MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING LABORATORY (82): Provides competence and develops technical data, findings, and standards in production engineering, mechanical metrology, and automation and control technology; provides instrument design, fabrication, modification, and repair; and provides industrial and mechanical engineering in support of a program to develop standards, interfaces, recommended practices, and associated technology to be made available to manufacturing industries.

MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING LABORATORY OFFICE (820): Responsible for planning, directing, and implementing the scientific, technical, and administrative programs of the Laboratory through scientific, administrative, and support personnel.

--OFFICE OF MANUFACTURING PROGRAMS (820.03): Manages cross-divisional, other-agency-sponsored research, development, and technology transfer within the Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory; manages the standardization of the information technology (IT) resources across the Laboratory that are used for sommon scientific and administrative applications. Included are network systems, computer systems, software systems, and the design, implementation, and support of these systems across the Laboratory. Activities include proposal preparation and coordination, presentation to sponsors, negotiations with sponsors, maintenance of clear communications with sponsors, management of funded activities, and reporting to sponsors; plans, develops, coordinates, and reviews for quality, the accomplishments and priorities of all programs and activities that involve interactions with the United States industrial community; and manages the National Advanced Manufacturing Testbed (NAMT) program to coordinate the efforts by industry, academia, NIST, and the National Laboratories to refine advanced manufacturing technologies and demonstrate approaches to distributed design, engineering, and manufacturing operations.

PRECISION ENGINEERING DIVISION (821): Responsible for the realization and dissemination of the SI unit of length; and conducts research and development in precision-engineered length-metrology-intensive systems, whether measuring or production machines, and provides delivery of industrially-important length-related measurement, standards, and infrastructural technology services in support of U.S. manufacturing's products and processes, where features of interest range in size from multiple meters to sub-nanometer and are measured by framed and frameless general- and special-purpose measuring probes, machines, and systems, employing the spectrum of optical, mechanical, electrical and quantum-mechanical phenomena, beginning with first-principles realization of the SI unit of length by means of stabilized lasers and displacement interferometry.

--LARGE-SCALE COORDINATE METROLOGY GROUP (821.11): Conducts research and development in precision-engineered length-metrology-intensive systems, whether measuring or production machines, and provides delivery of industrially-important length-related measurement, standards, and infrastructural technology services in support of U.S. manufacturing's products and processes, where features of interest are typically of the order of one meter or larger and measurements are made, for example, by coordinate measuring machines and frameless coordinate length-metrology systems involving mechanical-probe, laser-ranging, theodolite, and related interferometric systems.

--ENGINEERING METROLOGY GROUP (821.12): Conducts research and development in precision-engineered length-metrology-intensive systems, whether measuring or production machines, and provides delivery of industrially-important length-related measurement, standards, and infrastructural technology services in support of U.S. manufacturing's products and processes, where features of interest are typically one millimeter to one meter in size and are often of complex shape such as turbine blades, threaded fasteners, gears, and the like and measurements are made, for example, by general and special-purpose feature and coordinate measuring systems.

--SURFACE AND MICROFORM METROLOGY GROUP (821.13): Conducts research and development in precision-engineered length-metrology-intensive systems, whether measuring or production machines, and provides delivery of industrially-important length-related measurement, standards, and infrastructural technology services in support of U.S. manufacturing's products and processes, where surface roughness and microform are critical, sized features of interest are typically one micrometer to one millimeter in size, and measurements are made, for example, by tunneling microscope, atomic force microscope, mechanical profilometry, phase-measuring interferometry, and related techniques.

--NANO-SCALE METROLOGY GROUP (821.14): Conducts research and development in precision-engineered length-metrology-intensive systems, whether measuring or production machines, and provides delivery of industrially-important length-related measurement, standards, and infrastructural technology services in support of U.S. manufacturing's products and processes, where features of interest are typically one nanometer to one micrometer in size and are measured, for example, by tunneling, atomic-force, electron, and visible- and ultraviolet-light microscopies and where special emphasis is placed on satisfaction of the advanced needs of U.S. microelectronic manufacturing industries.

MANUFACTURING METROLOGY DIVISION (822):  Satisfies the measurements and standards needs of the U.S. in mechanical metrology, machine tool metrology, manufacturing process metrology, and workpiece property metrology; responsible for the realization, maintenance, and dissemination of the SI units of mass, force, acceleration, sound pressure level, and ultrasonic power; serves as the nation's reference laboratory for mechanical metrology quantities of mass, force, acceleration, sound pressure, and ultrasonic power; develops measurements, measurement methods, and basic measurement technology for application to manufacturing processes and the testing of machines and equipment; develops methods, models, sensors, and data to improve machines, processes, and mechanical metrology; and provides technical leadership in the development of national, regional, and international standards in the fields of mass metrology, force metrology, acoustics metrology, vibration and shock metrology, machine tool metrology, manufacturing process metrology, and sensor requirements, interfaces, integration, and applications.

--MASS AND FORCE GROUP (822.11):  Provides high-accuracy physical measurement test and calibration services and access to the top of the traceability chain for the SI mechanical units of mass, force, and related quantities; conducts research and development and provides technical support in measurement science, instrumentation design, development, and testing to develop new physical measurement services, newrealization of the units, new transfer standards, new methods and data, custom tests, and consulting for mass and force metrology; provides technical support for legal metrology of force transducers; and provides appropriate leadership and input to national, regional, and international standards for mass and force metrology.

--MACHINE TOOL METROLOGY GROUP (822.12):  Provides high-accuracy physical measurement test and calibration services for machine tool metrology and the SI mechanical units of vibration and shock; develops measurement methods and associated metrology instrumentation to characterize and evaluate the kinematic and dynamic performance of machine tools; develops and maintains competence in precision mechanical design and structural analysis; conducts research and development and provides technical support in measurement science, instrumentation design, development, and testing to develop new physical measurement services, new realization of the units, new transfer standards, new methods and data, custom tests, and consulting in vibration and shock metrology and machine tool metrology; and provides appropriate leadership and input to national, regional, and international standards for vibration and shock metrology and machine tool metrology.

--MANUFACTURING PROCESS METROLOGY GROUP (822.13):  Provides high-accuracy physical measurement and test services for manufacturing process metrology and workpiece property metrology, with special emphasis on the advanced needs of the U.S. optics industry; develops appropriate measurement methods and associated metrology instrumentation to characterize and evaluate manufacturing processes and workpiece properties, such as for in-process tool-chip interface temperature, in-process tool cutting force, in-process ultrasonic emissions from the cutting process, workpiece subsurface damage, and workpiece geometry; conducts research and development and provides technical support in measurement science, instrumentation design, development, and testing to develop new physical measurement services, new realization of the units, new transfer standards, new methods and data, custom tests, and consulting in manufacturing process metrology; and provides appropriate leadership and input to national, regional, and international standards for manufacturing process metrology, workpiece metrology, and optics metrology.

--SENSOR DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION GROUP (822.14):  Provides high-accuracy physical measurement test and calibration services and access to the top of the traceability chain for SI mechanical units in the field of acoustics; develops new mechanical metrology sensors, instrumentation, and methods for advanced manufacturing and mechanical metrology systems with emphasis on sensor requirements, interfaces, and integration, including considerations for remote access, monitoring, and control through inter- and intra-network technologies; develops methods for the integration of sensors and sensor information to control, evaluate, and monitor machine performance; conducts research and developmnet and provides technical support in intelligent sensors and sensor applications, measurement science, instrumentation design, development, and testing to develop new physical measurement services, new realization of the units, new transfer standards, new methods and data, custom tests, and consulting in acoustics metrology; and provides appropriate leadership and input to national, regional, and international standards for acoustics metrology and sensor requirements, interfaces, integration, and applications.

INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS DIVISION (823): Strives to enhance U.S. industrial competitiveness through the development and application of measurements and standards for intelligent systems technologies; develops and maintains competence in intelligent machines and systems, robotics, real-time sensory-interactive control, open-system architectures, software development techniques, simulation and modeling, and methods for intelligent system design and testing; conducts research in techniques for planning and control, world modeling, sensory processing, and interactive graphics for operator interface; works with industry, universities, and other government agencies to implement pre-commercial prototype, open-system architecture, and intelligent control systems for a wide variety of applications; applies artificial intelligence techniques to real-time sensory-interactive control for computer-integrated manufacturing systems; supports other NIST laboratories and other government agencies in applications of intelligent systems with high national priority, such as construction, environmental clean-up, transportation systems, mining, and military applications; develops reference model open-system architectures for intelligent control systems; develops methodologies for design and implementation of intelligent control systems; develops methods and tools for software development and testing; develops and tests measures of performance for intelligent control systems, robots, and intelligent machines; and supports the development of new standards for intelligent machine systems, robots, and automated manufacturing systems.

--MACHINE SYSTEMS GROUP (823.11): Performs research to support standards and measurement techniques and develops methods for intelligent machine performance enhancement and characterization, including intelligent controls, high performance servomechanisms, electromechanical devices and actuators, measurement and analysis techniques, and performance characterization standards.

--CONTROL SYSTEMS GROUP (823.12): Performs research to support standards and measurement techniques for control interface specifications; develops techniques for measuring real-time performance of control systems; and provides controller support to division projects, including operating systems, computer hardware, and sensors and actuators.

--SYSTEMS INTEGRATION GROUP (823.13): Performs research to support standards and measurement techniques for integrated robotic control systems for a wide variety of applications including intelligent manufacturing, highway transportation, and military robotic programs; develops reference model open-system architectures to support control system implementation; and develops sensors, off-line programming techniques, sensor-based automatic measurement and control techniques, and standard interfaces for subsystems and further adaptations of the NIST Real-time Control System (RCS) architecture.

--PERCEPTION SYSTEMS GROUP (823.14): Performs research to support standards and measurement techniques for real-time, sensor-based control of intelligent machines including the following research areas: intelligent sensing and perception, visual and tactile measurement, inspection, sensory-data fusion, multi-sensor integration, robot perception, active and purposive vision, world modeling, real-time planning, vision-based mobility, and navigation.

--KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS GROUP (823.15): Performs research to support standards and measurement techniques in knowledge representation for intelligent systems, including process, product, and world modeling; researches and develops simulation techniques for intelligent systems; and researches advanced software concepts which support intelligent behavior, and fosters the use of appropriate software development tools for the implementation of intelligent systems.

FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY DIVISION (825): Provides complete engineering design, fabrication, modification, and repair of prototype and production scientific instruments, apparatus, and equipment to support the research and development requirements of NIST and other government agencies; provides such services as: cost estimating and process planning utilizing computer-assisted devices to assure accuracy and timeliness; engineering design and drafting, using state-of-the-art CAD/CAM equipment to solve complex engineering problems, create detailed drawings, and generate machine codes for NC machine tools, and import design information from other CAD/CAM systems; inspection services using computer-assisted coordinate measuring machine technology; machining and fabrication capabilities using four-axis vertical and horizontal CNC milling, CNC turning, cavity and CNC wire electrical discharge machining, welding, plasma-arc cutting, sheetmetal, optical fabrication, ultrasonic machining, glassblowing, and all associated conventional machine shop capabilities; maintains eight contact shops located throughout NIST which provide assistance and consultation with the design and fabrication of prototype and production components during the conception and design phase of instruments and equipment; and conducts research in the area of manufacturing technology to increase competitiveness and productivity targeted towards the small- and medium-size job shops offering an opportunity to investigate the appropriate level of automation for their environment.

MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS INTEGRATION DIVISION (826):  Focuses on the integration of information-based manufacturing systems; promotes economic growth by working with industry to develop and apply technology, measurements, and standards for information-based manufacturing.  This focus calls for the division to remain at the forefront of technological advances supporting information-based manufacturing systems to define technically sound, neutral integration standards in cooperation with industrial partners; supports the analysis and testing methodologies for conformance and interoperability of software applications that use these standards.  The division is responding to industry's needs by drawing upon advances in manufacturing systems integration theory to help define, test, and promulgate timely, technically sound, open specifications for the interoperation of manufacturing systems.  The division initiates formal standards activities for the specification of interfaces, behavior, or infrastructure of software systems to support manufacturing operations.  This includes technical and administrative contribution to those activities; harmonization of multiple standards and standards activities in the same or related areas; analysis of early proposals for standards; possibly including implementation and testing of prototype; evaluations of standards applicability; and  promulgation of standards by presentations, workshops, and demonstrations.  Such efforts bring together the many supporting disciplines into a consistent set of principles and enable development of high-quality manufacturing standards.  Key areas and phrases that describe the types of work carried out include Manufacturing:  systems, resources, processes, software, integration, execution, enterprise, planning, scheduling, ontology, architecture, production, simulation, producibility, repositories; Computer-Aided: design, manufacturing, engineering, inspection,  knowledge representation; Process: representation, modeling, planning; Product Data:  exchange, management; Systems:  distributed, intelligent; Testing:  validation, conformance, interoperability, algorithm, methods; and Software Agents.

--SYSTEMS INTEGRATION FOR MANUFACTURING APPLICATIONS OFFICE (826.11):  Provides a   NIST-wide focus for research and development supporting the integration of software applications for manufacturing through standards-based solutions.  The effort encompasses developing and testing interoperability solutions, developing mechanisms promoting interoperability between web-enabled reference repositories and engineering/scientific software, and developing new paradigms for collaborative research.   The office develops funding criteria, progress metrics, funds and tracks technical projects, reports technical accomplishments, ensures the quality of project deliverables, oversees administrative operations, interacts with external collaborators and internal executive-level management; and promotes the visibility of the program's efforts.

--DESIGN AND PROCESS GROUP (826.12):  Develops information models and associated technologies leading toward the definition of standards that address critical needs in collaborative and distributed industrial engineering environments for electro-mechanical products. The major research thrusts are in developing standards and developing technology.  Standards research is aimed at developing information protocols for the interoperability of heterogeneous computer-aided engineering (CAx) systems, and using these protocols as a basis for future standards in this area.  This work covers different domains of product and process knowledge, including parametric information, constraints, features in geometric representations, assembly level tolerancing, extended design artifact models, layered manufacturing, engineering knowledge bases, process planning, process specification, process characterization, manufacturing ontologies and taxonomies.  The technology thrust ranges from research to applied development and spans a cross-section of technology devoted to product and process engineering, including knowledge-aided engineering, assembly design, manufacturing process planning and representation, interfaces for design artifact modeling, process characterization, and virtual environments.  Various aspects of manufacturing systems integration science are explored in the above endeavors.

--ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS GROUP (826.13):  Contributes to the research and development of standards and   technologies to support distributed manufacturing operations.  The contribution is scoped to the application of information technology in support of manufacturing supply-chain, enterprise planning, and factory floor operations; identifies, analyzes, and tests some significant questions of technology feasibility in the application of information technology to manufacturing operations; and identifies, documents, and validates the requirements for standardization or measurement.  The group initiates formal standards activities for the specification of interfaces, behavior, or infrastructure of software systems to support manufacturing operations.  This work covers specific domains of supply chain and enterprise integration, manufacturing execution systems, enterprise resource planning, product data management systems, and collaboratory technologies.

--MANUFACTURING SIMULATION AND MODELING GROUP (826.14):  Contributes to the research and   development of technology and standards for manufacturing simulation and modeling that promise to reduce the cost and increase the accessibility of simulation technology to U.S. industry; and contributes to the advancement of the state-of-the-art by establishing interface standards and testing mechanisms for the integration, verification, and validation of simulation modeling tools and models.  Primary goals are to develop integration interfaces for integrating simulation applications with each other (distributed simulations) and with other manufacturing applications; and develop methods, models, and testing mechanisms for validating the correctness of simulation systems themselves (validating the behavior of simulation systems and models).  These goals are achieved through collaborative efforts with software vendors, industrial users, and standards organizations.  Specific research includes:  (1) developing architectures for constructing distributed manufacturing simulations; (2) specifying and validating standard data representations, data models, and integration interfaces; (3) developing methodologies and tools for measuring the ability of simulation systems to accurately model the behavior of manufacturing systems and processes; (4) defining test cases and implementing testing mechanisms for both integration and correctness testing; and (5) constructing prototype systems and models to demonstrate proof-of-concept for new technology and solutions.

--MANUFACTURING STANDARDS METROLOGY GROUP (826.15):  Performs research in methods for   the development, testing, and validation of information technology standards related to manufacturing to reduce the cost and increase the accessibility of data exchange technology to U.S. industry; and advances the state-of-the-art by investigating and applying fundamental principles toward the establishment of testing methods and related services supporting product data exchange and manufacturing information standards.  The primary goals are to develop a scientific basis for measuring systems integration, creating testable specifications, and establishing a measurement infrastructure for manufacturing-related standards.  Specific research includes:  (1) developing methods for incorporating testing capability into data exchange specifications; (2) developing methods and tools for measuring conformance to standards and the potential for interoperability; (3) defining test cases and implementing testing mechanisms for manufacturing data standards; (4) developing techniques necessary for producing high-quality integration specifications that are consistent, unambiguous, well-scoped, and testable; and (5) providing manufacturing software calibration services and reference data where appropriate.