High-tech practices strengthen manufacturing’s role in knowledge economy

Page 2 of 2 ‘Supersize’ that process? In most cases, the size of the manufacturing facility, as well as the size of the product, has little to do with the application of innovative processes. “If you look at a company like Selah, which is producing these tiny nanodots, then look at a company like Vought, which is putting together these large airplanes, you see that innovation and new technologies are critical in both cases,” said Mahoney. “Vought and Global Aeronautic (the joint venture between Vought and Alenia North America, which produces the 787 Dreamliner aircraft for Boeing) had to create the technological infrastructure first before they began manufacturing the airplanes. And that infrastructure is just as exacting as construction of an airplane.” That interdependence of innovation and technology in the manufacturing process is a “hand-in-glove element,” Mahoney said. “A lot of engineering goes into the process itself,” he explained. “It’s as important as the technology-enabled product. If you’re making a composite product, you have to be able to create things like autoclaves to get to the end product.” In fact, at Vought’s North Charleston facility, the majority of the primary 787 aircraft’s structure is made of composites, which is an innovative departure from previous aircraft construction. Data provided by Vought noted that no commercial aircraft has used composites on such an extensive scale. By comparison, the Boeing 777 is 12% composites and 50% aluminum, whereas the 787 will contain just 20% aluminum, with composites making up nearly 100% of the 787’s skin and 50% of all materials in the plane. The benefits of composite manufacturing will be fewer parts, with less to bolt together, and because composites weigh less than aluminum, the planes should burn less fuel. In addition, the composite fuselage will allow the cabin to withstand higher pressurization, which will allow easier control of cabin temperature, humidity and ventilation. Innovative processes are used through the entire construction of the aircraft, from the computerized laying of composite tape to the wrapping of the composite material for autoclaving to cure the piece into a high-strength structure. About 70,000 square feet of Vought’s 340,000-square-foot facility is dedicated to a composites manufacturing “clean room” with interior clear heights of 40 feet. Its 787 autoclave is 76 feet in length and 30 feet in diameter, making it the world’s largest by volume. The sheer size of the “end product” at Vought dictates the need for a large facility, but in many cases, the size of the facility actually can be reduced, Mahoney said. “With a lot of these new manufacturing processes, there won’t be a need for 180,000-square-foot box type of facilities any more. They’re more likely to require 20,000 to 30,000 square feet to get to market with a value-added product,” he said. “Take the textile manufacturers, for instance. The big-box guys are disappearing, but there are still companies in that industry that have morphed into nonwoven composite films and fibers. The new technologies are changing the shape and footprint of that sector’s manufacturing.” Competing on a global scale Another element changing the shape and footprint of manufacturing in general is globalization and the need to compete in a worldwide marketplace. “We can’t lose sight of the fact that we are competing on a global scale,” said Cairns. “At PMD, a lot of our customers have clients overseas, or they may have a sister company doing business in China, for instance. There’s the opportunity to do additional business, but there’s also the reality of competition around the globe.” Mahoney pointed to two initiatives SCRA is involved in to keep pace with globalization in manufacturing. One of the initiatives is a consortium managed by Advanced Technology Institute, one of SCRA’s affiliates, which has received several contracts over the years to develop manufacturing technologies to support the nation’s defense industrial base. Contract funds also go to defense fuel cell manufacturing to increase the reliability of specific fuel cells being developed, improve the fuel cell system and manufacture of the hydrogen fuel cartridge and improve testing of the fuel cell. The consortium, the Next Generation Manufacturing Technology Initiative, accelerates the development and implementation of breakthrough manufacturing technologies. The research into the new technologies leads to a variety of economic and social benefits, such as safety, affordability, manufacturing competitiveness, environmental protection and energy conservation, Mahoney said. The other initiative is the Intelligent Manufacturing System, an industry-led, global collaborative research and development program established to develop the next generation of manufacturing and processing technologies. IMS members currently include the European Union, Norway, Korea, Japan, Switzerland and the United States. The plan is to boost industrial competitiveness, solve problems facing manufacturing worldwide and develop advanced manufacturing technologies and systems to benefit humanity. IMS recently launched the European technology platform for micro- and nanomanufacturing, which will act as an exchange forum for industrial manufacturing topics. Sharing information on a global scale is the best way to keep pace with innovation, said Bob Kiggans, president of SCRA’s federal sector, who was appointed by the U.S. Department of Commerce to head the U.S. delegation to IMS. “We have a program of collaborative research and development with our manufacturing technology platforms,” said Kiggans. “The program looks at work being done around the world and gets people networking on a global basis so they can understand current and future manufacturing requirements.” Bolick noted that in addition to the SCRA’s two initiatives, his process of producing higher value-added materials is a good way to compete. “Effectively, what we’re doing is chemistry, but we’re not working with commodity chemicals or bulk materials,” he said. “We’re going from commodity to specialty manufacturing, which leads to a product of higher value. That’s really what we need to focus on to be competitive.” The United States, Bolick said, is at a position where China and India are starting to compete with commodity materials, which involve what he called “low intellectual properties.” Bolick echoes the concerns of the United Kingdom’s Peter Williamson and China’s Ming Zeng in a new book, “Dragons at Your Door: How Chinese Cost Innovation is Disrupting Global Competition.” “If you are a company in North America, Europe, Japan or actually almost any region, the work should be a wake-up call to better understand and respond to the enormous competitive threat posed by Chinese manufacturers,” Williamson and Ming explain in the book. “Whatever is happening now, China will continue to impact our supply chain strategies to an even greater degree for probably decades to come.” Bolick noted that to compete, companies will have to do so based on innovation. “We have to be smart and not give up on the manufacturing process here,” he said. “We just have to increase our efforts to be innovative and that will enable us to compete.” Bolick had hopes for the eventual full transition to the knowledge economy, he said. “It’s not the end of manufacturing. It’s the refocus and rebirth of manufacturing,” he said. “And I think our state and our country are starting to wake up to how we can work together to improve the sum total of everyone’s efforts. We can retool our plants to get the best, most productive capacities out of them.” One of the keys to the plan, he said, is to keep a focus on what the competition — both regionally and globally — is doing. “We have to calibrate ourselves to consider not only where we will be in two years but also where will everyone else be,” he said. Bolick looks at the overall efforts as a stewardship responsibility. “It’s a matter of focusing to play to our strengths. We need to refocus our state, refocusing on what advanced materials mean. Around here, we’re trying to do our part. Selah is only one company, but we represent that potential.”  << Start < Prev 1 2 Next > End >>