INDUSTRY news
LIFT Opens Detroit Innovation Acceleration Center LIFT: Lightweight Innovations
for Tomorrow (formerly the Ameri- can Lightweight Materials Manu- facturing Innovation Institute), De- troit, has cut the ribbon to officially open its new innovation acceleration center. The 100,000-sq.-ft. facil- ity is part of a national network of research institutions and industrial companies geared toward advancing America’s leadership in manufactur- ing technology. The institute will work with
lightweight metals such as alumi- num, magnesium, titanium and advanced high strength steel alloys and focus on new technologies to cast, heat treat, form/shape, join and coat them. It also will facilitate the training of workers who will be us- ing these new processes in factories around the country. LIFT’s technical approach is based
on systems engineering principles that enable substantial compression of the time required to go from idea to prod- uct through integration of the product value chain from primary manufactur- ing processes with the other elements of the supply chain including design,
customization and after-market sup- port. LIFT provides the commercial and military sectors with innovative solutions for lightweight subsystem design, component-level manufactur- ing, joining, and assembly processes and quality control methods such as distortion control during joining and heat treatment. T ese lightweighting solutions in-
volve the development of cutting-edge predictive capabilities and standard- ized certifi cation methods to enable accurate knowledge of microstructure and damage evolution and perfor- mance through physics-based models and advanced interrogation tools. LIFT is funded by the U.S. Naval
Research Laboratory, with support from industry partners and academic research institutions including the American Foundry Society (AFS). It will be led by industry with input from the government. T e lead partners in founding LIFT are the University of Michigan, Ohio State University and EWI, an independent research and development organiza- tion based in Columbus, Ohio. LIFT is one of three major federal
manufacturing initiatives AFS is involved in. Along with LIFT, AFS is a partner in Digital Labs for Manufacturing and America Makes. Led by UI Labs out of the Chicago area, Digital Lab will bring together manufacturing and software compa- nies, from Boeing to GE, to develop compatible software and hardware for supply chains to reduce manufac- turing costs. AFS will work with the other partners at the new Digital Lab to solve century-old manufacturing dilemmas while utilizing the most state-of-the-art technology available with supercomputers and big data. LIFT and Digital Labs are part
of the National Network for Manu- facturing Innovation. America Makes is the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Insti- tute. AFS currently is working with other organizations on the America Makes project, “Accelerated Adop- tion of AM Technology in the American Foundry Industry.” The three federal hubs connect
private businesses with research institutions to advance high tech manufacturing.
An Ultra Light Vehicle Research Prototype was on display at LIFT’s ribbon-cutting event in Detroit. Mar/Apr 2015 | METAL CASTING DESIGN & PURCHASING | 9
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