On January 7, 2010, Mikro Systems (MIKRO) was awarded a 12-month $250,000 Air Force contract under the Small Business Innovation Research program (SBIR), bringing the total on the project to $1 Million. This is an extension of a Phase II SBIR contract “Improved Manufacturing Technologies for Investment Casting Cores,” which MIKRO was awarded in 2007. MIKRO has completed the original Phase II contract and met or exceeded all program objectives. The extension contract will allow MIKRO to move from prototyping an advanced design to production and foundry casting trials of an advanced ceramic core for turbine blades used in advanced aircraft engines. The investment casting core defines the complex cooling channels required in modern turbine engine blades.
MIKRO’s patented Tomo-Lithographic-Molding (TOMOSM) technology enables production of advanced cores that previously have not been manufacturable. The precision cooling features enabled by TOMO will allow advanced engines to run at higher temperatures, thus affording better fuel efficiency and lower emissions. In addition, TOMO™ allows more rapid prototyping of advanced designs at a much lower cost than traditional methods.