Research by two graduate students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University set the stage for a Volusia County manufacturer to produce twice the number of wire-wound cable components for“ sonobuoys” – SONAR-based anti-submarine listening devices – in one-fourth of the production floor space.
The project, by students Gazal Kaur Nagi and Arash Sabet- Rasekh, was an example of how university-industry partnerships can both advance innovation by local manufacturers and introduce students to promising careers in Volusia County. Such partnerships can help the county retain a strong, well-trained talent pool while also making the region’ s manufacturing sector more globally competitive.
An improved process for wrapping wire around sonobuoy
UNIVERSITY-
INDUSTRY
PARTNERSHIPS
Spur Innovation and Help Retain Local Talent
by Sathya Gangadharan and Patrick Currier
cables – developed by a Sparton Corporation engineer who was inspired by the Embry-Riddle students’ work – significantly increased efficiency. It also helped to reduce physical stress and improve safety for employees who previously had to load raw materials into a winding machine, explained Mark K. Madore, Sparton’ s Undersea Warfare Solutions Business Unit Director.
Sparton Corporation currently supports 534 employees. It has had a presence in the DeLeon Springs area for more than 50 years, and it is well-known for excellence in designing, developing and manufacturing complex devices, particularly sonobuoys deployed by the United States Navy.
Sonobuoys are long, flexible, cable-based devices with an underwater microphone on the bottom and a transmitting antenna on the top. Portions of the cable must be wound with
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