The world has changed since the days of your grandfather’s old, dusty, dingy manufacturing shop. Technology and a global economy are forcing these changes and the American manufacturing industry is changing along with it. Small manufacturers now have to compete on a global level and it’s to the advantage of all manufacturers within the United States to come together and collaborate so the U.S. manufacturing industry can remain a dominant force in the global economy. It’s to that end that a government/private sector organization, the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation was born. On this episode of Making Chips Jason and Jim do their best to explain what the NNMI is, how it came about, and why it’s an important force behind the needed changes that are coming to the U.S. manufacturing industry.
Collaboration for the sake of all.
That’s the idea behind the creation of the NNMI. If the government can facilitate and encourage the individual manufacturers within the United States manufacturing industry to come together, share knowledge, data, and resources, and work together to increase the manufacturing capacity and ability within the nation, everyone will win. Hear how Jim and Jason are thinking about this new effort and how you can be involved, on this episode of Making Chips.
One organization, many institutes with specialized areas of focus.
The NNMI is focused on helping the manufacturing industry overcome the obstacles to remaining a global force in the world-wide manufacturing community. Toward that end it has created many specialized institutes. Among them are America Makes, Digital Manufacturing and Design, Lightweight Metal Manufacturing, Power America, the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing, AIM Photonics, the Flexible Hybrid Electronics Manufacturing Institute, the Innovation Institute on  Smart Manufacturing, and the Revolutionary Fibers and Textiles Manufacturing Innovation Institute. Find out more about each of these on this episode.
What do Jim and Jason think about the DMDII from their participation on a panel at their facility?
Jim and Jason were both very impressed not only with the amount of time and money that obviously went into the event they were asked to participate in, but also in the genuine concern those putting on the event had with their input and concerns. As representatives of the smaller manufacturers in the U.S. the two had a unique perspective that those running the DMDII event were very interested in hearing. Jason and Jim are hopeful that is a good sign of the desire to truly cooperate and work together for the benefit of all manufacturers. Hear more of their impressions by listening to this episode.
Do you have comments, questions, or resources you’d like to share with the Making Chips crew?
Jason and Jim would love to receive your feedback, learn from your knowledge, and share it with the Making Chips community. You can connect with either of them through the website at www.MakingChips.com or call them at 312-725-0245. They’d love to hear from you and build a connection that will benefit the entire manufacturing community.
Outline of this episode

[1:06] The upcoming Mazak event October 27-30 and November 30-5.
[2:21] Introduction of Ryan Scanlan, social media manager for the Making Chips crew.
[4:20] Demystifying the NNMI.
[6:03] Jim and Jason’s input through the DMDII (Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute), regarding smart manufacturing.
[7:47] What the NNMI does: collaboration between government, private companies, and academics to improve the manufacturing industry.
[8:40] What these sorts of partnerships could accomplish in the industry.
[9:44] A vision for collaboration surrounding innovation within the manufacturing industry.
[10:56] Issues surrounding time to market that the NNMI wants to address in light of the change toward a global market.
[12:42] Why those manufacturing companies that are resistant and inflexible could be left behind.
[13:20] T