{"id":203495,"date":"2010-12-14T21:25:35","date_gmt":"2010-12-14T21:25:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/d45h139.public.uconn.edu\/sites\/news\/?p=2800"},"modified":"2025-01-31T11:52:00","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T16:52:00","slug":"initiative-supports-unique-collaboration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2010\/12\/initiative-supports-unique-collaboration\/","title":{"rendered":"Initiative Supports Unique Collaboration"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new program leverages the resources \u2013 and resourcefulness \u2013 of private enterprise, State agencies, and the University of Connecticut to jump-start new technologies while offering students an unmatched opportunity for hands-on learning. Earlier this year, KTI, Inc<\/a>. of East Windsor, CT won a Small Business Innovation and Diversification Program (SBIDP) grant through Connecticut <\/a>\"\"<\/a>Innovations<\/a> that planted the seed for a partnership with the UConn School of Engineering. The SBIDP awards small manufacturing businesses grants of $5,000 to $25,000 (to be matched dollar-for-dollar) to advance innovative new technologies or services that might otherwise be too economically risky for small firms to pursue.<\/p>\n

KTI\u2019s SBIDP provided the impetus for the 25-employee, 44-year old business to recruit an\u00a0engineering undergraduate\u00a0from UConn\u00a0to design, build and test a device that will automate processes currently carried out manually \u2013 revolutionizing the company\u2019s service capabilities. Under UConn\u2019s Innovation Scholar program, the School of Engineering provided matching funds to further propel the commercialization effort.<\/p>\n

KTI provides electron beam welding (EB) job shop services, custom EB strip welding, machining and both prototype and production services to customers across the globe, ranging from defense and aerospace firms to manufacturers of turbine parts, biomedical parts and sensors. The company is known for its high quality standards as well as its commitment to innovation. KTI pioneered a continuous strip welding process, for example, that sets the business apart from competitors. Unsurprisingly, KTI\u2019s client list \u2013 unpublished for proprietary reasons \u2013 reads like a \u201cwho\u2019s who\u201d of the nation\u2019s top-tier defense, aerospace and manufacturing companies.<\/p>\n

Over the decades, as electron beam welding and manufacturing techniques have evolved, KTI has expanded its customer base to include companies that specialize in pressure, temperature and environmental sensing devices used, for example, in manufacturing and power plant settings; roadway, bridge and other transportation system to monitor fatigue and wear; and biomedical and biocompatible devices such as prosthetics, kidney pumps, medical implants and super-conducting wire for MRI machines, according to company President Howard Orr. He remarked that KTI\u2019s work may also be found aboard the Hubble Space Telescope, International Space Station, several unmanned vehicles (drones), communication satellites, submarine sonar systems, airport security devices and many rocket and missile applications.<\/p>\n

Mr. Orr said that although electron beam welding technology has remained fairly unchanged over time, KTI must continue to introduce new processes, improve operations and adopt advanced computer and electronic technologies to remain competitive. \u201cWhat is changing is the technology associated with beam controls and part manipulation using CNC controls, robotics and new electronic data feedback systems. We need to continually improve our operation, automate and refine our processes in order to remain a leader.\u201d<\/p>\n

Equipped with the SBIDP grant and the matching funds supplied by the School of Engineering, KTI recruited Innovation Scholar Alexander Froning, who was selected through a competitive process. Alex logs up to 15 hours per week researching state-of-the-art technological developments for KTI and working on a project aimed at automating the processes by which parts are moved under the electron beam by using computer controlled devices and beam manipulation, processes that take place within a vacuum welding chamber. According to Mr. Orr, the project requires Alex to learn diverse skills such as computer numerical controls and robotics. Alex, who began working with KTI in September, will help to manage the installation, fashion the prototype parts, test and troubleshoot the unit. Mr. Orr noted that KTI is pleased with Alex\u2019s performance and treats him \u201cjust like a regular employee.\u201d<\/p>\n

The partnership between KTI, UConn and CI emerged from Mr. Orr\u2019s interactions with the School of Engineering\u2019s Entrepreneur in Residence and industry liaison, Robin Bienemann<\/a>. The two became acquainted at a number of business innovation functions, recalled Mr. Orr. \u201cRobin urged us to get involved in the Innovation Scholar and senior design programs. I was initially concerned that we would have difficulty training and overseeing the work of college students, but it has worked out well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

KTI decided to expand its support of UConn engineering students to include four seniors engaged in the two-semester senior design \u201ccapstone\u201d experience. Mechanical Engineering seniors Lauren Anderson, Andrew Napoli, Graham Clark and Ryan Gauvin are working with KTI engineers to understand and develop functional solutions for two distinct metallurgical problems in the aircraft industry, in partnership with one of the nation\u2019s leading aerospace companies. The students are advised by UConn materials science professors Hal Brody and Rainer Hebert along with KTI\u2019s Mr. Orr, and engineers Eric Welker, Rhody Triblets and Steve Wasseluk. The project brings together, for the first time, the resources and expertise of a large prime contractor, a small business and UConn students and faculty with the shared aim of solving real and significant manufacturing challenges.<\/p>\n

Peering into his crystal ball, Mr. Orr said \u201cWe are looking into freeform fabrication (FFF), also called additive manufacturing, and processes such as EB wire feed, and laser sintering and cladding. These processes will be the industry standards in the coming years, and they\u2019ll revolutionize manufacturing.\u201d It\u2019s a sure bet that KTI will be at the technological forefront helping to transform the materials joining industry; not only is KTI investing in these novel technologies, it\u2019s also a member of the F42 Council, an international committee charged with establishing the industry standards on freeform fabrication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new program leverages the resources — and resourcefulness — of private enterprise, State agencies, and the University of Connecticut to jump-start new technologies while offering students an unmatched opportunity for hands-on learning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":218714,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1866],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2110],"class_list":["post-203495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-engr"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-17 03:48:52","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/122"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203495"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":225067,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203495\/revisions\/225067"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/218714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203495"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=203495"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=203495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}