DETROIT, Feb. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Century, Inc. of Traverse City today
unveiled a revolutionary single station production process designed to
revolutionize the way fuel cell bi-polar plates are manufactured. The new
process will be on display all week in the U.S. Army National Automotive
Center (NAC) booth at the SAE World Congress at Cobo Hall.
Century, a supplier of global extrusion systems, has received a $2 million
contract from the NAC for the ongoing research and development of the new
process.
"Century, Inc. was selected to join us in our military fuel cell
partnership based on the company's experience and manufacturing record," said
Dennis J. Wend, executive director of the NAC. "Century has demonstrated some
innovative breakthroughs in extending the life of production tools and
processing equipment while raising the quality and reliability from those
tools."
Until now, the ability to produce precision fuel plates, critical to the
overall efficiency of a power unit, has been one of the major challenges for
researchers.
"Current fuel cell manufacturing requires the stacking of hundreds of
wafer thin conductive plates in a 'stack' within the cell," according to
William G. Janis, chairman and CEO of Century. "Our challenge is to overcome
processing limitations such as cost, reliability and functionality, necessary
before commercialization of current technology can occur."
According to Janis the future of American automotive manufacturing depends
in part on the seamless integration of manufacturing processes for producing
plastic components which deliver higher quality and productivity by
eliminating discontinuous and redundant processing steps. Improved
productivity is realized from fewer processing steps, reduced transportation,
and inventory costs and improvements in process yield.
Using a specially designed RingExtruder and a lean systems approach,
Century engineers will demonstrate to SAE Congress attendees their continuous
mixing technology that enables the transition of previous single batch
processing to an integrated manufacturing process which produces finished
consumable goods.
Janis said Century's new and unique 12-screw mixer, the RingExtruder,
provides an ideal platform for the research and development of emerging
advanced materials and materials processing to be used in fuel cell
manufacturing. The National Automotive Center is looking to Century, Inc.'s
research and development activities to help improve the materials in the
conductive fuel cell housing bi-polar plates and the Proton Exchange Membrane
(PEM), both of which are constructed of resin components or composites.
Improvements in the resin composites can reduce fuel cell manufacturing costs
and enhance product performance critical to the military for future
battlefield vehicles.
Bi-polar plates are manufactured primarily with highly filled thermoset
polyester, which is brittle and difficult to mold. Next-generation PEMs,
necessary to elevate fuel cell operating temperatures, contain sensitive, and
costly materials that require compounding of expensive and shear sensitive
components.
"The Century RingExtruder's exceptional energy management and mixing
capabilities should succeed with these processes and enhance fuel cell
research and development where other mixing technologies have failed," Janis
said.
The initial funding to Century, Inc. is related to the U. S. Army's
overall fuel cell research and development efforts. The Army and the National
Automotive Center are spearheading these collaborative activities with the
automotive and transportation industries.
Once used exclusively in space exploration, fuel cell technology will soon
be used as a power source in common electronic equipment such as cell phones
and lap top computers. Future uses will include a hydrogen-based alternative
energy source for fossil fuels. Fuel cell energy will increase efficiency and
reduce emissions in the distributed power generation and vehicle
transportation industries.
The National Automotive Center is the Army's official link to
collaboration with commercial and academic partners to generate vehicles that
will provide the Army with the mobility, survivability and agility it needs to
operate efficiently and effectively in today's new threat environment. For
the military, the NAC's partnership approach makes it possible to improve
performance, safety and endurance while reducing design, manufacturing,
operational and maintenance costs. For commercial partners, the application
of jointly-developed technologies has similar impacts -- safer cars and trucks
and more advanced manufacturing capability.
Headquartered in Warren, MI, the NAC is part of the U. S. Army Tank
Automotive and Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC). TARDEC
is the nation's laboratory for advanced military automotive technology.
Century, Inc., based in Traverse City, Michigan, and its family of
companies -- Century Specialties, Century Extruders, Century Sun, and
Century/RE Systems -- have been meeting the machinery, parts replacement and
service needs of extrusion systems customers for over 30 years. For more
information about Century, Inc., visit http://www.centinc.com .
For GRAPHIC, visit http://www.liemac.com/Century
SOURCE Century, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.centinc.com
http://www.liemac.com/Century
CONTACT:
Robert Roden of Century, +1-231-946-7500;
Eric Emerton of TACOM Public Affairs, +1-586-574-5663; or Bruce
MacDonald of Liebler!MacDonald, +1-248-840-6990
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