A New Concept to Promote Ceramics

(article from the Ceramic Bulletin, January 1995)

AACCM Group PhotoThe Association of American Ceramic Component Manufacturers (AACCM) was formed in 1992 "to expand the markets for manufactured ceramic components by enhancing the process and product quality; and by increasing public and industry education and awareness of ceramic applications." The business of AACCM is to present an industry common front to prevent further erosion of the U.S. ceramic manufacturing base by foreign competition.

AACCM consists of 35 member companies, and applications for membership are being accepted. The 1994-1995 AACCM officers are

  • President: Donald E. Kane
  • Vice president: Theodore M. Church
  • Secretary: W. Paul Holbrook
  • Treasurer: Mary T. Spohn

AACCM members meet periodically to exchange ideas and current industry information- topics range from vendors to wage surveys and raw materials.

The member companies have prepared capabilities listings to distribute to each other so that inter-company buying or inquiry referral can keep business within the group and the United States. The spirit of cooperation between companies who are otherwise competitors has been remarkable.

The American Ceramic Society endorses AACCM. AACCM meetings usually coincide with Society meetings. The meeting format generally includes presentations by vendors, outside consultants with topical interests and member companies. Alcoa, Rohm & Haas, a representative from the American Ceramic Society Ceramic Information Center and an ISO 9000 consultant have made presentations to the membership.

AACCM will next meet Feb. 2, 1995, at Society headquarters. Member company Performance Ceramics and vendor Pechiney will make presentations.

Dr. Samuel Schneider will make a presentation regarding funding opportunities for AACCM member companies through the NIST ATP at the May 1995 meeting, held in conjunction with the Society's annual meeting.

Dr. Schneider is Science Advisor to the Director of the Advanced Technology Program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

AACCM, motivated by its charter, has initiated two spin-off programs. The first, and broadest based, program is a member market development program that includes the production and distribution of a member company capability/product brochure and subsequent awareness campaign.

The second program involves an innovative Cooperative Research & Development Agreement (CRADA) with Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Commerce for the development of process modeling software for the production of ceramic materials.

Market Development
The mission of the market development project is the promotion of ceramic products to traditionally nonceramic applications. Corporate capability brochures that have been produced for many AACCM members will be distributed to potential buyers of traditional metallic, polymeric or composite components. An AACCM marketing group has been formed to accomplish this task. The group will focus on concepts such as trade shows, periodicals and direct mailings.

Members of the marketing group will attend several end-user-related expositions. AACCM members will be able to interact with show attendees and conduct missionary work covering the broad applications of AACCM member ceramic materials and products.

Curious attendees involved in the end-user materials-selection process will be able to learn about the advantages of ceramics from some of the industry's most knowledgeable individuals. In this learning process, typical fears and myths about ceramics will be dispelled.

The potential new ceramic user will have the AACCM corporate capabilities packet and answers to specific questions provided by the AACCM booth personnel. The end result will be the addition of several more qualified buyers who otherwise would not have considered ceramics.

The AACCM marketing group will promote itself in periodicals. The focus will be on end-user awareness. The goal is for the design engineer, or related personnel, to develop an interest in ceramics where none previously existed and to specify ceramic materials in new or revised products or components. Prospects who submit a reader response card will receive the corporate capabilities packet and will have the entire AACCM membership ready to assist in material selection and product design.

A direct mail campaign also will focus on the potential ceramic marketplace. Data compiled from the exposition and periodical campaigns will be used to target markets and specific companies.

Because most of the AACCM directors are officers of their respective companies, they are ideal candidates to speak at other potential market group functions. This type of forum will provide prospects who have a keen interest in material selection the opportunity to share their new thoughts and ideas with experts in the ceramics industry. Although these prospects may have a general knowledge of ceramics, it is doubtful that they have been exposed to the newer innovations, products and processes.

Increased market visibility also will draw potential members to AACCM's broad-based and proactive organization. Application for membership by qualified companies who want to provide additional attributes to AACCM or wish to receive the benefits of membership always will be welcome.

Modeling CRADA
Six AACCM member companies have formed a subconsortium to conduct joint work with Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory with partial funding to the laboratories from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The subconsortium is incorporated in Ohio and is named the Association of American Ceramic Component Manufacturers Consortium I (AACCMCI, pronounced ACME).

The five-year cooperative program is designed to develop computer software that will permit participating member companies to model ceramic forming, debinding and sintering processes prior to tool design and production. Production problems and delivery times can be greatly reduced, while also cutting costs caused by tool redesign or product rejection.

Cooperative work between the member companies- by comparing processing steps using identical powders under as many different conditions as possible- will be used to develop a baseline ceramic manufacturing model that will then be refined and reduced to a computer model. The model will be used by the AACCMCI companies to predict production problems before parts are actually formed.

Member companies in the consortium include Superior Technical Ceramics, Zircoa, Wesgo, Advanced Cerametrics, Alsimag and AC/Delco. At the end of the program these companies will have exclusive use of the technology for five years with options for additional periods of exclusivity with rights to sublicensing.

The member companies will contribute $2.8 million in cash and in-kind support over the course of the work schedule. The laboratories, with help from the AMMPEC program within the Department of Commerce, will contribute up to $2.5 million. Therefore, the laboratories will receive some downstream rights to license outside the field of agreement.

Negotiations with the laboratories were completed in November 1994, and the agreements to initiate the joint work were signed in December 1994. Work is underway. Any company who wishes join the AACCMCI/CRADA group may do so by applying for membership in AACCM and subsequently applying for membership in AACCMCI. AACCMCI is open only to companies who have U.S. manufacturing facilities, and the technology can be transferred only to the individual manufacturing sites actually part of AACCMCI.