{"654088":{"#nid":"654088","#data":{"type":"news","title":"From the Pit to the Factory Floor: A Georgia Tech Alumnus Charts a New Path at Boeing","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhile deciding on career paths as an undergraduate, Boeing engineer Toni Cvitanic sampled courses in biology, chemistry, engineering, and computer science. But it wasn\u2019t until joining an intercollegiate car-building competition\u2014where he and other college students worked to design and fabricate formula-style racing cars and competed against other clubs\u2014 that his aspirations came into focus.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nThe son of a mathematics professor, Cvitanic marveled at how his math and science skills could steadily improve a race car\u2019s performance. And yet, over time, he realized that the engineering question at hand was not audacious enough. The basic facts of each car\u2014that it would have four wheels, an engine, a suspension\u2014would not change from one model to the next, and any improvement would have to be incremental.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u201cI realized I wanted to work on new problems that haven\u2019t been figured out,\u201d he recalled. \u201cProblems where you don\u2019t necessarily know the solution or even how one might work.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nInstead of following in his father\u2019s footstep, Cvitanic set his sights on engineering and began pursuing a Ph.D. in robotics from Georgia Tech.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nIn 2016, Cvitanic joined the Technology Transition Laboratory (TTL), \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ae.gatech.edu\/news\/2018\/11\/boeing-georgia-tech-collaboration-still-strong-after-10-years\u0022\u003Eborn out of a longstanding university partnership\u003C\/a\u003E between Boeing and Georgia Tech. For Cvitanic, joining the TTL meant working on projects with a much higher TRL, or technology readiness level, than most academic research\u2014making the ideas much more likely to become applied on the factory floor at Boeing.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCvitanic helped lead the TTL\u2019s research into \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.boeing.com\/features\/innovation-quarterly\/nov2017\/feature-technical-georgia.page\u0022\u003Edual robotic machining\u003C\/a\u003E, which could one day be used for automated precision machining and fabrication. The aim was to improve the accuracy of industrial robots\u2014commonly used in automotive manufacturing\u2014so they could meet more stringent aerospace tolerance requirements.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nTo meet tolerances within five-thousandths of an inch, or slightly wider than a human hair, Cvitanic\u2019s team needed a new approach.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nWorking alongside three Boeing engineers who oversaw the work, they added sensors and a laser tracker to a pair of off-the-shelf Kuka industrial robots. While one robot held an aluminum work piece, the other would begin an assigned machining activity: either milling or drilling holes. As the Georgia Tech team observed the robots, they received real-time performance data and control feedback.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nThe significant process forces from both kinds of operations caused the arms of the robots to vibrate and flex, which in turn affected the final achievable tolerance of the work. With the data they gathered, the researchers began to model how specific robotic arm configurations, or poses, could counter resisting forces and improve precision. This led to improvements in the robots\u2019 arm stiffness, and it also eliminated bending, both vital to offsetting the effects of high-force manufacturing. Ultimately, the team configured the robots to manufacture parts to aerospace tolerances, and they were able to meet the accuracy requirements achieved with machine tools and gantry-style crane systems, which are used in today\u2019s manufacturing processes.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nThe Georgia Tech researchers made enough progress to host a successful live demonstration in front of a Boeing audience. The results furthered the Boeing-Georgia Tech university partnership and led to the creation of the Accurate Robotic Machining (ARM) project \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/news\/2017\/06\/22\/boeing-georgia-tech-unveil-new-research-center\u0022\u003Eand the Boeing Manufacturing Development Center (BMDC)\u003C\/a\u003E in 2017.\u0026nbsp; The center gives future students opportunities to work on projects from the concept stage to application.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nAfter earning his doctorate, Cvitanic joined Boeing in October 2021. He parlayed the experience he gained and the relationships he built as a graduate student into a new role. As a manufacturing and simulation engineer based in Charleston, South Carolina, he works in Boeing\u2019s Research and Technology organization. He regularly partners with the very engineers who helped guide his project work at Georgia Tech, and together, they explore scenarios in which advanced production systems can be implemented.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u201cUltimately, I know I will see the impact of what I\u2019m working on,\u201d Cvitanic says of his role at Boeing. \u201cThat impact is gratifying.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMEDIA CONTACTS:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nWalter Rich\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nGeorgia Tech Research Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nwalter.rich@research.gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EInstead of following in his father\u2019s footstep, Cvitanic set his sights on engineering and began pursuing a Ph.D. in robotics from Georgia Tech.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Instead of following in his father\u2019s footstep, Cvitanic set his sights on engineering and began pursuing a Ph.D. in robotics from Georgia Tech. "}],"uid":"27513","created_gmt":"2022-01-05 18:53:25","changed_gmt":"2023-04-13 18:04:37","author":"Walter Rich","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2022-01-05T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2022-01-05T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"654086":{"id":"654086","type":"image","title":"Boeing engineer Toni Cvitanic, Ph.D. ","body":null,"created":"1641408581","gmt_created":"2022-01-05 18:49:41","changed":"1641408581","gmt_changed":"2022-01-05 18:49:41","alt":"Boeing engineer Toni Cvitanic, Ph.D.","file":{"fid":"248095","name":"6-square.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/6-square.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/6-square.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1439665,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/6-square.jpg?itok=xSkEFfG7"}},"654090":{"id":"654090","type":"image","title":"Toni Cvitanic (right) with Kuka industrial robot with Vinh Nguyen","body":null,"created":"1641408892","gmt_created":"2022-01-05 18:54:52","changed":"1641411300","gmt_changed":"2022-01-05 19:35:00","alt":"Toni Cvitanic (right) with Kuka industrial robot with Vinh Nguyen","file":{"fid":"248096","name":"1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/1_7.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/1_7.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":179750,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/1_7.jpg?itok=GPtdtsFV"}},"654091":{"id":"654091","type":"image","title":"Toni Cvitanic (left) at Georgia Tech with Boeing executives","body":null,"created":"1641409001","gmt_created":"2022-01-05 18:56:41","changed":"1641411372","gmt_changed":"2022-01-05 19:36:12","alt":"Toni Cvitanic (left) at Georgia Tech with Boeing executives","file":{"fid":"248098","name":"2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2_2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2_2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":73990,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/2_2.jpg?itok=rbKYlsiz"}}},"media_ids":["654086","654090","654091"],"groups":[{"id":"155831","name":"Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"186857","name":"go-gtmi"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39461","name":"Manufacturing, Trade, and Logistics"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWalter Rich\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["walter.rich@research.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}