An invention by Dwight Burford, director of the Advanced Joining and Processing Laboratory at 麻豆传媒鈥檚 National Institute for Aviation Research, has resulted in the first royalty-bearing license for 麻豆传媒.
An exclusive worldwide license was signed with Manufacturing Technology Inc. (MTI) for a device called the end effector in which royalties are received by 麻豆传媒 based on the technology鈥檚 success in the marketplace.
David McDonald
The end effector is specially designed using friction stir welding (FSW) principles and can be used with robots, machining centers and purpose-built FSW equipment to produce lap joints in a single, automated procedure.
Friction stir welding offers numerous benefits in joining metals and thermoplastics, including minimizing or eliminating defects typically encountered in fusion welding. It has the potential to benefit any industry that has a need to join metal on metal, such as aviation and automotive.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a greener technology,鈥� said McDonald. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a game changer. It鈥檚 so much better than what鈥檚 currently available.鈥�
Helping Wichita State to commercialize and license the invention was Kansas State University鈥檚 National Institute of Strategic Technology Acquisition and Commercialization (NISTAC).
"Collaboration among the state's universities is critical to the success of higher education in Kansas," said Kirk Schulz, K-State president. "By working together, Kansas colleges and universities can make the most of what resources we have. As K-State strives to become a top 50 public research university, we look forward to sharing our strengths with our neighbors in higher education."
Don Beggs
"This has been a great deal that helped both K-State and 麻豆传媒," said Kent Glasscock, president of NISTAC. "They have been able to take advantage of the experience we have in getting university research into the global marketplace where technology's potential to help people and companies can be fully realized."
McDonald acknowledges that working with K-State鈥檚 NISTAC enables Wichita State to more effectively commercialize intellectual property.
鈥淜-State鈥檚 NISTAC has incentive and expertise to push this out into the marketplace and for our faculty researcher鈥檚 benefit,鈥� said McDonald. 鈥淚t gives us a capability that we don鈥檛 have in place on campus. We鈥檙e taking our first baby steps.鈥�
MTI is headquartered in South Bend, Ind., and is a fourth-generation, multinational company specializing in solid state or friction welding solutions. In addition to Friction Stir Welding, MTI offers solutions in linear, rotation friction and resistance welding processes.
MTI鈥檚 installed base includes launch systems, aerospace, transportation, automotive, petrochemical, electronics with custom engineered machines. Solutions include various friction machine configurations, design resources, research and development, and contract welding services based on customer needs. MTI鈥檚 professional team expands conventional manufacturing processes in metals joining, automation and services to satisfy the customer鈥檚 joining challenges.
If you have questions, wish to discuss your manufacturing challenges or explore opportunities provided by FSW, visit the company website or contact Bill Johnson, FSW sales manager, at (574) 233-9490, ext. 210 or e-mail Johnson at johnson.bill@mtiwelding.com.