Research

The Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS) serves as the administering unit for a research grant from the Economic Development Administration. Manufacturing modernization and competitiveness continue to be the focus of the university center program. The importance of manufacturing to the Iowa economy is outlined as the basis for these efforts.

Engineers involved in the center have expertise that includes product development and documentation requirements, extensive plant and manufacturing experience, and manufacturing equipment selection and utilization. Each year the professional staff mentor up to a dozen undergraduate students assisting on client projects and research.

The center continues its mission of assisting clients in improving productivity and facilitating the transfer of appropriate technology to small- and medium-sized manufacturers. The center is in a unique position to implement programs that aid in the economic development of Iowa through its alignment with the Iowa State University Extension system, which has access to the statewide Cooperative Extension Service; the Continuing Education Program; the College of Engineering, partnering with the applied research centers at Iowa State University in providing advanced technological assistance; the Small Business Development Center; and the Iowa Department of Economic Development. CIRAS also has direct input and membership to advisory councils in the Tech Transfer Consortium and other units of government and the university. The center is also a partner in the NIST-funded Iowa Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which promotes nationwide access to new technologies.

The university center has been able to help Iowa manufacturers gain access to ISU’s vast research and expertise base through a series of applied research grants in partnership with the Institute for Physical Research and Technology, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory, and academic departments. There is a combination of on-site counseling and formal classroom teaching that helps to increase the capacity of smaller manufacturers to adopt automation and other advanced technology. One-on-one counseling in facilities planning, workflow analyses, process selection, continuous improvement and related areas, and product development continue to be a big portion of the center’s workload. Using students and faculty to assist in development of new products helps to reduce the cost of R&D and improve the quality of documentation needed for manufacture of a product. Assistance in improvement of existing products through research, design changes, and testing is also offered.

Through the EDA grant dollars, the center has been able to purchase equipment and software for use in the Systems Integration Laboratory. Some of the items include a programmable logic controller train system, computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) software, a FARO arm for reverse engineering, and a rapid prototyping machine.

Completed and active projects in the past year have included solids modeling, FEA, milling, lathe work, CNC projects, hardware and software selection assistance, on-site training, problem solving, plant layout work, design studies, vendor searches, and library research.

CIRAS has a successful 40-year history of assisting Iowa manufacturers in their quest for excellence. The center was founded in 1981 with an EDA grant and continues to be a major player through the ability to provide appropriate technology transfer to the manufacturing industry of Iowa, thus increasing the recognition of Iowa State University as a valuable resource to the economic base of Iowa.