Research, Industry and Technology Transfer at the NIST AMRF

Research, Industry and Technology Transfer at the NIST AMRF

Copyrighl © IF .-\C Illh Triennial World Congress. Tallinn. Eslonia. l ·SSR. 1~1~11I RESEARCH, INDUSTRY AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AT THE NIST AMRF D. A...

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Copyrighl © IF .-\C Illh Triennial World Congress. Tallinn. Eslonia. l ·SSR. 1~1~11I

RESEARCH, INDUSTRY AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AT THE NIST AMRF D. A. Swyt PrecisiulI Ellgilleerillg Divisiun, us Natiunal Institute of Stalldards al/(/ Ter/lllo/ug\'. Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA

Abstrac t. This paper, which deals with the Automated l!anufacturin g Re s e ar c h Fac ilit y (AMRF) at the V.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, outlines briefly the nature of AMRF research, interactions with industry, and principal me c hani s ms o f technology tran s f e r t o large -, medium- and small-size f irms. Keywords. Aut omation, computer interfaces, flexible manufacturing, machine to o ls, robotics, standards, technology transfer. Program [ORTA 1989J. Under this program, technica l people from domestic industrial firms work with NBS counterparts in what is, in effect, co-generation of public-domain knowledge. Over the last eight years, 50 firms (and a similar number of universities) have had Research Associates in the AMRF .

INTRODUCTION Within its Automated Manufacturing Research Facility (AMRF) , the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), formerly the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) , is addressing issues of measurement· based quality control and standards-based system integration within the flexibly· automated "factory of the future ll

In addition to joint public-domain research under the auspices of the RA program, major NIST interactions with industry have included: demonstrations of system capabilities to 3500 attendees at public test runs of AMRF systems, technical briefings to 20,000 visitors to the facility and off-site showings of AMRF videotapes to 100,000 viewers. Further, technical communications include nearly one hundred publications as journal articles and conference proceedings and an estimated 2500 technical talks.



In the conduct of its forefront research on this emerging technology, NIST researchers already work directly with counterparts from large R&Doriented industries and universities. To facilitate transfer of research results to small- and medium-size firms without such an R&D orientation, a new mechanism of technology transfer through state-based technology centers is being initiated .

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

THE RESEARCH

Technology transfer from the AMRF to industry occurs in hard and soft forms. The broadly-

The NIST AMRF consists of robots, computers and machine tools from a variety of domestic manufacturers being integrated under a generic control system architecture; the purpose of AMRF research is to support development by industry of voluntary standards for the integration of such multi-vendor systems of flexible automation [Simpson 1982; Nanzetta 1984J.

successful "soft" form conveys information on

the nature and implications of flexible automation to technical, managerial, educational and public-policy audiences; the narrowlysuccessful "hard" form conveys specific technical results to industry for potential use in development of commercial products and processes.

The graduate-level work within the AMRF consists of : (1) research on real-time sensory-feedback control; (2) development, based on that research, of a standard contro l -system architecture; (3) implementation, under that architecture, of a laboratory facility in the form of a flexibly· automated-manufacturing system; and (4) demonstration, by meanS of that facility, of the feasibility of such an architecture as the basis of commercial multivendor systems of flexible automation.

In terms of the rec~p~ents of its technology transfer in the "hard" form, NIST has been more effective with certain types of industrial firms than its has been with others . One type of manufacturing enterprise for which there has been very effective technology transfer is the large firm with commitment to its own internal development of process technologies based on advanced robotics, machine tools, software or sensors. A second type for which technology transfer has been effective is the production facility of a federal agency with a mission need for advanced automation. A third type is the producer - goods company, independent of size, which has product lines associated with robotics, machine tools, software or sensors.

The results of this work within the AMRF are forms of knowledge transferred to industry by a wide variety of mechanisms. INTERACTIONS WITH INDUSTRY Considered to be the most important means for the NIST AMRF program to interact with U.S. industry is the Industrial Research Associate

However, a fourth type of manufacturing enterprise-- one for which there has been no

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(2)

effective direct transfer of results from the AMRF -- is that of the local small manufacturer. That NIST cannot itself deal directly with this type of firm has been indicated by the report of the reactions of small shop owners to the AMRF [MSB 1985J.

a first type of technology center, -state-based, non-profit, with master's-

degree-level workers, carrying out a development function;

Given the notable successes of the NIST AMRF in dealing with large R&D-oriented industrial firms, a problem remains regarding such direct transfer of research results to small- and medium-size firms which operate at the local level.

(3)

a second type of technology centers, community-based, not-for-profit, with bachelor's degree-level workers, carrying out an engineering-application function; and

(4)

small manufacturers, private, for-profit, with associate degree-level workers, carrying out a production function.

Because of the importance of such transfer to This model for a four-tier system linking Federal laboratories to small manufacturers which involves two types of technology centers

the nation's international competitiveness as

well as to local economic development, Federal legislation has been enacted to address the problem of facilitating transfer of results of NIST's advanced research to small- and medium-

as intermediaries rather than a one -- is

helping shape the system of new centers now being initiated.

size manufacturing firms; in addition to

changing the name of the National Bureau of Standards to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the legislation provides for Federal match-funding of state-based technology centers [CUS 1988J.

CONCLUSION Within the NIST Automated Manufacturing Research Facility, public-domain research on the measurements and standards issues of flexibly automated manufacturing is being conducted in collaboration with larger and/or R&D-orientated industrial firms. To complement that type of government-industry interaction, new technology centers are also being established within the states to provide local support to small and medium size firms.

Activities of each center, three of which have been established with 50% Federal matching funds, are expected to include: 1)

informing and educating the industrial firms in its region about advanced manufacturing techniques;

2)

demonstrating the applicability of advanced technology to these firms;

3)

actively assisting firms in evaluating

REFERENCES Congress of the United States , Technology Competitiveness Act (a subsection of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act), Washington DC, August 1988.

their requirements;

4) 5)

assisting with the implementation of desired applications;

Manufacturing Studies Board, National Research Council, "Reactions of Small Machine Shop Owners to the Automated Manufacturing Research Facility at the National Bureau of Standards", National Academy Press, Washington DC, 1985.

supporting work-force training and retraining; and

6)

communicating technology transfer Office of Research and Technology Applications, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg Maryland 20899.

experiences to a wide national audience.

Given the impetus to create such technology centers, understanding of the means to transfer of results of research from Federal laboratories to local industries still poses major conceptual as well as practical difficulties.

Simpson, J. A. et al. "The NBS Automated Manufacturing Facility", Journal of Manufacturing Systems, Society of Manufacturing Engineering, 1(1) :17-32, 1982; and Nanzetta, P. , "NBS Research Facility Addresses Problems of Set-Up in Small Batch Manufacturing", Industrial Engineering, Vol. 16, No. 6, June 1984.

To address this problem, a model system of technology transfer has been proposed, one in which a Federal laboratory -- the NIST AMRF -is linked to small manufacturers through stateand community-based technology centers [Swyt, 1988 J .

Swyt, D. A., "Transferring NBS Technology to Small Manufacturers Through State and Local Centers," Journal of Technology Transfer, Vol . 13, No. 1, (1988).

In the model, the four types of institutions in the system are matched along each of four dimensions: governmental level, innovation stage,

educational counterpart, and capital-revenue base. In summary, the institutions in the model system are: (1)

Federal laboratories, with are publicfunded, with PhD-level workers carrying out a research function:

7'2