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U.S. Sen. Kit Bond's latest announcements of appropriations from the Senate Defense spending bill includes funding for two UMR projects:
The earmarks are among $77 million in defense appropriations for Missouri.
Frances Bryant, a research assistant at UMR's Virtual Reality & Rapid Prototyping Lab, gives Women's Wear Daily the scoop behind 3-D prototyping.
A 3-D product prototype is an essential communication tool around which design, development, sales and marketing people rally before finalizing a style. New ideas may begin as a sketch on a cocktail napkin before they are converted to 3-D models on a computer, but until a concept takes physical form, it’s hard for most people to grasp, and that can delay decisions.Three-dimensional printing is one of several manufacturing processes that fall into the larger family of rapid prototyping. “Rapid prototyping is a way to create a three-dimensional part in a quick manner," said Frances Bryant, a research assistant at the Virtual Reality & Rapid Prototyping Lab at the University of Missouri-Rolla. “Instead of setting up fixtures, tools, etc., in a factory to create a model, everything is done with a computer program and a machine that can make a part on demand in a relatively short time."
* The complete article is available only to WWD.com subscribers.
Ming Leu and Venkata Allada are heading up a major National Science Foundation conference in St. Louis next month.
Approximately 500 are expected to attend the 2006 NSF Design, Service and Manufacturing Grantees and Reseasrch Conference, which is being hosted by UMR. Early registration ends Thursday.
The conference, sponsored by the NSF Division of Design and Manufacturing Innovation, promises to cover a wide range of research trends and technology innovations, from building the hydrogen economy to developing sustainable manufacturing. Additional sponsors include the UMR Intelligent Systems Center, Boeing and Emerson.
Bill Daughton, chair of UMR's engineering management and systems engineering department, recently reviewed journalist Tom Friedman's popular tome on globalization, The World Is Flat, for the American Society for Engineering Management's Engineering Management Journal. He writes:
At first glance a title such as The World Is Flat sounds like a gimmick. If it weren’t for the credentials of Thomas Friedman as a New York Times columnist, it might be tempting to dismiss this work as such and not even read it. However, in retrospect, that would have been a mistake.
Continue reading "Book review: making sense in a 'flat' world" »
Innovative manufacturing is at the heart of UMR’s planned $24 million expansion and renovation of its existing mechanical engineering complex. The modernized structure will feature the Product Innovation & Creativity Center, where students will gain experiences in leadership, teamwork, and communication while tackling real-word, hands-on projects.
Building die-casting molds for the automotive industry can be an expensive undertaking. These molds, made from hardened steel and used to make engine blocks and other components, can cost about $500,000 each, are fairly large and take a long time to build. Yet after a certain number of uses, automakers must discard the molds because they may crack under the tremendous heat and pressure of manufacturing. 
Continue reading "Eye on Research -- New materials can 'take the heat'" »
Gravity is something most people cannot avoid. Yet eight UMR students and two Rolla Senior High School students wanted to escape it. Their solution? Hitch a ride on NASA's KC-135 aircraft, affectionately known as the "vomit comet."
Continue reading "Team Watch -- Vomit comet team has its ups and downs" »
In many minds, the word “laser" conjures up images of a weapon-wielding madman right out of Austin Powers, threatening his evil plot to take over the world. But in reality, lasers are high-tech tools used to manufacture many products used everyday by millions – printers, automobiles, jets – and are vital to the defense of our nation. A group of UMR researchers, working in one of the nation’s most advanced laser-research facilities, is creating new laser technologies to make everything from automobile engines to missile defense systems. 
Continue reading "Faculty View -- Setting sights on laser-based manufacturing" »
f you ask him what a metallurgist does, Marty Rust, a graduate student in metallurgy from Villa Ridge, Mo., is likely to give you what he calls his “airplane speech," a standard response that any layperson -- or fellow traveler -- can easily understand. 
Ming Leu, the Keith and Pat Bailey Missouri Distinguished Professor of Integrated Product Manufacturing in UMR’s department of mechanical and aerospace engineering and director of the UMR Intelligent Systems Center, is researching how virtual reality systems can be used in various applications. His current project involves developing a virtual reality simulation system to help train police, firefighters and other first responders for terrorist attacks.
Continue reading "Expert Insight -- Manufacturing virtually" »
Do you know what a quarter and a cookie have in common? Before they reached your piggy bank or cookie jar, they first had to be manufactured. The U.S. Mint cooked up more than 14 billion coins last year at its Philadelphia and Denver minting facilities. (That’s a lot of dough!) To find out how, read on.