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‘Foundry 4.0’ Partnership Offers Competitive Edge

Additive Manufacturing

It’s called Foundry 4.0—a partnership between the Defense Logistics Agency and the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM), and the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) and Youngstown State University. The idea is to provide American-based foundries with a competitive edge in technology while optimizing productivity, output, and product quality. In December 2022, NCDMM program manager Brian Schmidt and senior program engineer Ken Carson spent a week in Cedar Falls to view the University of Northern Iowa components, including on-site visits with many Iowa industries. Two entities under the UNI Business and Community Services operation play a significant role in the Industry 4.0 Foundry partnership…the Center for Business Growth and Innovation, and the Metal Casting and Foundry 4.0 Centers. Schmidt and Carson recently discussed the project with Jeff Stein of the Iowa Business Report in Waterloo. Learn about how the partnership came to be and its impact on the metal casting industry through advanced technologies. Listen HERE.