Somero-MTU Agreement Pays Off
HOUGHTON--A cooperative agreement
between Somero Enterprises of Houghton and Michigan Tech's Keweenaw Research
Center (KRC) is paying big dividends for both.
"Somero had a vision of
a control system attachment for our laser screeds that would allow us
to expand from laying concrete on flat surfaces only to working with complex
contoured surfaces," said Engineering Manager Jim Desrochers. "We
needed a system that could be used on such areas as industrial and commercial
floors with drains, parking lots, loading docks, service ramps, and driveways--something
that would allow us to gain a share of the outdoor market instead of being
limited to the flat surfaces found mostly inside buildings."
Since Somero and KRC had worked
together on previous projects, it was natural for the company to ask the
center to research the design of a 3-dimensional control system for the
Laser Screed that would enhance its capabilities.
Four years ago Somero and KRC
submitted a joint proposal to the State and received a Michigan State
Research Fund grant for $100,000 to investigate methods and prove a concept
of control in a 3-dimensional world. At the time, technology limited many
of the projects objectives, but a prototype system was successfully built
at KRC and subsequent testing proved that its objectives could be attained.
So Somero and KRC decided to proceed to the next phase, with money provided
directly from the company's Research and Development fund.
The project encompassed several
aspects of design, including writing custom software, circuit board hardware
design, data analysis, creating a system operation manual, establishing
a manufacturing process, assisting with customer support, and installing
field prototypes.
Eventually, previous obstacles
were overcome by advancements in the computer industry. Five pre-production
systems were built at KRC and placed at various sites around the United
States for field testing. Information acquired during the field tests
helped determine the final product design.
Recently the patent for this
technology was approved. The agreement between MTU and Somero gives the
company exclusive rights in exchange for royalties. So far the Profiler
has resulted in about $5 million is sales for Somero and the University
just received its first royalty check in the amount of $143,000. Another
royalty check will be forthcoming in July of this year. The inventors
of the system are Carl Kieranen and Charles Hallstrom from Somero and
Glen Simula, Nils Ruonavaara, and Jim Waineo from KRC.
Somero and Michigan Tech are
both pleased with their collaboration. Jim Baker of MTU's office of
Corporate Services agreed. "It is always gratifying to see the University's
technology transferred to the private sector," he said. "In
the case of the continuing partnership between Somero and Michigan Tech,
the local economic impact is an added benefit for everyone involved."
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04/26/01-MTN024
Somero
applied for a patent and began manufacturing the Somero 3-D Profiler System
in 1998. The system was introduced to the market at the World of Concrete
Show held in Las Vegas in January 1999. The system allows the user to
measure existing elevations at the site or import a surveyor's file. This
information is used to generate a 3-dimensional contoured surface and
store it as a file. When the concrete is ready to be placed, the surface
file is loaded into the memory of the computer and the elevation is controlled
to create the desired surface. Once a surface is created, it can be duplicated
anywhere in the world. This advantage is especially valuable where all
locations require the exact duplicate, such as racetracks, street intersections,
and vehicle test tracks. The 3-D Profiler is also being used to white
top and repair roadways, runways, taxi ways, and bridges.
"I hope we can continue to have similar success stories like this
between Somero and Michigan Tech," said Somero Vice President of
Manufacturing Jim Torvinen. "It has been a good partnership."
