RICHMOND, VA—The Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM) announced it will partner in the new public-private Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation (DMDI) Institute launched recently by President Barack Obama.

DMDI is one of two new manufacturing innovation institutes being led by the Department of Defense (DoD).  DMDI and the Lightweight and Modern Metals Manufacturing Innovation (LM3I) institute are industry, university and non-profit consortiums that will advance manufacturing technology developments to meet national security and energy needs.

“CCAM is pleased to support DMDI and look forward to leveraging the CCAM facility and research capabilities in concert with the institute’s goals,” said Bob Fagan, chief technology officer (CTO).  “DMDI provides an opportunity for the CCAM member companies to participate in the DMDI projects, innovations, and leading edge developments.”

DMDI and LM3I were formed to accelerate product development and manufacturing across diverse industries in the U.S. and to spur the creation of jobs in advanced manufacturing through new innovations.  The institutes bridge the gap between research, product development, member consortiums, and federal agencies to co-invest in technology and innovation.

The DMDI is headquartered in Chicago and led by the University of Illinois Labs.  Its consortium includes 73 companies, universities, nonprofits and research labs. 

In addition to funding from consortium members, the institute will receive a portion of the $140 million federal funds designated for manufacturing innovation institutes.

CCAM is based at a state-of-the-art facility in Prince George County, Va., that provides production ready advanced manufacturing solutions to member companies across the globe.  Members guide the research, leveraging talent and resources within CCAM and Virginia’s top universities through a collaborative model that enables them to pool research and development efforts to increase efficiencies.