Contact: Maridith Geuder
Traditional methods of manufacturing airplane structures, fan blades and other constructions requiring thin-sectioned aluminum components can be mechanically unstable, tedious and expensive.
A Mississippi State University mechanical engineering team now proposes a better method: high-speed machining. Recommendations presented in a report by assistant professor Emmanuel I. Agba received first-place honors last week at an international meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio.
High-speed machining uses cutting speeds of up to 1,500 feet per minute, potentially shortening machining time and increasing productivity. Agba said research experiments at MSU concluded that high-speed rates were effective and could ensure high quality and shorter manufacturing times, among other advantages.
Agba, who holds a doctorate from Florida Atlantic University, has extensive experience in design and manufacture, especially in the automotive and plastics industries. His research areas include computer-aided design and manufacturing, high-speed machining, robotics, and composite materials.
The innovative proposal was presented at an Oct. 4-7 conference on machining and grinding sponsored by the Machining Technology Association of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Joining Agba in co-authoring the research report were mechanical engineering professor John T. Berry and graduate student David M. Ishee of Raymond.
Berry, who holds a doctorate from the University of Birmingham, England, is Coleman Professor of Engineering at MSU. His research focuses primarily on materials processing and materials in design and manufacture.
Ishee worked on the research project prior to his graduation last year with a master's degree in mechanical engineering. He now is a fatigue and fracture analyst involved in F-16 fighter aircraft design with Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems in Fort Worth, Texas. Ishee also holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from MSU.
"Apart from the pleasure of presenting experimentally proved concepts to my contemporaries, we are pleased by the award because of the recognition it accords our machining research at Mississippi State," Agba said.
Headquartered in Dearborn, Mich., the Society of Manufacturing Engineers is an international professional society of more than 600,000 members in 70 countries. Its Manufacturing Technology Association focuses on technical developments, processes and applications that affect industry.