UA hosts grand opening of the Timken Foundation Center for precision manufacturing

The University of Akron (UA) hosted the grand opening and ribbon-cutting of the Timken Foundation Center for Precision Manufacturing (CPM) on Sept. 20, 2024, to a group of more than 150 educators and industry professionals. This state-of-the-art, 15,800-square-foot facility, funded by a $3 million grant from The Timken Foundation of Canton, features an open bay area, classrooms, and offices. The advanced

manufacturing equipment housed in CPM, funded by grants from the Ohio Department of Higher Education, contributes to workforce development for local manufacturing industry as well as opportunities for research and student education.

CPM is a cooperative center, where industry members define their research and workforce needs, and the faculty and students at UA address these needs through collaborative research, technological innovations, and workforce training.

The Center was born in response to industry needs for a workforce trained in critical areas such as grinding, machining, hard turning, etc., i.e. traditional manufacturing processes that create precision products by removing materials. In addition, Industry 4.0, combining traditional manufacturing process with smart digital technology, is a research focus within CPM, bringing the tools of the digital infrastructure including sensors, cloud networks, AI/ML, data collection/interpretation, and digital twins to bear on manufacturing processes that date back decades. Ultimately, CPM is dedicated to producing the talent and the technologies that serve the manufacturing industry of Ohio.

For more information about the Center for Precision Manufacturing at the University of Akron, please contact Dane Quinn, CPM Director, at quinn@uakron.edu