This week, the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences presented its strategy to help revitalize American small and mid-sized manufacturers through advanced computer digital manufacturing technologies. The event, held in collaboration with Intersect360 Research, included and key industry players such as Microsoft and Intel.
As presented at the event, the strategy calls for the development of a National Innovation Network of HPC centers that would give the 300,000 small and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) access to digital manufacturing technologies. The centers would facilitate innovation, competitiveness and job growth by leveraging the supercomputing talent, ideas, and facilities within our universities, national labs, and industrial research centers. The whitepaper outlining the strategy is available for download.
Are small and medium businesses really ready to make the leap to HPC and embrace digital manufacturing in this country? It may be a tough sell since most small-company managers are risk-averse, according to a new Intersect360 Research Report, but the NCMS may be just the right kind of organization to make it possible:
With this study and its Predictive Innovation Center strategy, NCMS has done an excellent job tracking and responding to the needs of the American manufacturer,” said Addison Snell, CEO of Intersect360 Research. “Furthermore we have found that small- and medium-size organizations will respond well to an organization like NCMS in seeking the partnerships that will help them gain a competitive advantage from digital manufacturing technologies.”