The NCMS Volumetric Accuracy for Large Machine Tools (VALMT) project is the subject of an article in the latest issue of Quality Digest.

...The entire measurement process can be accomplished in a matter of hours rather than days, resulting in more accurate measurements and eliminating costly machine downtime. Calibration is performed in a single set-up with automated measurement of hundreds of points and is completed in just a few hours compared to alternate methods that can take much longer. By accomplishing the measurement task in such a short timeframe, the measurement data is far more reliable.

The VALMT project has pioneered an innovative process in establishing a new methodology in volumetric error compensation for large machine tools which can save the Department of Defense (DOD) and the commercial aircraft industry millions of dollars anually. 

Full Article

Congratulations to NCMS Director Dr. Thomas Kurfess who has been recognized with the SME Education Award. Renowned as one of the world's leading experts in the field of microscale manufacturing metrology, with research focused on the design and development of high-precision manufacturing and metrology systems, Kurfess began his career in academia at Carnegie Mellon University in 1988, where he rose to the rank of associate professor. 

Dr. Kurfess joined the NCMS Board of Directors which expanded as part of a long-term commitment to keeping the U.S. in a leadership position in global manufacturing.

Full SME Press Release

"...The kind of innovation that Tony and the guys at NCMS are bringing to the table is exactly what the manufacturing industry in the U.S. needs.  Saving millions through enhanced efficiency is a building block to substantially increased competitiveness on a global stage."

Full Article- Industry is Cool: National Center for Manufacturing Sciences

Quality Digest has published a detailed article on the Volumetric Accuracy for Large Machine Tools (VALMT) project.  VALMT has been nominated for a Defense Manufacturing Excellence Award for "... outstanding cooperative efforts on technology development between government, industry and academia."

A joint project of NCMS called Volumetric Accuracy for Large Machine Tools (VALMT), partnering Automated Precision, Boeing, Siemens and Mag Cincinnati, has pioneered an innovative process and established new methodology in volumetric error compensation for large machine tools. Volumetric error compensation or VEC, is a true volumetric calibration that improves close tolerance and working accuracy of complex five- and six-axis machine tools throughout their entire working envelope.

Full Article

NCMS Art Director Christopher Fick has been recognized for his outstanding creativity with three American Graphic Design Awards.

The American Graphic Design Award competition is in its fourth decade and recognizes outstanding new work in 23 categories from print and packaging to internet and interactive design.  The competition is open to everyone in the graphic arts community - graphic design firms, advertising agencies, inhouse corporate and institutional designers, publishers and other media. 

Award Category- Print Collateral.  This image communicates the many benefits of the NCMS Collaborative model.  It is the cornerstone slide of the NCMS PowerPoint presentation used to promote the organization.

Award Category- Poster.  This image communicates the new vision and scope of NCMS activities.

Award Category- Multimedia.  This multimedia holiday card appeared on the NCMS web site. 

National R&D Consortium Roadmaps Automotive Supplier to Diversification and Growth

McLean, Va., January 8, 2008 – QinetiQ North America, a global developer of innovative technology solutions for national defense, today announced that its FluidScan™ monitor has won the 2008 Great Ideas Competition Award presented annually by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) at the Department of Defense (DoD) Maintenance Symposium & Exhibition.  The competition recognizes promising new technologies, processes or business practices that participants decide will have a positive impact on DoD equipment maintenance. 

...This device has the potential, in its simplest application, to provide lab-quality results in real-time for the soldier, marine, airman and sailor in the field under urgent conditions,” said LCDR David Scalf, Commander of the JOAP (Joint Oil Analysis Program) together with DoD’s NCMS/CTMA (National Center for Manufacturing Sciences/Commercial Technologies for Maintenance Activities) program.  NCMS/CTMA championed this product within the DoD community and was responsible for its submission for this competition.

Full Press Release

...Over in Ann Arbor, Richard B. Jarman, president and CEO of the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS), agrees that a transformation is under way and needs to be nurtured. “So much is currently dedicated to the automotive industry, but that doesn’t mean it has to be,” he says. “What I see in Michigan, and what I am so optimistic about, is that people (in the traditional automotive-related businesses) understand how to engineer and make things. That capability can cross all kinds of industries.”

Jarman, a former Eastman Kodak Co. executive and co-author of the book “Collaborative R&D: Manufacturing’s New Tool,” is a believer in the power of collaborative alliances. At NCMS, he heads the largest cross-industry collaborative manufacturing research consortium in the United States devoted exclusively to manufacturing technologies, process and practices. Its mission is to develop strategic initiatives and programs aimed at sustaining and enhancing the global competitiveness of North American manufacturing.

In mid-2008, NCMS formed the Robotics Technology Consortium, a not-for-profit subsidiary to speed the development of innovative defense ground robotics technology for the U.S. Defense Department and other government organizations. By the end of the year, more than 100 companies had joined the initiative – a classic example of collaborative innovation at work.

“We need to build an innovation ecosystem, if you will,” Jarman explains. “The ecosystem has three major components. The first is talent, and we’ve got plenty of that. The second is continuous investment in that innovative ecosystem. And last but not least, and often overlooked, an infrastructure that says, ‘We know in an innovative way how to manage intellectual property, and we know how to maintain a steady flow of capital and financing when needed.’ . . . I have been in other areas of the country, other areas of the so-called rust belt, where they experience a real brain drain, but there’s a lot of talent in Michigan, and all we need to do is make sure we can invent a system to thrive.”

Full Article

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