The Fac-a-thon, an industry/university research discussion, was held on February 10th, 2017. The call-in event to create a dialog between researchers in industry and academia to share current and future research needs in the development of advanced materials and manufacturing processes. Specific applications would support the aerospace and defense industry in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones), small-scale satellites or CubeSats and other emerging platforms. This includes commercial products and processes that require advanced materials that are more cost efficient, eco-friendly, easier to produce and replicate, and meet demanding performance characteristics under a wide variety of manufacturing and environmental conditions.
It is hoped that by sharing current and future research interests, industry and academia participating in the Fac-a-thon would form collaborative research teams on targeted industry needs. These industry research needs would be identified in preparation of a proposal to the National Science Foundation's Industry/University Cooperative Research Center.
February 10 Fac-a-thon Results
Five ideas that emerged from the discussions are:
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- Research on composite materials, coatings, and processes for complex shapes and high production processing volumes.
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- Real-time data collection and inspection during automated manufacturing of composites, coatings, and binders used in materials.
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- Improved materials, coatings and inspection to extend the life of machine tools,
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- Designing and testing novel materials resistant to decomposition as well as energy storage for batteries, allowing UAVs and other platforms to extend their distance and commercial use.
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- Training to existing workers on Smart Manufacturing, Recycling, and Robotics
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Click here for complete notes from the Feb 10th Fac-a-thon. (.pdf)
Join us as we discuss these ideas further on April 7, 2017. Register Now.