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ORNL making molds to help produce COVID-19 test tubes

Posted at 12:36 pm April 21, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

An example of a 3D printer, the Cincinnati Machine, is pictured above at work in Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility in Hardin Valley on Dec. 29, 2014. (Photo courtesy of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy)

Engineers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are making metal molds that companies will use to manufacture plastic tubes for COVID-19 test kits.

The work has been cited in two federal coronavirus task force press conferences at the White House this week.

On Monday, Brad Smith, a federal health official, said the ORNL work could help supply more than 40 million collection tubes per month in the next several weeks. Smith grew up in Knoxville, and he has been a business leader and entrepreneur, and served in Tennessee state government. He is now deputy administrator and director of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The ORNL work was also cited by President Donald Trump on Sunday.

The ORNL engineers are using additive manufacturing to produce the metal molds for the COVID-19 test kits. Additive manufacturing is the process of making an object by printing it with a material layer by layer. Printers known as 3D printers— some large, some small—can be used.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Federal, Front Page News, Government, Health, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: 3D printers, additive manufacturing, Brad Smith, coronavirus task force, COVID-19, COVID-19 test, COVID-19 testing, Donald Trump, Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, metal molds, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, White House

ORNL researcher receives Innovator of Year award for energy efficiency work

Posted at 11:15 am March 24, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

ORNL Roderick Jackson on Sept. 23, 2015

Roderick Jackson is principal investigator on the Additive Manufacturing Integrated Energy (AMIE) Demonstration Project, a model for energy-efficient systems that link buildings, vehicles, and the electrical grid. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Researcher Roderick Jackson of Oak Ridge National Laboratory was awarded an Innovator of the Year award in 2017 at the Young, Gifted, and Empowered Awards, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Jackson was recognized for his groundbreaking work in building energy efficiency innovation, DOE said in a story published Tuesday by the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Jackson is the lead at ORNL’s Building Envelope Systems Research Group, and he leads the partnership between the Building Technologies Office, or BTO, and ORNL on building envelope projects, DOE said. Jackson works with both BTO’s Emerging Technologies and Residential Buildings Integration programs.

Jackson also serves as the technical lead for the Additive Manufacturing Integrated Energy (AMIE) demonstration project. As part of that project, ORNL and others unveiled a vehicle and house in September 2015 that had been built using large-scale 3D printers at the lab’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility in Hardin Valley. The 210-square-foot solar-powered house and printed utility vehicle, or PUV, can provide power to each other. The house is one of the world’s first 3D printed homes.

The home and vehicle are part of a project designed to answer “what if” questions that could lead to innovations in building and car construction and energy use, storage, and consumption.

DOE said the Young, Gifted, and Empowered awards are in their third year, and they recognize exceptional young African-American professionals from Mississippi who are champions in the arts, business, philanthropy, education, innovation, and leadership. The honorees are between the ages of 25-45 and have demonstrated a noteworthy commitment to excellence and community service and a high level of character, leadership, and innovation, DOE said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: 3D printers, Additive Manufacturing Integrated Energy, Additive Manufacturing Integrated Energy Demonstration Project, AMIE, BTO, Building Envelope Systems Research Group, Building Technologies Office, Buildings Technology Research and Integration Center, DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Innovator of the Year, Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Roderick Jackson, U.S. Department of Energy, Young Gifted and Empowered Awards

ORNL: Car, building are 3D-printed, can power each other

Posted at 1:56 pm September 24, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

ORNL 3D-Printed House and Vehicle on Sept. 24, 2015

A 3D-printed vehicle and building that were part of a nine-month research demonstration project were unveiled on Industry Day at ORNL on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015. The natural gas-powered car and solar-powered building can provide electricity to each other. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A car and house built using large-scale 3D printers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory can provide power to each other, and they’re part of a project designed to answer “what if” questions that could lead to innovations in building and car construction and energy use, storage, and consumption, researchers and officials said Wednesday.

The 210-square-foot house—it’s a solar-powered building—and the printed utility vehicle—officials affectionately call it a PUV—were printed at ORNL’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility on Hardin Valley Road.

They were unveiled at ORNL on Wednesday during the lab’s first-ever Industry Day. The building and PUV are part of a project called the Additive Manufacturing Integrated Energy, or AMIE, demonstration.

Additive manufacturing is the process used to build something one layer at a time. One of the most well-known examples is the Shelby Cobra car 3-D printed on a large-scale polymer printer at the MDF. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden admired that vehicle—and joked about taking it for a spin—during a trip to East Tennessee in January. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, College, Education, Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: 3D polymer, 3D printers, 3D-printed building, 3D-printed home, 3D-printed vehicle, additive manufacturing, Additive Manufacturing Integrated Energy, Alcoa/Kawneer, AMIE, Barack Obama, Brian Lee, Chuck Fleischmann, Cincinnati Incorporated, Clayton Homes, College of Architecture and Design, David Danielson, David Milhorn, DowAksa, energy efficiency, energy generation, energy use, EPB, GE Appliances, Hexagon Lincoln, Industry Day, Institute for Advanced Composite Manufacturing Innovation, Joe Biden, Johnson Controls, Knoxville Utilities Board, Liberty Utilities, Line-X, Mach Fuels, Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, Martin Keller, NanoPore, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, ORNL, polymer printer, printed utility vehicle, PUV, renewable energy, Roderick Jackson, Skidmore Owings and Merrill, Spiers New Technologies, Techmer ES, Tru-Design, U.S. Department of Energy, University of Tennessee

Mayor Beehan represents Oak Ridge at White House Maker Faire

Posted at 10:03 am June 18, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 1 Comment

Tom Beehan

Tom Beehan

Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan is representing Oak Ridge at the White House Maker Faire today (Wednesday). It’s part of the Mayors’ Maker Challenge, which the Oak Ridge City Council approved at the June 2 Council meeting.

Here’s an e-mail about it from the White House:

Tune in to the White House Maker Faire!

We’ve got another big first happening at the White House (Wednesday, June 18) and our guests are making a lot of things besides history.

President Obama will celebrate innovators, entrepreneurs, and tinkerers of all ages from across the country at the first-ever White House Maker Faire. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: 3D printers, Maker Faire, Mayors' Maker Challenge, National Day of Making, Oak Ridge, President Obama, Tom Beehan, White House, White House Maker Faire

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Classifieds

Public Notice: Comment period extended for Draft EA for Lithium Processing Facility at Y-12

EXTENSION OF THE COMMENT PERIOD FOR THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE LITHIUM PROCESSING … [Read More...]

Public Notice: Draft Environmental Assessment Available for Lithium Production Facility at Y-12

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE LITHIUM PROCESSING FACILITY AT THE Y-12 … [Read More...]

Availability of the Final Environmental Assessment for the Oak Ridge Enhanced Technology and Training Center (ORETTC) (DOE/EA-2144), Finding of No Significant Impact, and Wetland Statement of Findings

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces the … [Read More...]

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