- Mohawk Innovative Technology
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Mohawk Innovative Technology, Inc. is an American product and research and development technology company specializing in integrating advanced oil-free compliant foil bearings, magnetic bearings and non-contacting foil seals into high-speed rotating machinery, such as gas turbine engines, turbochargers, compressors, cryogenic pumps, variable high-speed motors/generators or machines that exceed the capabilities of rolling element bearings.
Contents
History
Mohawk Innovative Technology, Inc. or MiTi, was formed in November 1994, by Hooshang Heshmat [1] and three other principals, James F. Walton II, Melissa Heshmat and Michael J. Tomaszewski. The company vision called for developing a new class of oil-free, high-speed rotating machinery. Oil-free air or process gases are essential for pharmaceutical, food and beverage processing, in medical equipment or devices and many industrial processes. The company initially conducted research and development programs for the United States Department of Defense (DoD), NASA, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to assist in commercializing its technologies in the areas of tribology, foil bearings, magnetic bearings, auxiliary or backup bearings and advanced seals.
The company has applied its oil-free bearing and seal technologies to rotating machinery systems with both domestic aerospace and major international companies. Developed oil-free systems have included motor driven air compressors for industrial use, cryogenic turboexpanders for generation of liquid oxygen and nitrogen, motor driven air blowers for automotive fuel cells, motor driven blowers for use in the food and beverage industries, small gas turbine engines for uninhabited aerial vehicles UAVs and more recently microturbine generators for distributed electricity generation using either natural gas or a variety of renewable energy sources. While conducting many of these research programs and working to apply the technology to product, alternative bearing coatings and test machine products have resulted. New high temperature, long life and low friction coefficient coatings were developed to support the bearing product. Also a special high precision Tribometer was developed to evaluate the friction, wear lubrication characteristics and life of solid lubricant coatings, shaft coatings and bearing performance under realistic operating conditions of high speed, high load and high temperature conditions.
Medical applications of the company's products are marketed through the MiTiHeart Corporation, a spin-off company.
Selected company and key personnel awards
- 2003 New York State Small Business Manufacturer of the Year
- 2002 Small Business Administration’s National Tibbetts Award[2][3] for contributions to the Small Business Innovative Research Program and the regional Small Business Council’s Innovative Enterprise Award
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers Edison Patent Award 2002 [4]
- ASME International Gas Turbine Institute Best Paper 1999 [5]
- Society of Automotive Engineers Best Paper Award 2000
See also
Selected patents
- Multi-plane Balancing Process and Apparatus Using Powder Metal for Controlled Material Addition - Sept. 1992[6]
- Stator Controlled Magnetic Bearing - Feb. 2001[7]
- Hybrid Foil Magnetic Bearing - Mar. 2002[8]
- Hybrid Foil Magnetic Bearing with Improved Load Sharing - Aug. 2004[9]
References
- ^ 20 Minutes With... Hooshang Heshmat | Tribology & Lubrication Technology | April 1, 2004 | Astrene, Thomas T http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P3-590327701.html
- ^ http://www.nyssbdc.org/success/Awards/awards.html
- ^ Program Participants Receive SBA's High-Tech Tibbetts Award http://www.scienceblog.com/community/older/archives/K/0/pub0417.html
- ^ Thomas A. Edison Patent Award http://www.asme.org/Governance/Honors/SocietyAwards/Thomas_Edison_Patent_Award.cfm
- ^ Testing of a Small Turbocharger/Turbojet Sized Simulator Rotor Supported on Foil Bearings, Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines Power -- May 2008 -- Volume 130, Issue 3, 035001 doi:10.1115/1.2830855 http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/1.2830855
- ^ http://patft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?patentnumber=5149936
- ^ http://patft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?patentnumber=6191513
- ^ http://patft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?patentnumber=6353273
- ^ http://patft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?patentnumber=6770993
External links
Categories:- Bearings
- Engineering companies of the United States
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