On October 19, EWI hosted an industry-wide workshop in Detroit to discuss current technical challenges in materials joining and metal forming.  The underlying theme for the workshop was the recently completed NIST-funded Comprehensive Advanced Materials Joining and Forming Technology Roadmap, developed in concert with several joining and forming experts. One objective of the workshop was to gain additional insight from auto industry experts on how relevant the findings from the national roadmap are to current joining and forming needs. A second objective was to identify potential pre-competitive technology development initiatives in joining and forming that would address current needs and provide the U.S. auto industry with new capabilities to enhance productivity, reduce costs, improve reliability and performance, or to achieve other critical business goals.

The workshop was moderated by Tom McGaughy, Jerry Gould and Hyunok Kim of EWI. McGaughy opened the workshop by presenting the background to the national roadmap project, outlined the activities that were carried out to identify cross-industry needs in joining and forming, and then briefly discussed seven joining and forming technical priorities that the roadmap indentified as having significant impact on the global competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing operations, including:

• Development of an advanced distortion control weld system
• Development of next generation materials formulation and high temperature weld prediction tools
• Development of advanced high productivity fusion processes
• Development of joining processes for hybrid materials (mixed metals, ceramics to metals, metal matrix composites to plastics, etc.)
• Implementation of advanced measurement, prediction and control technologies in forming processes
• Development of practical warm & hot forming technology for aluminum, titanium and nickel alloys and advanced high strength steels
• Development of advanced technologies for near net-shape lightweight forgings

Following the background presentations, an open group discussion took place to discuss the roadmap priorities and their relevancy to current automotive challenges. Going forward, EWI seeks to collaborate with the automotive industry on addressing these challenges.

For more information about this initiative, contact Jerry Gould at [email protected].

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We are pleased to welcome First Solar, Inc., to EWI membership. The company’s North American manufacturing facility is located in Perrysburg, OH. First Solar has developed, financed, engineered, and constructed many of the world’s largest grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) power plants in operation today.

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The idea that resistance and ultrasonic processes can be combined into an effective joining method has been around for more than 20 years, but has never been commercialized. With the increasing demand for  lightweight materials in planes and vehicles, however, the resistance-and-ultrasonic concept is under reconsideration. Studies now indicate that this hybrid method could be a superior way to join high strength steels and high strength aluminums efficiently and safely.

EWI recently completed a study comparing the hybrid process to ultrasonic metal welding, focusing on joining aluminum 6061 to itself. Using a prototype ultrasonic-resistive welding apparatus, the hybrid process achieved higher strength welds compared to ultrasonic welding alone. The results of this research are discussed in a new paper by Applications Engineer Lindsey Lindamood, Hybrid Ultrasonic Spot Welding of High Strength Materials. 

To download the paper, click here.

To learn more about EWI’s work on joining high strength materials, contact Lindsey Lindamood at [email protected].

SEM images of aluminum welded using 1750W ultrasonic power. The left image had no applied current, while the right image had 10kA applied current.

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EWI held two special programs on October 6 to mark Manufacturing Day 2017, a nationwide day of events that highlight the importance of manufacturing in the American economy and workplace.

In the morning, several officials from the State of Ohio visited EWI’s Columbus facility to dedicate our newly installed, 330-ton servo press. In attendance were Stephen White, District Director for U.S. Senator Rob Portman; Rob Nichols, District Director for U.S. Congressman Pat Tiberi; and Mike Dittoe, Chief of Staff for Ohio House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger. The acquisition of the Aida press was made possible through a $1.5 million award from the state’s capital budget fund last year.

Later that afternoon, we were pleased to co-sponsor an event with two local organizations who share our mission to advance American manufacturing through innovation and education. EWI teamed up with Rogue Fitness at the PAST Innovation Lab to talk to students interested in pursuing careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, or math) fields when they graduate. The Innovation Lab is a state-of-the-art, educational prototyping center that offers unique, hands-on learning opportunities for students of all ages. The event participants, ages 8-18, enjoyed talking to Heimdall Mendoza, an engineer in EWI’s Additive Manufacturing group; and Nick Garcia, Senior Designer at Rogue Fitness, an EWI member company known for its Crossfit equipment.

To see more photos of EWI’s Manufacturing Day events, visit our Facebook page, facebook.com/ewiinnovation.

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A test post.

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We are pleased to welcome OMEGA Engineering of  Sunbury, OH, to EWI membership. This Ohio branch of OMEGA Engineering, Inc. (Norwalk, CT) supplies pressure and load transducers. Since OMEGA’s inception in 1962, the company has grown from manufacturing a single product line of thermocouples to offering more than 100,000 state-of-the-art products for measurement and control of temperature, humidity, pressure, strain, force, flow, level, pH and conductivity.

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The annual EWI Forming Center Workshop was held on October 5 at EWI headquarters in Columbus, Ohio. Industry leaders convened to share knowledge and discuss applications, advances, and challenges related to sheet metal forming.

The event, geared largely towards the automotive industry, featured presentations from Honda, Aida, KTH, AK Steel, AMAG, Fuchs, AutoForm, and others. Topics ranged from warm forming high-strength aluminum alloys to the lubrication in forming lightweight sheet materials. Approximately 75  participants attended the workshop.

The event culminated with a EWI Forming Center open house featuring live demonstrations. Of particular interest was EWI’s new, 330-ton servo forming press, which was recently funded by a $1.5 million grant from the State of Ohio. The Forming Center team showcased the press’s cold forming capabilities to the visitors. Other demonstrations included warm forming of high strength aluminum alloys, and 3D scanning of formed parts with ATOS for springback measurement.

To learn more about the EWI Forming Center, click here.

For more information on EWI’s forming capabilities,visit ewi.org/technologies/forming.

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On October 6th, EWI introduced the Department of Energy’s new “Build4Scale Manufacturing Entrepreneur Training” (Build4Scale) to a group of  business, academic and government representatives. The 4-hour training session took place at the EWI facility in Loveland, Colorado, and coinciding with Manufacturing Day 2017 events taking place throughout the country.

The Build4Scale program includes training content and tools for self-guided online learning or classroom-style instruction.  It is designed to assist engineering startups advabce their concepts from prototypes to mass-produced products. The modules help prioritize and tackle manufacturing-related planning and execution challenges to avoid costly scale-up mistakes that can hinder success.  Build4Scale is sponsored by the Department of Energy, led by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, and developed by a broad team, including EWI which created several of the key modules.

Interested in learning more about Build4Scale? The training content and self-paced business assessment can be found at build4scale.org/

For additional information, contact Barry Phillips, EWI Senior Product Manager, at [email protected].

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EWI is pleased to announce the acquisition of its second EOS direct metal laser-sintering (DMLS™) system, an additive manufacturing (AM) technology with the capacity to fuse metal powder into 3D components.  The newest addition to the EWI AM family is the EOS M290 DMLS System including EOSTATE MeltPool which delivers high-resolution data for process development and quality control.  With the  installation of the new machine, the EWI AM team is moving into a new, more expansive AM lab at its Columbus, Ohio, facility.

EWI has acquired The EOS “Parameter Editor” module, which offers developers and researchers a large and open tool set ensuring a great freedom for application-specific optimization.  “EOS has a long history of quality AM equipment and continues to expand its technical product offerings,” said EWI Senior Technical Advisor Curt Taylor.  “The parameter editor will allow us to continue to build on our current material database through characteristics analysis of new materials.”

Chris Kiminas, President of EWI’s Columbus Operations is excited about this expansion. “Not only are we continuing to invest in our L-PBF equipment capabilities in Columbus but we are retooling our AM team to improve our overall customer experience.  This is a long-term investment in a growing industry and this will require exceptional execution”.

To learn more about EWI’s L-PBF and other AM capabilities, contact Curt Taylor at [email protected].

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