Other Success Stories
In 2018, MassCEC's AmplifyMass program awarded $100,478 to Dr. James Sherwood of University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML) to develop a comprehensive manufacturing software tool that aims to identify opportunities to reduce cost of and improve quality of wind blades while increasing wind blade factory throughput. The Institute of Advanced Composite Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI), as the prime grantor, provided $150,000 in support of the project, which enabled MassCEC to award the cost-share funding. Dr. Sherwood partnered with General Electric, TPI Composites, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Janicki, and Dassault.
These partners supported UML in developing software that is both user-friendly and accurate in predicting blade cost within a 10% margin of error. Following the success of this initial project, IACMI and MassCEC’s AmplifyMass program granted the project team Phase II funding to continue their work. This second part of the project is focused on demonstrating the tool’s ability to enhance manufacturing processes at one of partner’s facilities.
