Oak Ridge National Laboratory and HTS International are exploring collaborations in advanced manufacturing research such as conformal cooling. These specially placed coolant lines allow parts to cool faster, which increases productivity for molding and casting manufacturers. (Image by ORNL)
HTS International Corporation and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have signed an agreement to explore potential collaborations in advanced manufacturing research.
The memorandum of understanding follows HTS’s recent decision to locate its headquarters and production operations in a Knox County business park adjacent to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at ORNL (in Hardin Valley). The lab’s expertise and unique facilities in materials science, metallurgy, and advanced manufacturing attracted the attention of HTS’s leadership during a 2015 visit to Tennessee.
“Our researchers push the boundaries of what’s possible with materials and advanced manufacturing techniques, and we value partners such as HTS,” said Thomas Zacharia, deputy for science and technology at ORNL. “Industrial partners help to ensure we’re tackling the right problems, and our results help them to improve production capabilities and American competitiveness.”
HTS supplies specialty products to the injection molding and die casting industries, using its proprietary metal fusion technology to produce large-scale steel production components with conformal cooling. These specially placed coolant lines allow parts to cool faster, which increases productivity for molding and casting manufacturers.
“Engineered thermal solutions like conformal cooling are important to many of our industrial collaborators,” said Craig Blue, ORNL’s director of energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. “HTS and ORNL share mutual interest in several research and development (R&D) areas, such as development of additive technologies in the steel tooling sector and implementation of corresponding industrial standards.”
HTS is preparing to launch the first industrial standard in conformal cooling with a series of products under its iTherm brand.
“Establishing a collaboration with ORNL to test and validate our iTherm tool plates and inserts is the first step towards standardization of conformal cooling for the injection molding industry,” HTS Chief Executive Officer William Sames said. The in-situ testing of iTherm tool inserts is expected to be performed at the University of Tennessee Fibers and Composite Manufacturing Facility and Engineering Annex early this year.
HTS, named after its heat treatment services, has been in business since 2001 and has supplied custom products in Europe for more than five years. The company’s customers include original equipment manufacturers, automotive suppliers, and companies in the consumer products and packaging industries. As it expands into the U.S. market, HTS plans to invest more than $20 million in East Tennessee and create 200 new jobs during the next five years. Construction of its new facility is expected to begin later this year.
ORNL’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility is supported by the DOE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office, or AMO. AMO supports applied research, development, and demonstration of new materials, information, and processes that improve American manufacturing’s energy efficiency, as well as platform technologies for manufacturing clean energy products.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for DOE’s Office of Science. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit http://science.energy.gov/.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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