Commercialization of New Materials for a Global Economy (1993) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
3. Factors Affecting Materials Commercialization
3. Factors Affecting Materials Commercialization
Pages 25-46
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 25... ...
· . — The greatest opportunity to improve the rate and effectiveness of this transition process is by increasing focus on the early advanced development phase of the S&T [science and technology]
|
From page 26... ...
Air Force Materiel Command has initiated a Materials Transition Program that focuses on what it terms the "transition gap" between the latter stages of 6.2 (Exploratory Materials Development) and the early stage of 6.3 (6.3A, Component Development)
|
From page 27... ...
Since materials development driven by theory and computer simulation is still in its infancy, most materials development is conducted empirically. Goals are often chosen on the basis of experimental observation rather than
|
From page 28... ...
application needs. Developers sometimes fail to distinguish between the search for revolutionary developments to achieve major breakthroughs in properties, and evolutionary development to achieve incremental improvements in existing materials and performance levels.
|
From page 29... ...
In general, a balance must be achieved by the developer between high-risk, high-return goals and incremental improvements with well identified objectives. One of the problems with defense-stimulated or spacestimulated materials developments has been a mission-oriented agency that often sets goals or specifications relating to narrow mission objectives, thereby ignoring potential commercial requirements or existing commercial products.
|
From page 30... ...
This program was originated by the Air Force to encourage companies that make up the defense industrial base to modernize their facilities. The goal of these modernization efforts has typically included increased production efficiency, improved product quality and durability, lower product life-cycle costs, and reduced lead times (Schafrik ~ Fiorino, 1992~.
|
From page 31... ...
Factors Affecting Materials Commercialization 31 CD .= o be a; a' 5 o in do o so as Do ._ N ._ ._ CJ o ~ e ~ - g e ;~; Tt o 0 0 ._ _ cat ° E Eli 3 g ~ _ g e ~ -:> Lo ~ in an ~:< m~ ~o 1~ Q E ~ 0 ~ ' E 1i .
|
From page 32... ...
A program established by Congress in the Technology Competitiveness Act of 1988 provides technology development grants to single businesses, independent research institutions, or joint ventures (NIST, 1991~. Awards are made for generic technology development and precompetitive technology, the latter being defined as "R&D activities up to the stage where technical uncertainties are sufficiently reduced to permit assessment of commercial potential and prior to development of application-specific commercial prototypes." One of the awards relating to materials development in 1992, for instance, was to the Nanophase Technologies Corporation to "develop the technology to produce commercial quantities of new nanocrystalline ceramics" (New Technology Week, 1992~.
|
From page 33... ...
It also makes it difficult to fairly compare materials on the basis of lowest life-cycle cost, since initial acquisition cost and life-cycle cost are usually very different. Standards and International Standardization A number of private sector standards-writing organizations exist in the United States to develop domestic standards; they include the American National Standards Institute; the American Society for Testing and Materials; and several activities under specific technical societies, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Society of Automotive Engineers.
|
From page 34... ...
A major topic of discussion was whether there is a need for a coordinating function to facilitate the timely development of standards by existing standards organizations. (A potential model for such a coordinating role is the Standards Council in Canada, in which the government plays the coordinating role.)
|
From page 35... ...
Insertion programs to replace specific components with an improved material after a thorough design analysis are one way to break this impasse and allow improvements through incremental application of new materials technology. An example of such a program is the ceramic insertion program initiated by the Advanced Research Projects Agency in early 1991.
|
From page 36... ...
They should incorporate into their design and manufacturing scheme the potential to quickly insert improved materials technology at any point in the lifetime of the product family, not just during the initial design. This will allow the fairly rapid accumulation of realistic service experience.
|
From page 37... ...
Because government funding of university research primarily emphasizes basic research, students tend to be educated in those areas in which the research faculty are proficient fundamental theory, analysis, and discovery rather than in making things and making them work economically. The emphasis in university engineering education on materials design, materials processing, and manufacturing needs to be increased (NRC, 1989~.
|
From page 38... ...
Such a strategy would be in industry's best interest, since better trained employees will contribute to a company's competitiveness. Equally important are continuing education programs for engineering designers and manufacturing engineers already in practice, so that conventional paradigms of design and manufacture, based on metals, can be resynthesized to take advantage of advanced materials.
|
From page 39... ...
rights. The Center for Strategic and International Studies committee, chaired by Senator Jeff Bingaman, addressed this problem and its effects: DOD's emphasis on obtaining unlimited rights in technical data, including the right to distribute
|
From page 40... ...
The Center for Strategic and International Studies committee recommended that "AII technology developed under contract, even if developed with public funds' should be the property of the contractor subject to limited Government Purchase License Rights." Process Intensive Patents International differences in the patent process and patent enforcement often inhibit commercialization by U.S. industry of new materials that tend to be more process intensive.
|
From page 41... ...
However, the State, Commerce, and Defense departments need a better method for determining precisely how far to go in balancing commercial interests against national security considerations in their application of the International Trade and Arms Regulation and export control legislation. A recommendation made by a National Research Council panel is that the United States and other members of the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls change the basis of their technology transfer restrictions from a policy of general denial of dual-use (military and commercial)
|
From page 42... ...
Environmental regulations and controls in most developed nations, such as Japan and the European Economic Community, now equal or exceed those in the United States. But in the developing world and the nations now emerging from behind the former Iron Curtain, environmental regulations and controls are much less stringent.
|
From page 43... ...
This is as true for many other technologies as it is for materials. Market Size Where the government is the prospective customer for a new material, actual demand in terms of volume can be quite small.
|
From page 44... ...
Short-Term Management Goals Given the substantial commitment of dollars and time required for materials technology development, the often noted short-term profit outlook of corporate management is a barrier to long-term innovation. There are some emerging examples of American companies that have enhanced their competitive posture by deemphasizing traditional short-term financial management measures and focused on product quality, employee involvement, and speed to market.
|
From page 45... ...
Cost Accounting Rules The government's cost accounting system fails to take adequate account of the technology development cycle. Its perspective of basing allowable profit as a fixed percentage of material or product cost is foreign to commercial practice.
|
From page 46... ...
First Cost Versus Life-Cycle Cost The practice of selecting materials according only to initial cost ignores the importance of life-cycle cost, which is often substantially lower for advanced materials than for the conventional materials they replace (NMAB, 1991 )
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.