The NCMS program to create digital manufacturing centers to provide high performance computing (HPC) tools and expertise to U.S. manufacturing companies is making waves nationally. Earlier this month, the Harvard Business Review took notice, and now Computerworld.
The latest article describes how L&L Products, in Romeo, Mich., doubled its size after adopting HPC technology.
L&L began using high performance computing about six years ago to build a new structural composite line for automotive makers. To accomplish this, it needed to design and test its products in vehicle crash simulations to see how they could be best applied in automobiles…”It doubled our business,” said Reagan, adding that the firm now makes about $220 million annually and has about 900 global employees.
NCMS is now moving ahead with a plan to make this technology available to all U.S. manufacturers. Initial estimates indicate that over 300,000 companies could benefit from digital manufacturing to create new products and grow their companies. If even a fraction of these companies have the success of L&L the impact on the national economy will be profound.
In addition to deploying digital manufacturing centers, NCMS has formed a Digital Manufacturing Strategic Interest Group to identify and break down barriers that have prevented manufacturers from adopting HPC technology.
