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Tel: 703-292-8330
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E-mail: dmii@nsf.gov

Warren R. DeVries
Division Director

 

 

MANUFACTURING MACHINES AND EQUIPMENT (MME)

Dr. George A. Hazelrigg,  Program Director

ghazelri@nsf.gov

Phone:  (703) 292-7068

Veronica T. Calvo, Program Technology Specialist

vcalvo@nsf.gov

Phone: (703) 292-7056

The MME program addresses issues and challenges relating to the fundamental knowledge base for the design, deployment, operation, maintenance, disposal and re-use of all machines and equipment that relate directly to the production of discrete parts and their assembly into products.  Modern manufacturing is driven by economic factors, mainly the need to generate a profit in a highly competitive environment, and by social pressures, especially the need to minimize the environmental impact of manufacturing operations.  New and emerging materials, which can be highly beneficial to advanced products, create a strong incentive to find effective fabrication technologies to enable their use.  New products, such as engineered human tissue, place demands on the fabrication of new structures whose fabrication can be exceedingly difficult.  Further, with the emergence of high-speed digital computation, manufacturing has been undergoing a transition from a skill-based activity to a knowledge and information-based activity.  This transition has been accompanied by a continuing reduction in the skilled manufacturing labor force, which is compensated by emerging, knowledge-based manufacturing machines.

The MME program supports research on fundamental issues that relate to the advancement of manufacturing machines and equipment, and their use.  Topics that are supported include the following:

Material removal – Traditional parts manufacture has been mainly a process of material removal.  Yet our fundamental understanding of material removal is weak.  We need to better understand the cutting process, the disposition and removal of heat during the cutting process, the cutting of hard materials, the cutting of materials that are highly reactive chemically, the minimization of damage and material transformation during the cutting process, the role of lubrication during cutting and its alternatives, the onset of chatter and its control during cutting, and the process-material interaction, that is, the impact of cutting on surface integrity including surface topography and sub-surface damage, microcracks and diffusion of tool material into the work piece.  Support is provided for research that can provide fundamental understanding and prediction in these areas.

Material addition – Additive manufacturing processes are emerging as an alternative to material removal.  Additive manufacturing holds potential for enabling the fabrication of parts with gradient and functionally designed materials, the fabrication of parts that are difficult or impossible to fabricate using only material removal processes, and more rapid production of test and prototype parts.  Support is provided for research leading to the development of new additive processes and to better and more predictive application of extant processes.

Sensing and control – There is often the opportunity for modern manufacturing machines and equipment to make use sensing and control for improved performance.  Sensing can include heat generation and removal monitoring, monitoring forces during cutting processes, detection of the onset of chatter, and a variety of environmental parameters.  There is also an opportunity for the use of information from broader sources, such as overall demand on the production system, buffer queues, and supply chain information to beneficially influence the control of manufacturing machines.  Support is provided for research leading to new sensors for manufacturing, for the design of new machines that incorporate advanced sensing and control, and for new control algorithms that enhance the operation of manufacturing machines and equipment.

Planning and optimization – Machines alone do not make efficient manufacturing.  Their use and operation must be properly planned and optimized.  This includes feed rates, cutting forces, tool paths, fixturing, and overall machine and equipment utilization.  Support is provided for research leading to more efficient and more effective utilization of manufacturing machines and equipment.

Metrology – Measurement is key to machine tool calibration and part inspection.  New machines and new processes, such as additive processes, gradient materials and reduced tolerances place increasing demands on metrology.  Support is provided for new approaches to metrology and for new measurement machines.

Machine design – New manufacturing processes and the demand for higher productivity argue for new manufacturing machines.  This includes machines for additive manufacturing processes, as well as machines for more conventional manufacturing activities such as parts feeding, tool transport and assembly.  Support is provided for research leading to manufacturing machines that enable new manufacturing functionality, that enable new manufacturing processes, and that provide a better understanding of the fundamental principles and theory of machine design.

Suggested research topics:  Research proposals addressing any of the above issues or other fundamental issues in manufacturing machines and equipment are welcome.  Priority will be given to approaches that apply rigorous scientific and mathematical principles and that make fundamental contributions to the science and engineering of manufacturing machines and equipment and that have broad applicability.  Proposals must offer innovative research components in order to qualify for funding.

Small group proposals:   Proposals from small, multi-disciplinary groups are encouraged.  A broad disciplinary base is sought, bringing expertise from engineering, physics, mathematics, and the social sciences to bear on issues in manufacturing machines and equipment.  A goal of this program is to merge the theories of this field with those of other fields to gain a broader range of consistency in the theoretical base for manufacture.  Investigators planning to submit a small group proposal must contact the Program Director and discuss their ideas in advance of their proposal submission.

Proposal submission:  All guidelines of the current Grant Proposal Guide, available on the NSF web site, will apply to unsolicited proposals.  Pay particular attention to the margins, font size and page limitations.  The minimum suggested font size is 12 point.  Smaller font sizes make reading difficult and generally result in lower ratings.  Be sure all type on figures is legible.  All proposals that have a Project Description section that exceeds 15 pages will be returned without review.  No exceptions!  Also note the requirements to explicitly address both review criteria in both the Summary and the Project Description portions of the proposal.  All proposals that do not explicitly address both review criteria in the Summary and Project Description sections will be returned without review.

References and links:
National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST)
Sandia National Laboratories
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS)
American Society of Manufacturing Engineers (ASME)
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME)
Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT)
International Technology Research Institute (ITRI) at Loyola College
College International pour l'Etude Scientifique des Techniques de Production Mecanique (CIRP) - International Institution for Production Engineering Research

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Last modified:
23-Aug-2004
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