IACMI's Quarterly Working Group Meetings start next week!

Working Group leaders will be convening throughout the month of August to share the exciting developments happening in their technology areas, and registration is open!

During our six Working Groups you'll hear from a variety of speakers, as they focus on a broad array of topics giving you opportunities to dive deep into areas of interest. IACMI's Working Groups are a key value of the IACMI Consortium.

Our Working Group schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, 8/10 at 1PM ET Simulation/Digital Twin Working Group
Wednesday, 8/11 at 1PM ET High Rate Aerostructures Fabrication Working Group
Thursday, 8/12 at 2:30PM ET Wind Energy Working Group
Tuesday, 8/17 at 1PM ET Infrastructure & Construction Working Group
Wednesday, 8/18 at 1PM ET Future Mobility/Vehicles Technology Working Group
Thursday, 8/19 at 1PM ET Recycling/Circular Economy Working Group

Working Group meetings emphasize market-driven themes, advanced technology, group objectives, and ways to make an impact. Get involved in Working Groups that you already participate in, as well as in other areas of interest to you!

Innovation Insights August 16 webinar features industry advancements from IACMI members, core partners

REGISTER HERE!

Our monthly webinar series "Innovation Insights" continues this month, as IACMI Chief Commercialization Officer Dale Brosius will moderate discussions on recent technology advancements that industry may not be fully aware of.

On Monday, August 16 at 12PM ET, join us for a one-hour series of presentations from IACMI members and partners, where they will provide background on new technology, products and the key advantages provided, as well as application examples.

In our next episode you will hear from:

Vern Benson, Technical Fellow in Composites Automation, Northrop Grumman

"Composites - Automated Stiffener Forming (ASF)"

Rick Neff, Consultant & CEO, Rick Neff, LLC

"Composite Tooling Applications and the Thermwood LSAM"

Dr. Dayakar Penumadu, Fred N. Peebles Professor & JIAM Chair, University of Tennessee at Knoxville

"Durability of Fiber Reinforced Composite Bridge Deck using Fiber Optic and Wireless Sensing Module"

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

From left, are IACMI Workforce Director Joannie Harmon, Davis Tech Assistant Director Eric Anderson, IACMI Workforce & Community Development Manager Tyler Blevins, EFSC Engineering Technology Associate Professor Meer Almeer, EFSC Aerospace and Engineering Instructor Ted Hartselle, EFSC Mechatronics Instructor Jean Paul Aliaga, Davis Tech National Director for Composites Pathways Wes Hobbs and SCCAP Founder Bryan Kamm.

IACMI expands advanced composites training to support

Florida's space coast manufacturing workforce

Eastern Florida State College (EFSC) is the newest home to an advanced composites learning center designed to educate and train composites technicians to support Florida's Space Coast manufacturing region.

Led by IACMI, the national workforce initiative is part of the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Naval Research's Manufacturing Engineering Education Program (MEEP). MEEP programs prepare current and next-generation manufacturing workers to produce military systems and components that assure defense technological leadership.

IACMI and collaborators are establishing a national Advanced Composites Career Pathways (ACCP) learning network to develop a skilled advanced composites manufacturing workforce.

Read more here.

IACMI partners NREL, GE, LM complete successful

automated blade finishing trials

An IACMI-supported automated blade finishing project to build better wind turbine blades, lower costs, improve worker safety and transform wind technology manufacturing has successfully completed full-scale trials in a wind turbine blade factory. Launched in 2020, the partnership through IACMI between by GE Renewable Energy, LM Wind Power and GE Research, and DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) enabled innovative solutions to be developed that will have a meaningful impact on domestic wind blade manufacturing, says NREL Technical Project Manager David Snowberg.

Blade finishing includes trimming excess material after molding and grinding blade surface to meet quality requirements. The IACMI 4.10 project aimed to leverage knowledge of advanced composite processing together with sensing, robotics and automation to develop low-cost solutions for wind blade finishing with potential to increase throughput by 30 percent and improve EHS in factories.

Read GE news announcement.

Read related NREL news story.

ACE in-person bootcamps turn out additional graduates,

DOD IBAS leadership observes training

IACMI is celebrating the recent graduations of two additional ACE in-person bootcamp cohorts that took place during the week of July 19th!

IACMI congratulates the 20 new participants who completed the ACE CNC machining training bootcamp taught by University of Tennessee Mechanical Engineering Professor and ORNL Joint Faculty Member Dr. Tony Schmitz and held at ORNL's Manufacturing Demonstration Facility. IACMI also sends a special thanks to those who completed the ACE Composites Workshop taught by Dr. Uday Vaidya, IACMI Chief Technology Officer and the UT-ORNL Governor's Chair in Advanced Composites Manufacturing.

Developed by IACMI Workforce and Dr. Schmitz, the bootcamps ultimately benefit high school, community college and university students, and early career professionals interested in advanced materials and manufacturing.

Adele Ratcliff, director of the United States Department of Defense Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) program from the Office of Industry Policy, traveled alongside Larry John and Keith Anderson to observe the ACE education and training.

Ratcliff spoke to the ACE groups about the real value of research within the manufacturing sector, as manufacturing converts research and imagination into reality. Having a skilled workforce at every level is the key to restoring the prominence of the U.S. manufacturing sector, she said.

ACE is funded by DOD IBAS and brings together IACMI partners UTK, ORNL, and Pellissippi State Community College. A total of 63 people have completed the weeklong CNC machining training bootcamps this summer. More than 1,540 people from 46 states are engaged in the ACE online CNC machinig training.

Learn more about ACE at www.iacmi.org/ace.

University of Maine's Advanced Structures & Composites Center joins IACMI consortium

IACMI would like to officially welcome the University of Maine's Advanced Structures & Composites Center to our 120+ 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.

The University of Maine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center is a world-leading, interdisciplinary center for research, education, and economic development encompassing material sciences, manufacturing, and engineering of composites and structures.

The Center is led by its founding Executive Director, Dr. Habib Dagher, P.E. Dr. Dagher is a world-leading advocate for developing advanced structural systems which simultaneously optimize structures, materials, and construction.

Dr. Habib Dagher, P.E.

"We are looking forward to further engage with IACMI members and help find innovative solutions to grow the industry," said Dr. Dagher.

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

Partner with MxD, IACMI, and LIFT to drive local impact!

The Manufacturing USA Institutes are centers of American research, development, innovation - and workforce programs!

Come hear directly from three Institutes – MxD, IACMI, and LIFT - about their educational and training programs, which cover everything from engaging young people to skilling up incumbent workers. IACMI's Workforce Director Joannie Harmon will be participating in this webinar happening Thursday, August 19 beginning at 2PM ET.

Discover "off-the-shelf" programs that are ready for implementation in your community, and increase your Center's impact on local manufacturers.

Click here to register!

DOT's Innovation Exchange webinar to feature John Unser,

Dr. Penumadu's expertise in composite bridge technology

Join IACMI and CAG's John Unser and Dr. Dayakar Penumadu on Thursday, August 19 at 2PM ET for the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Innovation Exchange webinar.

In this webinar, Unser and Dr. Penumadu will spotlight composite bridge technology to spread new ideas, spark dialogue, and foster innovative leadership for this issue concerning our nation's current and future transportation system. Some of the sub-topics being featured within this session include:

“Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP) Composites used in Infrastructure”
“Morgan County Tennessee FRP Bridge Deck Project”
“Health Monitoring of FRP Structures”