ORNL Announces the Development of Future Foundries

Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Tennessee, have announced the development of Future Foundries, a new additive manufacturing (AM) platform. The system integrates wire arc AM, heat treatment, inspection and machining, connected by an autonomous pallet changer that moves components between processes.

By running workflows concurrently, the platform reportedly reduces production cycles by up to 68%. Its range of functions is designed to tackle industry challenges, such as lengthy lead times and high customization demands. According to ORNL, this makes Future Foundries particularly well-suited to applications in energy and national security. “Future Foundries represents a new way of thinking about manufacturing: not as a collection of isolated processes, but as an interconnected, adaptive system,” stated Thomas Feldhausen, R&D staff member in ORNL’s Disruptive Manufacturing Systems Development Group and principal investigator. “By bringing additive, machining and other critical steps together into a single, flexible platform, we’re reducing lead times, cutting costs and expanding what’s possible for U.S. industry. Most importantly, we’re giving manufacturers, from small shops to large enterprises, the tools they need to compete globally and strengthen our domestic supply chain.”

Modular design
Future Foundries is intended to allow the platform to evolve in tandem with market demands. The design allows manufacturers to reduce capital equipment costs by leveraging existing equipment and processes, as adopters can use their own equipment, tailored to their needs and preferences.

Each module is a self-contained unit that houses a single manufacturing process, equipped with its own utilities and networking. This design enables modifications or removals to individual modules with minimal disruption to the overall platform. ORNL stated that Future Foundries’ flexibility is essential for maintaining relevance and operational effectiveness within a rapidly advancing technological landscape.

By consolidating the entire manufacturing workflow onto a single platform, Future Foundries is designed to minimize the need for operator intervention, reducing errors and streamlining operations. ORNL intends this to simplify complex manufacturing tasks, making advanced manufacturing more accessible and less intimidating, thus minimizing entry barriers for small- and medium-sized manufacturing operations. Central to the platform’s streamlined approach is an end-to-end data backbone. This smart manufacturing thread facilitates communication between robotic systems and offers real-time operator insights that support quick adjustments and enable continuous optimization.

Domestic supply chains
According to ORNL, the U.S. has seen a 40% decline in domestic casting over the past two decades, with much of the production moving to overseas facilities. Future Foundries is intended to act as a solution to bolster existing US casting capabilities. “Democratizing manufacturing will be critical to maintaining the global competitiveness of US manufacturers,” said ORNL Chief Manufacturing Officer Craig Blue. “Future Foundries is a significant step toward realizing this vision. It has the potential to enable the expansion of domestic supply chains by enabling small companies to have significant impact in a broader range of products.”

This research was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office, or AMMTO, and the Department of Defense Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment Program.