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United Grinding and Titans of CNC to Launch New Grinding Academy

United Grinding, a global leader in CNC grinding technology, and TITANS of CNC, a manufacturing group of part-makers, influencers and educators, have collaborated to launch the all-new Grinding Academy. Much like TITANS’ existing machining and aerospace academies, the Grinding Academy will offer free online courses that teach and train the next generation of machinists.

“We’re so excited to be teaming with Titans of CNC on their Grinding Academy,” said Paul Kössl, Global Head of Marketing and Business Development at UNITED GRINDING Group. “The precision and quality made possible by CNC grinding is something that more manufacturers should know about. The academy will showcase all of that power and potential, while also teaching viewers how to harness it.”

Titans of CNC’s humble origins — a lone machine shop in California — has grown into the world’s first CNC educational platform that’s recognized by engineers, machinists, hobbyists, students and educators around the world. With over a million followers across social media platforms including Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and TikTok, TITANS of CNC has become the trusted voice in manufacturing.

“We’re grateful for partners like United Grinding, whose world-class equipment and collaborative philosophies allow us to do what we do, which is educate and inspire anyone who has a passion for manufacturing,” said Titan Gilroy, CEO at TITANS of CNC. “The Grinding Academy will teach students the full spectrum of grinding from fundamentals to finished parts, and the curriculum found at grindingacademy. com will always be 100% free.”

Titans of CNC has four United Grinding machines on its shop floor in Texas: the BLOHM Planomat XT profile grinder, the STUDER favorit and STUDER S41 cylindrical grinding machines, and the Walter Helitronic Vision 400 L tool grinder. These machines will be the first tools used to create content for the Grinding Academy.

The Grinding Academy launched in June 2022. To view the Grinding Academy, visit grindingacademy.com. To see the complete lineup of machines and for more information on the United Grinding and Titans of CNC partnership, visit titansforgrinding.com.

LSU Mechanical Engineering Faculty Team Up with NASA to Advance Additively Manufactured Materials

Launch vehicles and propulsion systems are very complex and must survive extreme thermal, dynamic, pressure, and environmental loads. The materials and alloys used in these systems are often challenging to produce, costly, and have long lead times. Thanks to a NASA EPSCoR (Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) and Louisiana Board of Regents grant, LSU Mechanical Engineering Professors Shengmin Guo and Michael Khonsari are working with NASA and LaSPACE to advance additively manufactured alloys to help reduce cost and lead times.

“Our goal through EPSCoR and other partnerships is to advance technologies, including novel alloys, for our missions and commercial spaceflight partners,” said Paul Gradl, NASA principal engineer at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. “Part of our role is to understand the additive manufacturing processes better and provide accessible data so that NASA and industry can make better use of these processes and novel alloys.”

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For the past 18 months, Guo and Khonsari have been experimenting with alloys used in liquid rocket engine components made by additive manufacturing (AM) methods, such as laser powder-bed fusion (L-PBF) and laser powder-directed energy deposition (LP-DED) methods. When NASA makes parts using additive manufacturing, the parts cost 50% less to produce than parts made with traditional manufacturing, and parts can also be produced two to 10 times faster. Traditional parts can take a year to make, whereas, the same part can be made using AM methods in a few weeks, or for the most complex parts, in a few months.

L-PBF metallic 3D parts are fabricated by sequentially and selectively melting thin powder layers according to CAD-directed laser scanning strategies. Multiple laser line scans form the desired 2D section shape, followed by multiple powder deposition/laser irradiation cycles that generate complex 3D metal/alloy parts. LP-DED allows for large AM parts to be fabricated with a deposition head attached to a robot based on a CAD-directed toolpath.

In this project, Guo, Khonsari, and their graduate students conducted thermal and mechanical property measurements on more than 30 AM alloys and processes and established protocols for sample preparation, thermal and mechanical property testing, material characterization, and data analysis. Supported by EPSCoR and NASA Marshall, this project will provide NASA and industry with detailed

datasets regarding thermophysical properties of the metallic AM parts. “We have a lot of complex parts that have internal features and channels that were traditionally made from multiple joining operations (welding and brazing) to fabricate a component,” Gradl said. “As additive manufacturing processes and metal alloys mature, we must have good understanding of the properties to design for these additive processes that include mechanical and thermophysical properties.” According to Gradl, the thermophysical properties are a critical element of the design, and NASA required PROUD AMERICAN MANUFACTURER EST. 1967POWER of three • American Made Ironworkers 45 to 150 Ton Models • Top Notch Support & Local Service • 3 Year Warranty a substantial dataset for materials used in additive manufacturing processes, which is where the EPSCoR grant filled a gap. A key thermophysical property is thermal conductivity, particularly in high-temperature components, such as combustion chambers, where heat transfer is critical for the alloy being used. “This project builds upon the successful results of multiple National Science Foundation grants, Louisiana Board of Regents grants, and LSU’s investments in material and advanced manufacturing research,” Guo said. Apart from thermal property measurements, this team utilized the LSU Center for Rotating Machinery (CeRoM) equipment to perform mechanical testing and provide mechanical property measurements using the LSU Shared instrumentation Facility. CeRoM houses state-of-the-art Convenient & Free. We bring Scotchman machinery to your location. See them in action & test cut your material without leaving your place of business, anywhere in the lower 48. Scan QR Code or Call (800) 843-8844 www.scotchman.com

fatigue-testing equipment, including rotating bending, fully-reversed bending, torsion bending, and tension compression combined with torsion testing apparatuses.

“EPSCoR is excited to be associated with this research,” said Jeppie Compton, NASA EPSCoR project manager. “What is lab research today will one day be normal business, and with this database of properties that the team did methodical studies on, NASA and our industry partners could have a huge advantage for decades to come.”

Guo’s AM alloy thermophysical property work will also be featured in the appendix of a textbook led by NASA titled “Metal Additive Manufacturing for Propulsion Applications.” This book will be published by American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) under the Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics series.

Agile Space Industries Announces Tom Rubin, Former Microsoft Chief IP Strategy Counsel and Assistant U.S. Attorney, Has Joined Board of Directors

Agile Space Industries, the aerospace propulsion experts trusted by NASA, the Department of Defense and defense contractors for over a decade, announced today that former Microsoft Chief Intellectual Property Strategy Counsel and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Rubin has joined its board of directors. Rubin has served as an advisor on IP, legal and policy strategies for many cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence, virtual reality, software services and computer hardware.

“We are very excited to welcome Tom to our board and leverage his expertise to grow our business even more,” said Andrew Thompson, AGILE’s Chief Executive Officer. “We are continually developing our products and processes to remain on the cutting edge of in-space propulsion, and Tom’s leadership in both law and policy for key technological advancements ensures we are fully reaping the benefits of our innovations.”

Rubin joined AGILE’s board of directors alongside former astronaut Paul Richards in March, when the company shared news of lunar mission propulsion contracts with industry leaders Astrobotic and ispace Technologies.

With AGILE’s growth, Rubin brings valuable expertise in intellectual property, technology, data, licensing, artificial intelligence and corporate governance. He worked at Microsoft for over 15 years, spearheading complex IP-related product development and licensing for various business divisions, including Windows, Office, Xbox and Azure. His expertise spans IP, AI, data, privacy, security, antitrust and tech policy, all of which he has recently taught as a Lecturer in Law at Stanford Law School.

“In my career, I have had the privilege to see many innovative technologies shape their respective industries. Aerospace is one of these great frontiers, and AGILE is at the forefront of advancements in this industry,” said Tom Rubin. “The company’s advanced additive manufacturing processes and sophisticated in-house testing capabilities are reducing cost, shortening lead times and driving higher performance for their in-space propulsion clients. I am thrilled to be joining a team of brilliant minds to help execute on this unique value add.”

Prior to Microsoft, Rubin was an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he was one of the country’s first computer crimes prosecutors and led many landmark investigations and prosecutions.

During his time in private practice, Rubin has represented many notable clients across a variety of industry sectors, from Sony to Spotify.

“My career spans more than 30 years in government, industry, academia and private practice, but since my childhood in the early days of the Apollo mission, aerospace and aviation have been great passions of mine,” said Rubin. “I am looking forward to immersing myself in the industry, and to propelling even more growth opportunities for AGILE to reach its next level of innovation.”

In addition to his new role at AGILE, Rubin serves on the board of HaptX, a virtual reality company based in his hometown of Seattle, and is a strategic advisor to OpenAI, a research and deployment company for artificial intelligence based in San Francisco. A graduate of both Yale and Stanford, Rubin serves on the executive committee of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and in a variety of positions at Stanford University.

Mazak HR Director Named to Two Northern Kentucky Workforce Advisory Boards

Mazak Human Resources Director William Weier has accepted appointment to two Northern Kentucky advisory boards that guide regional employment policies and align education to employer needs. The Northern Kentucky Workforce Investment Board (NKWIB), which administers federal funding and local policies connecting employers and job candidates, and the Manufacturing Advisory Committee for Gateway Community & Technical College both appointed Weier in April.

The organizations’ visions align with Weier’s experience and are essential in supporting Northern Kentucky’s employers and job seekers currently and in the future. Starting out as a machinist at Cincinnati Milacron more than 40 years ago, Weier has experienced the manufacturing world from both sides – on the shop floor making the product as well as from the management side focused on strategic workforce planning in his current position at Mazak.

Gateway Community & Technical College is a major influence on the Northern Kentucky economy by providing students the skills and training necessary to support a

variety of regional businesses and industries.

“Gateway’s support of educational alignment to the needs of Northern Kentucky industrial partners is critical to providing the skill sets needed for growth in the region,” said Weier.

The NKWIB’s focus on career planning and talent development are also important goals for Weier. He said that its initiatives on career planning, diversity through outreach and building a workforce pipeline for the future have also been key strategies for Mazak to develop the next generation of manufacturing leaders.

“I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to work with both boards and have a role responding to the needs of the Northern Kentucky industrial community,” Weier said.

Mary Pouliot Appointed Executive Vice President, Americas Thetford North America

Thetford LLC, a leader in RV and marine toilets and sanitation solutions, together with Norcold LLC, the premier brand in RV refrigerators (collectively, “Thetford North America”), announced to employees today that Mary Pouliot has been appointed to the position of Executive Vice President, Americas (“EVP”) effective immediately. She will report directly to Chief Executive Officer Stephane Cordeille.

As EVP, Mary will be responsible for the Thetford North America operational and strategic vision. The Americas Management Team will report directly to her. Mary will continue to work closely with the shareholders and the Board of Directors.

“Mary’s leadership and dedication to the industry and our customers is second to none. There is no one more qualified or prepared to rise to the occasion and take over the American operations for Thetford and Norcold,” said Cordeille “Mary has been with Thetford North America for over 16 years. She has risen through the ranks from Director of Customer Service to Director of OEM Sales, to VP of Sales & Marketing. No one is more intimately involved with and focused on our customers than she is.”

Beyond her tenure at Thetford North America, Pouliot also serves as Chairman of the Board for the RV Technical Institute, Executive Committee Treasurer of the RV Industry Association (RVIA) Board of Directors, Chair of the RV Supplier Committee and is a member of the Michigan Association of Recreation Vehicles and Campgrounds (MARVAC) Board of Directors. She lives in Hartland, Michigan with her husband and three children.

“This is an exciting time at Thetford North America. I am eager to take on this new role and determined to continue to advance our progress across our operations and customer support functions,” stated Pouliot.

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