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LTU, partners in federal project for more efficient industrial coatings, paints

January 30, 2025

SOUTHFIELD—Lawrence Technological University, its Centrepolis Accelerator manufacturing business accelerator and three industry partners will collaborate on a $2.4 million federal project to develop lower-energy, greenhouse-gas-free porcelain enamel and paint curing for manufacturing.

The project was one of just 16 awarded nationwide, part of a $38 million program of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office.

With the grant, LTU and partners aim to validate and pilot a lower-energy, laser-based powder coat curing technology for industrial coatings to replace existing inefficient natural gas curing ovens.  The technology was identified via Centrepolis Accelerator’s Industrial Decarbonization Innovation Challenge that scouted for best in class emission reduction technology solutions for manufacturing operations.

The team will advance laser-based curing technology for lower-temperature coating systems at less than 250 degrees Centigrade (482 degrees Fahrenheit), as well as higher temperature systems operating at over 400 degrees Centigrade (752 degrees Fahrenheit) targeting porcelain enamel and other specialty coating applications.

LTU and Centrepolis officials said that in addition to improving energy efficiency and reducing on-site greenhouse gas emissions, the technology has the potential for improved curing cycle times and reduced cooling requirements, which would improve throughput and reduce the physical footprint of the curing process.

LTU’s partners in the effort are IPG Photonics, a fiber laser manufacturer based in Oxford, Mass.; PPG Industries, the Pittsburgh-based paint and coating manufacturer; and Whirlpool Corp., the St. Joseph-based appliance manufacturer.

Co-principal investigators on the grant are Robert Fletcher, professor in LTU’s A. Leon Linton Department of Mechanical, Robotics, and Industrial Engineering, and Pedro Guillen, Centrepolis Accelerator chief operating officer. Fletcher has master’s and Ph.D. degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan, teaches a variety of energy-related courses at LTU, and researches optimization of energy systems. Guillen has a 20-year background in automotive manufacturing and business development.

The Centrepolis Accelerator, housed in Lawrence Technological University’s Enterprise Center in Southfield, is 6,300 square feet of business assistance for physical product developers and manufacturing companies, a unique niche among accelerators in Michigan. Clients include climatech, manufacturing startups, and existing companies looking to move up to the next level in product innovation. Services include product design, engineering, and prototyping, as well as business planning services, office space, co-working space, workshops, mentors and events. For more information about the Centrepolis Accelerator and its programs, visit centrepolisaccelerator.com.

Lawrence Technological University is one of only 13 independent, technological, comprehensive doctoral universities in the United States. Located in Southfield, Mich., LTU was founded in 1932 and offers more than 100 programs through its Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Business and Information Technology, Engineering, and Health Sciences, as well as Specs@LTU as part of its growing Center for Professional Development. PayScale lists Lawrence Tech among the nation’s top 11 percent of universities for alumni salaries. Forbes and The Wall Street Journal rank LTU among the nation’s top 10 percent. U.S. News and World Report list it in the top tier of the best Midwest colleges. And LTU is included in the Princeton Review’s “The Best 390 Colleges 2025 Edition,” a list of the nation’s top 15 percent of colleges and universities. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 107-acre campus include more than 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.

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Use Your Cell Phone as a Document Camera in Zoom

  • What you will need to have and do
  • Download the mobile Zoom app (either App Store or Google Play)
  • Have your phone plugged in
  • Set up video stand phone holder

From Computer

Log in and start your Zoom session with participants

From Phone

  • Start the Zoom session on your phone app (suggest setting your phone to “Do not disturb” since your phone screen will be seen in Zoom)
  • Type in the Meeting ID and Join
  • Do not use phone audio option to avoid feedback
  • Select “share content” and “screen” to share your cell phone’s screen in your Zoom session
  • Select “start broadcast” from Zoom app. The home screen of your cell phone is now being shared with your participants.

To use your cell phone as a makeshift document camera

  • Open (swipe to switch apps) and select the camera app on your phone
  • Start in photo mode and aim the camera at whatever materials you would like to share
  • This is where you will have to position what you want to share to get the best view – but you will see ‘how you are doing’ in the main Zoom session.