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Suggested Citation:"3 Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory." National Research Council. 2003. An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Measurement and Standards Laboratories: Fiscal Year 2003. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10820.
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Suggested Citation:"3 Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory." National Research Council. 2003. An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Measurement and Standards Laboratories: Fiscal Year 2003. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10820.
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Suggested Citation:"3 Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory." National Research Council. 2003. An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Measurement and Standards Laboratories: Fiscal Year 2003. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10820.
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Suggested Citation:"3 Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory." National Research Council. 2003. An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Measurement and Standards Laboratories: Fiscal Year 2003. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10820.
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Suggested Citation:"3 Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory." National Research Council. 2003. An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Measurement and Standards Laboratories: Fiscal Year 2003. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10820.
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Page 29
Suggested Citation:"3 Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory." National Research Council. 2003. An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Measurement and Standards Laboratories: Fiscal Year 2003. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10820.
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Page 30
Suggested Citation:"3 Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory." National Research Council. 2003. An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Measurement and Standards Laboratories: Fiscal Year 2003. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10820.
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Page 31
Suggested Citation:"3 Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory." National Research Council. 2003. An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Measurement and Standards Laboratories: Fiscal Year 2003. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10820.
×
Page 32
Suggested Citation:"3 Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory." National Research Council. 2003. An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Measurement and Standards Laboratories: Fiscal Year 2003. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10820.
×
Page 33
Suggested Citation:"3 Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory." National Research Council. 2003. An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Measurement and Standards Laboratories: Fiscal Year 2003. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10820.
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Page 34

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Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory 25

26 AN ASSESSMENT OF THE NIST MEASUREMENT AND STANDARDS LABORATORIES: FY 2003 PANEL MEMBERS Marvin F. DeVries, University of Wisconsin at Madison, Chair Richard A. Curless, UNOVA Manufacturing Technologies, Vice Chair Hadi A. Akeel, FANUC Robotics NA, Inc. (retired) Christopher P. Ausschnitt, IBM Microelectronics Division Robert Bridges, Faro Technologies Richard J. Furness, Ford Motor Company Marion B. Grant, Jr., Cummins Technical Center David E. Hardt, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Mark C. Malburg, Digital Metrology Solutions, Inc. Eugene S. Meieran, Intel Corporation Carmen M. Pancerella, Sandia National Laboratories Jay Ramanathan, Concentus Technology Corporation Wolfgang H. Sachse, Cornell University Arthur C. Sanderson, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Masayoshi Tomizuka, University of California, Berkeley Peter M. Will, Information Sciences Institute/University of Southern California David H. Youden, Eastman Kodak Company Submitted for the panel by its Chair, Marvin F. DeVries, and its Vice Chair, Richard A. Curless, this assessment of the fiscal year 2003 activities of the Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory is based on site visits by individual panel members, a formal meeting of the panel on March 25-26, 2003, in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and the documents provided by the laboratory. Department of Commerce, Technology Administration, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Programs of the Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory 2003, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Md., 2002.

MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING LABORATORY 27 LABORATORY-LEVEL REVIEW The mission of the Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory (MEL) is to satisfy the measurements and standards needs of U.S. manufacturers in mechanical and dimensional metrology and in advanced manufacturing technology by conducting research and development, providing services, and participat- ing in standards activities. The Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory is organized in five divisions: the Precision Engineering Division (PED), Manufacturing Metrology Division (MMD), Intelligent Systems Division (ISD), Manufacturing Systems Integration Division (MSID), and Fabrication Technology Division (FTD) (see Figure 3.1~. The first four divisions are reviewed in this report. This chapter provides an assessment of the laboratory overall, and division-level reviews are presented in Chapter 10. | Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory l -_- d_~ Precision Engineering 1 1 1 D'v~s~on l l ~ Perception Systems · Nanoscale Metrology · Mass and Force · Knowledge Systems · Surface and Microform · Machine Tool Metrology · Control Systems Metrology · Manufacturing Process · Machine Systems · Engineering Metrology Metrology · Systems Integration · Large-Scale Coordinate · Sensor Development and Metrology ~ Application Manufacturing Systems Integration Division · Design and Process · Enterprise Systems · Manufacturing Simulation and Modeling · Manufacturing Standards Metrology Fabrication Technology Division FIGURE 3.1 Organizational structure of the Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory. Listed under each division are its groups.

28 AN ASSESSMENT OF THE NIST MEASUREMENT AND STANDARDS LABORATORIES: FY 2003 Major Observations The panel presents the following major observations from its assessment of the Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory: · All divisions were found to be doing excellent technical work in general. For the programs evaluated, the divisions in many cases were able to demonstrate that their activities were focused on the programs determined essential and most important to their mission. In certain cases, projects need reevaluation and redirection on the basis of work done elsewhere, and some shifts in priorities need to take place. · Many projects represent world-class initiatives. Exemplary projects include the microforce real- ization and the XCALIBIR (X-ray Optics Calibration Interferometer) projects (in MMD); the Intelligent Control of Mobility Systems project (in ISD); contributions to the STEP (Standard for the Exchange of Product model data) initiative (in MSID); and the scanned probe oxidation lithographic technique, application of the Monte Carlo technique to metrology for precision engineering, and the advanced capabilities of the M48 coordinate measurement machine (CMM) (in PED). PED's efforts in establish- ing reference standards for bullet and casing markings are also significant achievements relevant to an important social need. · A formal process and format should be established for planning and reporting project time lines and displaying a clear roadmap of current and planned activities, with a focus on continual process improvement. · The panel's discussions with MEL management and technical staff suggest that the matrix management process is beginning to work (e.g., it is facilitating 14 MEL cross-divisional projects) and that the organization is becoming comfortable with it (e.g., project leaders are having more input into the performance appraisals of the staff they oversee). · Systematic collaboration among the divisions is showing progress. An overview of crosscutting programs should be presented for the panel at the division reviews to show how these programs relate to the division's activities and how effectively the divisions are performing within these programs. The success of division collaboration can be expanded to embrace other NIST laboratories. · MEL is working effectively to broaden its customer base and is establishing processes to identify best initiatives to help customers. Management has initiated workshops and forums, made trips to key customers, and provided communications among government, industry, academia, and associations. Projects need to consider a life-cycle plan that addresses bringing a project to a conclusion and includes a deployment plan to deliver the project results effectively to the target customers. · Best practices and evaluations of the state of the art are needed that consider work accomplished and are then used to determine what and how new projects are to be developed. Data gathered from workshops, forums, published works, and standards committees can be used to prepare gap analyses that can be used to help determine needs and priorities. Technical Quality and Merit The quality of research in the Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory is high overall; in general, all divisions are doing excellent technical work. In some areas, MEL work is state of the art relative to work being performed worldwide. The laboratory appropriately emphasizes collaborative work. In general, the staff remains competent and motivated to fulfill roles of technical leadership. Following are examples of projects demonstrating a high level of technical quality and merit:

MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING LABORATORY 29 · Within the Precision Engineering Division: Significant advances in fundamental understanding in the areas of scanning electron micros- copy (SEM) and optical microscopy continued in 2002. This work is central to the efforts of the division and is of value to industry in both critical dimension and overlay metrology. Closely interacting with the industry consortium International SEMATECH (ISMT), the division has provided critical guidance to metrology efforts in the semiconductor industry. The model-based line width metrology is finding acceptance among SEM manufacturers, and the overlay research and tool development are central to overlay benchmarking and calibration. The staff of the Surface and Microform Metrology Group are highly regarded in the technical community; their work is world-leading despite the fact that in some cases NIST instrumentation is lagging behind that currently available in industrially based laboratories. The group is very involved in national and international standardization for surface metrology and has made significant contributions to these standards for example, the ASME-B46.1 standard and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) surface texture series of standards. The group's utilization of existing resources has been effective in recent projects, including those on standardized bullets and casings, hardness traceability, uncertainty reductions, and the calibration of Type-D roughness artifacts. The Large-Scale Coordinate Metrology Group developed a laser-tracker calibration system for the Naval Surface Weapons Center for application to missile launch from submarines. The group is investigating ways to precisely measure propeller dimensions while simultaneously machining the propeller. These sorts of collaborative projects keep NIST at the forefront of large-scale metrology. The Engineering Metrology Group's M48 Moore Special Tool CMM is world-leading, with an error of 1 micrometer or less anywhere in its volume. It is used for length traceability and for evaluation of two-dimensional CMM traceability artifacts and other calibrations. The group' s gage block calibra- tion capability is world-class, and ongoing research into the effects of deformation and surface finish are maintaining this traceability program at this level. . ~7 ~ 1 ~7 Within the Manufacturing Metrology Division: The work on microforce measurements represents significant progress. Its impact is signifi- cant, the technology challenges have been clearly identified, and a detailed technical plan has been developed. This project is progressing toward establishing the reference standard for small force mea- surement. The advanced optics metrology program is well focused on areas of significant need and is of high technical quality. The XCALIBIR project is focused on an area of significant metrology need in semiconductor manufacturing. The laboratory capability and technical results are world-class. ~ . . ^. . .. . .. , ~ , . . ~lgnl~lcant collaborative work is being successfully performed in the mass measurement arena using the Silicon Sphere. · Within the Intelligent Systems Division: The competence development and infrastructure program develops fundamental competence in areas of broad relevance to the division. It also provides a framework within which intelligent systems technologies can be evaluated, specified, and integrated by the manufacturing industry. The division's accomplishments on Department of Defense unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) include successful demonstrations of NIST real-time control (RTC) controlled robotic vehicles and the publication of a reference model architecture for UGVs. The NIST team is among the world leaders in UGV technology. Work on the development of an interoperability testbed for intelligent open architecture manu- facturing systems is of high quality.

30 AN ASSESSMENT OF THE NIST MEASUREMENT AND STANDARDS LABORATORIES: FY 2003 · Within the Manufacturing Systems Integration Division: The division is engaged in high-quality work at several levels of abstraction in system integra- tion capabilities: standards and measurements, process representation, integration, modeling capabili- ties, and the use of software to enhance manufacturing performance. The interoperability project is well planned and represents a best-practice area demonstrating creative application of the principles of logic. Significant opportunities in the MEL for further progress and development of technical work in- clude these: · Achieving an improved process of planning and of continual process improvement, as well as improved reporting technical merit through a more consistent program and project planning format that describes a time line and schedule for a project, includes a budget and financial summary, and provides a summary of critical issues and interdependent steps planned. · Expanded collaboration with other national engineering laboratories. Examples might include the University of Michigan and Sandia National Laboratories for reference testing; Ohio State University and the University of Illinois for predictive process engineering; and ISO TC213, ASME B89, Applicon Bravo, PTC (ProNC), and Lockheed Martin for STEP-NC (STEP numerical control) and STEP- CMM. Partnership with the Oak Ridge Y12 Metrology Laboratory could be explored to provide CMM calibration service during the move to the Advanced Measurement Laboratory and on an ongoing basis. · Performing industrial deployment tracking that involves user penetration and an emphasis on manufacturing engineering partnership, taking the STEP project as a good benchmark. Program Relevance and Effectiveness The Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory has a unique role to play in U.S. manufacturing through its expertise in measurements and standards. Generally the work of MEL is both relevant to the needs of customers (industry, government, and/or other NIST laboratories) and performed and disseminated effectively. Examples include the following: · Within the Precision Engineering Division: The Nanoscale Metrology program extends dimensional metrology to the submicron scale, providing standards, measurement capability, and measurement uncertainty guidelines for the semicon- ductor and nanotechnology industries. Advances in fundamental scanning electron microscopy and optical microscopy are of value to industry in both critical dimension and overlay metrology. Through work on the Advanced Metrology Advisory Group (AMAG) 4 benchmarking wafer, a joint ISMTINIST project, researchers have played a significant role in establishing a common artifact for SEM, scatterometry, electrical probe comparisons, and line-edge roughness evaluations. The surface and microform metrology work has produced significant contributions to national and international standardization for surface metrology, including the ASME-B46.1 and ISO surface texture series of standards. Utilization of existing resources has been effective in recent relevant projects, such as standardized bullets and casings, hardness traceability, uncertainty reductions, and the calibra- tion of Type-D roughness artifacts. The engineering metrology work manages and reduces the uncertainty contribution of the traceability of length, location, spacing measurements, and other traditional geometric and dimensional

MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING LABORATORY 3 tolerancing (GD&T)-type dimensional controls (e.g., roundness, cylindricity, perpendicularity, and angle). This resource is used by many customers. The large-scale metrology work characterizes, evaluates, and improves instruments that mea- sure coordinates at lengths greater than 1 m. Collaborative projects keep NIST at the forefront of large- scale metrology and boost industrial productivity. · Within the Manufacturing Metrology Division: In its role as the nation's reference laboratory for the units of mass, force, vibration, and sound pressure, MMD provides calibration services, develops advanced methods for mechanical metrology, and develops national and international standards. This role is critical for the nation's manufacturing industry for distributed international manufacturing and commerce. The division retains world-class capabilities and has state-of-the-art facilities for a number of metrology services, including the XCALIBIR and the Microforce projects. The division acts as a catalyst for collaborative efforts in manufacturing and mechanical metrology technology among government, industry, and academia. · Within the Intelligent Systems Division: The Critical Infrastructure Protection program is relevant to the homeland security efforts, especially the need for protection of the nation's infrastructure. The Intelligent Open Architecture Control of Manufacturing Systems program has relevance to U.S. Army and homeland security needs; its fundamental aspects can and should be applied to manufacturing as well. · Within the Manufacturing Systems Integration Division: The division manages both basic research and applied research and development tasks well in service to customers in government, academia, and industry. MSID is heavily engaged in work on interoperability issues, addressing how rapidly changing components of the manufacturing enterprise work together. The rapid and accelerating pace of change encourages manufacturing engineers to work with MSID, which fills a niche in the manufacturing environment not filled by other university, national laboratory, or vendor programs. The division's direct impact on the manufacturing customer base can be significant. As one example, MSID's involvement in STEP, a highly visible and highly successful program that has saved industry approximately a billion dollars, was essential to this program's success. The prestigious Department of Commerce Gold Medal was awarded to a staff member for his fundamental advances in the science and technology of the fabrication and dimensional and electrical characterization of nanoelectronic devices, and the Bronze Medal was awarded to a division team for outstanding support and technical contributions in the fabrication and assembly of the Charters of Freedom encasements that protect the parchments of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. These awards, along with others (e.g., the Jacob Rabinow Applied Research Award to the team working in applications of robotics to unmanned ground vehicles; the Judson C. French award to the team providing mass metrology calibration services and to a division member responsible for achievement in the development of national traceability for the Rockwell C-Scale Hardness Test; a Crittendon Award in recognition of a division member's superior technical instrument manufacturing and customer service; and additional external awards), provide evidence of the recog- nized effectiveness of the research done in MEL.

32 AN ASSESSMENT OF THE NIST MEASUREMENT AND STANDARDS LABORATORIES: FY 2003 TABLE 3.1 Sources of Funding for the Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory (in millions of dollars), FY 2000 to FY 2003 Fiscal Year Fiscal Year Fiscal Year Fiscal Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 Source of Funding (actual) (actual) (actual) (July 2003 estimate) NIST-STRS, excluding Competence 27.3 29.1 30.7 32.5 Competence 1.1 1.0 0.6 0.4 ATP 1.8 1.3 1.3 1.5 Measurement Services (SRM production) 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 OA/NFG/CRADA 6.1 6.1 6.9 5.1 Other Reimbursable 5.1 5.1 5.2 5.0 Total 41.5 42.7 44.8 44.6 Full-time permanent staff (totally 232 211 204 202 NOTE: Funding for the NIST Measurement and Standards Laboratories comes from a variety of sources. The laboratories receive appropriations from Congress, known as Scientific and Technical Research and Services (STRS) funding. Compe- tence funding also comes from NIST's congressional appropriations but is allocated by the NIST director's of lice in multiyear grants for projects that advance NIST's capabilities in new and emerging areas of measurement science. Advanced Technol- ogy Program (ATP) funding reflects support from NIST's ATP for work done at the NIST laboratories in collaboration with or in support of ATP projects. Funding to support production of Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) is tied to the use of such products and is classified as "Measurement Services." NIST laboratories also receive funding through grants or contracts from other [government] agencies (OA), from nonfederal government (NFG) agencies, and from industry in the form of cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs). All other laboratory funding, including that for Calibration Services, is grouped under "Other Reimbursable." aThe number of full-time permanent staff is as of January of that fiscal year. Laboratory Resources Funding sources for the Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory are shown in Table 3.1. In January 2003, staffing for the laboratory included 202 full-time permanent positions, of which 134 were for technical professionals. There were also 25 nonpermanent or supplemental personnel, such as post- doctoral research associates and temporary or part-time workers. The decline in staff continues to represent a significant area of concern, requiring careful management of priorities. This problem will continue to require thoughtful planning about which projects to begin and which to close. MEL's funding remains flat relative to previous years. While this results in constraints, including the inability to maintain personnel levels (as cost per individual rises annually), a flat budget is, relative to budgets experienced by the industrial sector in the current economy, enviable. Nonetheless, the fact that the full-time permanent staff of the laboratory has shrunk in the past several years continues to present considerable challenges for MEL management as it seeks to address technical goals, objectives, and priorities of the laboratory. While recognizing the challenge of managing under such difficult resource constraints, the panel in last year's report suggested that MEL could improve the use of its resources through more specific resource planning, and that progress in MEL strategic planning should be made to match MEL's resource planning. The panel suggested at that time the need for a resource plan that encompasses

MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING LABORATORY 33 human resources, equipment, and facilities and that is integrated with the MEL strategic plan to ensure that resources are available for and directed toward the laboratory' s highest-priority programs. MEL's FY 2003 strategic plan has incorporated a number of these elements; the panel commends that effort. It suggests further that graphical time line representation (showing planned milestones, project subgoals, and interdependencies of project activities) for major programs and activities (e.g., the move to the Advanced Measurement Laboratory) would provide detail that the panel requires in order to offer more constructive feedback. The panel previously suggested that MEL define a plan for predicting the mix of skills it will need in order to achieve major objectives and that it chart how to maintain or obtain these skills. The panel recognizes that no manager can perfectly predict retirements, separations, or available new hires, but anticipating these events to the extent feasible and developing a strategy to ensure that the necessary skill mix is available for the future will help increase the effectiveness of MEL's use of resources and of its programs overall. MEL should perform an analysis to determine an effective balance between administrative staff and technical staff and also between managers and bench-level staff. The matrix management approach that MEL has taken to meeting its programmatic objectives is appropriate, and staff seem to have adapted well to matrix management. MEL management has taken steps to assure that staff are assessed by supervisors who are familiar with their project requirements and accomplishments . Existing equipment within MEL is generally acceptable. The laboratory has prepared a detailed document providing information on equipping the AML, although a summarized presentation of its key information would be helpful. The AML offers the capability to do world-class work in a number of important areas; its construction and equipment moves are considered by MEL to be on schedule and within budget. MEL should be sure to provide timely and effective avenues of replacement and backup services for equipment that is taken out of service during the move. Laboratory Responsiveness The panel continues to observe a high level of cooperation and commitment from MEL staff. The broadening of the MEL mission statement (removing the restriction to support discrete-parts manufac- turers) continues to be well aligned with areas of growth and opportunity. Matrix management appears to be a successful MEL strategy for managing increasingly collaborative activities. MEL has made responsive progress in attending to its customer focus which should be extended to interactions with industry and government personnel at higher organizational empowerment levels than those of the technical, scientific, and engineering staff that form the great majority of MEL's external interactions. MEL has also made progress in strategic and program planning, which would improve further with the application of standard program planning tools that yield clear definitions and descrip- tions of milestones and accomplishments. There are opportunities for MEL to refine strategic plans and themes to achieve clarity of alignment with the NIST Strategic Focus Areas.

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