麻豆传媒

A recent grant will allow Wichita State鈥檚 National Institute for Aviation Research to speed up the manufacturing process for aerospace and defense industries.

The $2 million grant, awarded by the U.S. Economic Development Association (EDA), will fund the purchase of equipment for the research, development and inspection of automated manufacturing processes for composite materials.

include metals, alloys, plastics and any other combination of manufactured materials. They are known for their light weight and great strength, and are now frequently used in the aircraft structural components.

The institute鈥檚 Advanced Technology Laboratory for Aerospace Systems (ATLAS) will lead a partnership of multiple government agencies, aircraft manufacturers, suppliers and other universities in the program. In addition to the EDA鈥檚 support, ATLAS has received funding from the Office of Naval Research and the State of Kansas for composite manufacturing equipment.

The equipment will be used in an in-process inspection system to automatically identify common manufacturing defects. To avoid future defects, the system鈥檚 computer management system uses machine learning to take corrective actions on subsequent manufacturing runs to improve material quality.

Institute senior research scientist Waruna Seneviratne will lead the lab.

鈥淎TLAS provides a neutral ground for manufacturers to research advanced manufacturing concepts with various machine, software and processing options,鈥� said Seneviratne. 鈥淚t will also educate and train student Factory of the Future engineers on advanced manufacturing concepts.鈥�

Factory of the Future, also known as Industry 4.0, is an international effort to modernize manufacturing spaces with computerized processes and automated systems. It complements the institute鈥檚 mission to maintain Wichita鈥檚 technological and procedural edge in aerospace manufacturing, and helps fulfill 麻豆传媒鈥檚 role as an applied learning center and economic driver.