18:53 | 08.02.2010
MAG Industrial Automation Systems Garners 15 Patents in 2009 for New Manufacturing Solutions
MAG
Industrial Automation Systems reinforced its reputation as an
intellectual property powerhouse by winning 15 U.S. and European patents
in 2009, covering new manufacturing technologies for alternative
energy, aerospace
and automotive
components. The company’s new HyperMach
aerospace profiler, alone, received three patents, with two more
pending. MAG also received two international awards in 2009 for new composites
processing technologies, one involving a method for making hydrogen
fuel tanks for automobiles.
The largest machine tool builder in the U.S., MAG focuses its R&D on new
manufacturing science for products, such as thin-film
solar panels, lightweight
composite automobiles, new solar windows and wind
energy components. “While the public thinks of industrial
automation as machines, fluids
and tools, we have teams working at the scientific end of the
business, developing advanced processes that customers want today, as
well as working on ideas for manufacturing products our customers may
only be dreaming about,” says Richard Curless, Chief Technology Officer
of MAG Americas.
As examples, Curless cites a recently completed project with the
National Center for Manufacturing Sciences to mathematically enhance the
accuracy of large 5-axis machine tools. The Volumetric Error
Compensation system received a Defense Manufacturing Excellence Award
from the National Center for Advanced Technologies (NCAT) in 2009. A
Boeing team member called it a “groundbreaking process” that will
dramatically reduce assembly costs – $100 million a year on large
programs like the F-18 or 700 aircraft series.
According to Curless, MAG produces 30-50 patent applications per year.
“Intellectual property is a high priority for us because we sell
manufacturing solutions,” he explains. “To get at those solutions, we
staff with top-flight people who want to work at the edge of today’s
capabilities, and we challenge them. We are currently studying new
materials and methods for manufacturing composite automobile panels and
components, and we are heavily involved in development of more efficient
manufacturing technologies for thin-film solar panels and wind
energy components.”
About MAGMAG is a leading machine tool and automation
systems company serving the durable-goods industry worldwide with
complete manufacturing solutions. Key industrial markets served include
aerospace, automotive and truck, heavy equipment, oil and gas, rail,
solar energy, wind turbine production and general machining.
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