduate Assistants may also function as lab assistants, graders, for creative activity, and/or other endeavors that assist faculty members in the department’s instructional efforts.

If you meet the above and are interested– please contact Dr. Uday Vaidya, uvaidya@utk.edu and include a resume.

Additive Manufacturing Simulation Workshop with AlphaStar

  Uncategorized 

On May 8th, 2019, The University of Tennessee represented by the Fibers and Composites Manufacturing Facility (FCMF) hosted in collaboration with AlphaStar an “Additive Manufacturing Simulation Workshop” that focuses on “Hands on Experience with GENOA3DP”.

It was a free workshop for anyone who has FEM experience and wants to take their Additive Manufacturing process to the next level. Designed as a quasitraining experience for attendees, this event was the ideal way to understand the vast benefits of advanced simulation and how using GENOA 3DP toolset’s robust capabilities can provide predictive accuracy down to the micro-scale, reduce material waste & engineering time significantly, and achieve an optimum 3D printed build.

The workshop gathered attendance from local industries, faculty and students at UT. It was a success and FCMF will be hosting another workshop later in the fall of 2019.

Composites Coalition Holds Interactive Composites Manufacturing Training Seminar at FCMF

  Uncategorized 

On Tuesday, January 8, a free Composites Coalition seminar was hosted at the University of Tennessee Fibers & Composites Manufacturing Facility (FCMF).

After a safety and facility brief, attendees learned the basics of composites processing using light resin transfer molding and vacuum infusion processes.  A short discussion was then had on all the advantages and disadvantages of each process, and a comparison to open molding took place.

Introductions were then made to the materials, the resin system, as well as the basics of vacuum and use of vacuum pressure in processing. Attendees set up and completed the vacuum Infusion project with instruction and were able to build small sample parts themselves. Challenges and opportunities in production methods opened the floor to additional discussion.

The session was led by Andrew Pokelwaldt of the American Composites Manufacturing Association (ACMA). Pokelwaldt noted, “I thoroughly enjoyed using the Certified Composites Technician program from ACMA to promote local industry knowledge and future certifications for manufacturers.”

FCMF, IACMI and Team Integrating Composites into the Friendship Bell Park

  Outreach, Releases 

On September 20, 2018, the city of Oak Ridge celebrated the Peace Pavillion Dedication and the first ringing of the International Friendship Bell.

The bell, which was cast in 1993, and the Peace Pavilion, created in 2018, symbolizes “a future being created by the ever increasing scientific and technological advances that benefit the world.” This new Peace Pavilion is a collaboration by many groups supporting the Oak Ridge community, including the City of Oak Ridge; Oak Ridge National Laboratory; the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; and IACMI – The Composites Institute.

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CAMX 2018 Outstanding Technical Paper – Best in Track

  Uncategorized 

To be announced at CAMX:

The Technical Paper, “Calculating the Embodied Energy of Recycled Composites” has won “Best in Track: Green & Sustainability” in the Outstanding Technical Paper Awards for CAMX 2018.

1st author: Komal Kooduvalli, Research Supervisor I at University of Tennessee (UT) at the Fibers and Composites Manufacturing Facility (FCMF)
2nd author: Georgiana Blue, Undergraduate Student, Resident Assistant Mechanical Engineer at University of Tennessee, Knoxville
3rd author: Dr. Uday Vaidya, Governor’s Chair in Advanced Composites Manufacturing, Professor in Mechanical Engineering-UT, CTO at IACMI
4th Author: Dr. Soydan Ozcan,Senior Scientist at Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL)

IACMI members meeting Tour

  Releases 

During the IACMI members meeting held in Knoxville on July 24-27, 2018, the Fibers and Composites Manufacturing Facility (FCMF) hosted a tour on Friday July 27, 2018 for the members participating in the event. About 55 guests from different backgrounds, including Industries, DOD, DOE and IACMI interns attended this event. It was an excellent good opportunity for networking between the  members meeting attendees and the future work force. For more information on the IACMI members meeting which was attended by over 450 participants please visit www.iacmi.org.

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