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WTEC U.S. Review Workshop on Micro-Manufacturing

The WTEC U.S. Review Workshop on Micro-Manufacturing was held at the National Science Foundation in Arlington, VA, on August 12, 2004. 

The aim of this WTEC study is to assess the status and trends of research and development in the field of micro-manufacturing at leading sites abroad via on-site peer review conducted by a panel.

Scope of this Study

This WTEC study is designed to take a first-hand look at the latest R&D developments overseas and compare them to those in the United States. The study will focus on micro-scale manufacturing processes and systems and the miniaturization of manufacturing equipment and process aspects of the micro-world, with increasing frequency referred to as the “Microfactory Manufacturing Paradigm,” distinct from those that focus on semiconductors and MEMS. The study will investigate both the state-of-the-art as well as emerging technologies from scientific, technological, and commercialization perspectives across key industrial sectors including medical, defense, electronics, aerospace, space, manufacturing equipment and consumer products.

Objectives of the Workshop

The first day of this workshop assessed the state-of-the-art in the U.S. via presentations and discussions by representatives from industry, national laboratories and academia. Scientific, technological and commercialization barriers were identified. Panelists, representatives from government agencies, and WTEC staff developed a detailed work plan on the second day.

Background

Since 1989, WTEC (World Technology Evaluation Center, www.wtec.org) has provided assessments in 55 fields of R&D under grants from the NSF. Other U.S. agencies provide support via interagency transfers to NSF, including NIH, NASA, and agencies of the Departments of Energy, Commerce and Defense. ONR, FDA, ARO, and NIST have also made separate awards in support of WTEC assessments. Recent related WTEC studies include Environmentally Benign Manufacturing (2000), MEMS Research in Japan (2002), and Additive and Subtractive Manufacturing in Europe (2003).


proceedings from the workshop on U.S. Research in Micro-Manufacturing


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·         Opening Remarks (B. Kramer)

·         About the WTEC Study  (K. Ehmann)

Processes, Equipment, and Metrology

·         Micromolding Challenges (D. Bibber)

·         Medical Device Manufacturing Challenges (P. Leopold)

·         Solid State UV Laser Processing Systems:  Their Role in Micromachining
(E. Swenson)

·         Machine Tools for Ultra-Precision and MicroManufacturing (S. Badrawy)

·         Meso/Micro Scale Machine Technologies (B. Damazo)

·         Rapid Prototyping of Living Biological Systems (D. Chrisey)

·         Target Fabrication at LLNL (S. Patterson)

Modeling and Simulation

·         Computer Modeling and Simulations from Bottom-up (D. Srivastava)

·         Current State of Micro-Scale Machine Tool Systems and Machining Research (S. Kapoor)

Applications

·         From Miniature to Micro (R. Knepper)

·         Micro-MFG in the Wireless World (I. Turlik)

·         Molecular Transducers for Biomedical Applications (R. Cubicciotti)

·         MicroManufacturing in the Medical Device Industry (D. Untereker)

Biographies of the Speakers


WTEC Study on Micro-Manufacturing
U.S Review Workshop Agenda

August 12, 2004 (Thursday)

NSF Stafford II, room 555