Feb.26, 2014

White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson

U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday announced the creation of two new Pentagon-led institutes modeled after the one in Youngstown to boost advanced high-tech manufacturing, with the eventual goal of creating jobs that have been lost to global competition.

A new "innovation hub" will be located in Obama's hometown of Chicago, and will focus on high-tech digital manufacturing and design. The other new hub will be located in Canton, Mich., outside Detroit, and specialize in light metal manufacturing.

The two new innovation institutes will be led by the Department of Defense and backed with a $140 million federal commitment, plus the same amount of non-federal resources.

"If we want to attract more good manufacturing jobs to America, we've got to make sure we're on the cutting edge of new manufacturing techniques and technologies," Obama said from the White House.

"I don't want the next big job creating discovery to come from Germany or China or Japan, I want it to be here in America."

White House Photo by Pete Souza

Obama announced during his State of the Union address last year that he would spend $200 million to create the manufacturing hubs that bring together companies and universities for research and development of products. Obama said Tuesday that he could envision the creation of a sheet a metal as thin as paper and strong as steel that would be in demand by the military and private sector.

Obama made the announcement from a dais in the East Room that also held a supporting frame for a fighter jet, a helicopter engine, a robotic arm used by the Navy for underwater explosive disposal and a 3D printer. Obama joked that it seemed like he was standing among all that "cool stuff" to announce the creation of Iron Man.

"This has been a secret project we've been working on for a long time ... Not really ... Maybe ... It's classified."

In addition to the manufacturing hub pilot program in Youngstown, Obama last month announced the creation of another Energy Department-led hub in Raleigh, N.C. focused on creating state-of-the-art power electronics. Obama's goal is to create 45 manufacturing hubs and he encouraged Congress to approve funding for even more to keep up with global competition.

"Germany has 60 of them. Part of the reason Germany has been able to take the lead in certain manufacturing areas is because they invest in these hubs," Mr. Obama said. "We've got to do better."

Info about the new institutes:

Lightweight and Modern Metals Manufacturing Innovation Institute

Headquartered in the Detroit area, the LM3I Institute pairs the world's leading aluminium, titanium, and high strength steel manufacturers with universities and laboratories pioneering new technology development and research. The institute will focus on expanding the market for and create new consumers of products and systems that utilize new, lightweight, high‑performing metals and alloys by removing technological barriers to their manufacture.

Autoworkers in Detroit are already using advanced, lightweight metals to build new cars that use less gas — just one example of what these materials can do, as President Obama explained.

They can help us build lighter armored vehicles for our troops; planes and helicopters that can carry bigger payloads; wind turbines that generate more power at less cost; prosthetic limbs that help people walk again who never thought they could. We believe there's going to be incredible demand for these metals, both from the military and the private sector, and we want them to be made right here in America. We want our workers to have those jobs.

Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the DMDI Institute spearheads a consortium of 73 companies, universities, nonprofits, and research labs. The partnership between world-leading manufacturing experts and cutting-edge software companies will develop enhanced digital capabilities to design and test new products, and reduce costs in manufacturing processes across multiple industries.

"The country that gets new products to market faster and at less cost, they'll win the race for the good jobs of tomorrow," President Obama said. "And we want that country that is specialized in this to be us, the United States of America."

We want suppliers to be able to collaborate with customers in real-time, test their parts digitally, cut down on the time and money that they spend producing expensive prototypes. We want our manufacturers to be able to custom-design products tailored to each individual consumer. We want our troops to be able to download digital blueprints they can use to 3-D print new parts and repair equipment right there in the field. And these are all ambitious goals, but this is America — that's what we do, we're ambitious. We don't make small planes.

Posted in 3D Printing Technology

 

Maybe you also like:


 


alvaro wrote at 2/26/2014 3:32:39 PM:

This initiative will open many jobs oportunities, a true revolution !



Leave a comment:

Your Name:

 


Subscribe us to

3ders.org Feeds 3ders.org twitter 3ders.org facebook   

About 3Ders.org

3Ders.org provides the latest news about 3D printing technology and 3D printers. We are now seven years old and have around 1.5 million unique visitors per month.

News Archive