Source: ISOTRUSS INDUSTRIES LLC submitted to
CLOSING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE THROUGH ADVANCED MANUFACTURING AND TOOLING DEVELOPMENT FOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF ISOTRUSS TOWER SOLUTIONS.
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
SMALL BUSINESS GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1024245
Grant No.
2020-33530-32757
Cumulative Award Amt.
$650,000.00
Proposal No.
2020-06664
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2020
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2023
Grant Year
2020
Program Code
[8.6]- Rural & Community Development
Project Director
Jensen, D.
Recipient Organization
ISOTRUSS INDUSTRIES LLC
1364 WEST PLEASANT GROVE BLVD
PLEASANT GROVE,UT 840623254
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Rural America has significantly less access to broadband networks and telecom infrastructure. The disparity between network coverage in rural areas versus urban areas is referred to as the "digital divide." This divide limits those in Rural America in many ways; with things as simple as inadequate or unreliable means of communication, to the more serious implications of having limited to no access to adequate healthcare through telemedicine, and being unable to receive messages in a timely manner from government response and emergency systems. A driving force behind the digital divide is the difficulty and high cost of delivering, installing, and consistently maintaining infrastructure in rural areas with greater distances between households and mountainous or forested terrain. These difficulties make it harder to justify the use of traditional steel tower solutions for rural telecom infrastructure.IsoTruss towers ease the difficulties involved with rural infrastructure deployment by providing a tower that is 10X lighter, does not corrode or rust, lasts longer than steel towers, and uses a patented geometry that is the most efficient design for the conditions seen by telecom towers. These qualities of IsoTruss towers make delivery, installation, and maintenance significantly less expensive and more feasible with the terrain and equipment available in rural areas.SBIR Phase I development work resulted in a modified IsoTruss geometry that used less material, required less manufacturing time in prototype towers, and improved efficiency for the loading in telecom towers. All of these improvements significantly reduced the cost of IsoTruss towers. Figure 1 shows a tower installed in Cary, North Carolina in 2019 as part of the development in SBIR Phase I.The objectives of SBIR Phase II are to: (1) develop the manufacturing processes and tooling to build towers in line with market demand with the modifications discovered in Phase I and (2) deploy three towers in strategic rural areas. The work in Phase II will develop the modified geometry beyond the prototype phase to create manufacturing methods and tooling to produce full-scale towers in preparation for commercialization. The deployment of three more towers will also contribute toward commercialization by promoting customer adoption and also providing examples of towers in the field to future customers. The expected results of the development in Phase II are to have the manufacturing processes and tooling ready for production that meets market demand as well as to have strategic partners to pave the way for the commercialization of IsoTruss tower solutions.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
0%
Applied
0%
Developmental
100%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
80374102020100%
Knowledge Area
803 - Sociological and Technological Change Affecting Individuals, Families, and Communities;

Subject Of Investigation
7410 - General technology;

Field Of Science
2020 - Engineering;
Goals / Objectives
The goal of this project is to create commercially viable telecom towers for rural, hard-to-reach locations.The objectives of SBIR Phase II are to: (1) develop the manufacturing processes and tooling to build towers in line with market demand with the modifications developed in Phase I and (2) deploy three towers in strategic rural areas. The work in Phase II will develop the modified geometry beyond the prototype phase to create manufacturing methods and tooling to produce full-scale towers in preparation for commercialization. The deployment of three more towers will also contribute toward commercialization by promoting customer adoption and also providing examples of towers in the field to future customers.
Project Methods
There are three main pieces of the objectives that will be addressed with different efforts and evaluation.Mandrel:The mandrel development will follow the engineering design process with brainstorming, planning, prototyping, and analyzing. The evaluation of the mandrel will include time to assemble/disassemble (two hours or less with two people), dimensional accuracy of final parts (+/- 0.5% of design specifications), and stability of the mandrel dimensions (minimal calibration, no sagging).Winding Process:The selection of the best winding process will follow the scientific method by gathering data about different methods, comparing the information, and choosing the most promising method to test. The three options that will be compared are automated prepreg winding, wet winding, and manual prepreg winding. The evaluation criteria for the winding process includes the ability of the process to be repeatable or even automated, the lead time of towers with that method, the number of labor hours required, the amount and expense of new equipment required, and the safety and cleanliness of the different options.Consolidation Method:Composite materials are made of many layers that must be pressed together during curing to have the full expected strength and avoid harmful stress concentrators. The two methods that will be compared are shrink tape or vacuum bagging. These methods will be evaluated by testing on small tower prototypes. The evaluation criteria include visual analysis of the ability of the method to keep a triangular shape for tower sections and quantifying the number of air bubbles or voids that appear in the final product.

Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience:IsoTruss, Inc. is seeking to improve rural broadband connectivity to close the digital divide. Our targeted audience includes telecommunication installers, providers, owners, and operators in the United States, especially those covering rural areas. We work with clients and customers to address their pain points and find environments and applications where IsoTruss technology can address needs and provide solutions. Changes/Problems:The most significant delays to the project timeline were with tower deployments and coordinating with external companies and we extended the project another year which allowed us to meet our goal of three deployments. The extra year also benefited development with additional time torefocus, expand operations, and proudly meet all objectives set forth for this project. Going forward, validation of towers will expand to include other sizes and applications. Work with the filament winder will continue and develop to include IsoTruss structures and, potentially, new mandrels. Success in these areas will ensure that not only are the towers produced of high quality but are manufactured at a faster rate. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?IsoTruss deployed a tower with Learning Alliance Center (LAC) in Florida who provides training and job placement to prospective telecom tower operators and technicians. The donated tower allows LAC to continue its mission to provide workforce development in the telecom industryand provides familiarity for technicians with IsoTruss technology. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1) IsoTruss was successful in developing new processes and tooling to produce its IsoTruss Tower at a commercial scale. These developments included improvements to the tooling used in the manufacturing of the IsoTruss and significant changes to the proprietary IsoTruss manufacturing process that enabled higher quality products. The time and resources to develop the tooling and processes were critical to moving toward commercialization and having the resources to sell products. 2) Over the three-year project we deployed three IsoTruss Towers with strategic partners. The first was with American Tower Corporation (ATC), a major tower owner/operator in the US, in rural Virginia. The second was with the Bureau of Land Management in rural Wyoming. The third was with Learning Alliance Center, a workforce development center in the telecom industry, in Florida. These tower deployments allow us to have case studies to share with other customers where they can see the real benefits of IsoTruss technology.

Publications


    Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22

    Outputs
    Target Audience:IsoTruss, Inc. is seeking to improve rural broadband connectivity to close the digital divide. Our targeted audience includes telecommunication installers, providers, owners, and operators in the United States, especially those covering rural areas. We work with clients and customers to address their pain points and find environments and applications where IsoTruss technology can address needs and provide solutions. Changes/Problems:The main competitor of IsoTruss tower technology is steel towers. The COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain disruptions caused steel prices to skyrocket global, which gave IsoTruss technology a competitive advantage. As steel prices have dropped we have had the opportunity to find creative solutions to still compete with lower steel prices including new processes for cheaper manufacturing. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?IsoTruss is working with Learning Alliance Center (LAC) in Florida who provides training and job placement to prospective telecom tower operators and technicuians. Part of the effort was a site visit to IsoTruss by LAC who filmed manufacturing and employees to create a video to show at LAC. IsoTruss will also provide a tower to LAC which they will install as a demonstation to allow prospective operators to climb and practice maintenance operations. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?1) Manufacturing Tools and Processes IsoTruss will continue to build its capability and expertise in manufacturing technology at a commercial scale. In the next reporting period, IsoTruss hopes to continue the improvements to its manufacturing to lower product costs while retaining uncomprimising quality. 2) Deploy 3 Towers IsoTruss plans to install another one of its towers in a rural location in the United States. We are currently working with rural broadband providers in Utah and Ohio to find a site and complete a proof-of-concept build.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? IsoTruss has two objectives for this SBIR Phase II project: 1) develop manfacturing tools and processes and 2) deploy three towers in rural locations. 1) Manufacturing Tools and Processes IsoTruss has developed new manufacturing processes to produce higher quality products at a faster rate. The improvements have included introducing more automation and new tooling to make manufacturing easier for technicians. These improvements will allow IsoTruss to produce its technology at a commercial scale. 2) Deploy 3 Towers IsoTruss was able to deploy one of its towers with the Burea of Land Management in rural Wyoming. The location had unique challenges including high winds, heavy snow, and very remote access. The site is only accessible for a few months a year, necessitating technology that will perform in the extreme conditions without significant or frequent maintenance. IsoTruss designed, produced, and helped install the tower for BLM. The installation was successful requiring only manpower. BLM was happy with the results.

    Publications


      Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21

      Outputs
      Target Audience:The ultimate beneficiaries of this project are rural Americans who are currently underserved by network access. During this reporting period IsoTruss reached out to this audience by deployingone tower in a rural area and continued process development to more efficiently deploy more towers in the future. Changes/Problems:The timeline for developing manufacturing process has been slower than planned largely due to COVID-19 complications. Rising prices in raw materials and stay-at-home orders disrupting manufacturing facilities have changed IsoTruss' plans for mandrel and who will manufacture it. These disruptions should, hopefully, not be an issue for the next 12-month reporting period. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The outreach in this project has been focused on companies that install and own towers in rural locations such as American Tower Corporation. IsoTruss has also worked with Lit Communities, a small company that installs fiber optic connections in rural America and Farmer Mac who focuses on generating revenue for rural farmers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?IsoTruss will continue to work toward its two goals: 1) develop manufacturing processes and tooling and 2) deploy 3 towers. During the next 12-month reporting period IsoTruss plans to have a mandrel built and in production, using the automated filament winder and vacuum bagging consolidation processes. Overall, the next 12 months will transition from prototyping and testing to production. IsoTruss also plans to deploy 2 more towers in rural locations. The most promising relationships are with American Tower Corporation and Farmer Mac, but other potential clients will be contacted as well.

      Impacts
      What was accomplished under these goals? IsoTruss had two goals to accomplish during the 24-month project: 1) develop manufacturing processes and tooling and 2) deploy 3 towers in rural locations. We made significant progress in the goal to develop manufacturing processes. First, we decided after a cost analysis to move from manual winding to automated filament winding. The filament winder was purchased with capital outside of this funding and is currently being manufactured in India with a partner. Second, we designed a new mandrel that could interface with the filament winder and cut down on labor horus spend during manufacturing. A prototype mandrel design that is more simple to test the concept is in process of receiving quotes for manufacturing. A more advanced mandrel that will be useful as production rates increased was also designed and will continue to be refined after testing with the prototype mandrel is completed. Third, we did experiments to learnnew ways to consolidate the fibers. In manual winding, the fibers were consolidated by wrapping the product in shrink tape. The shrink tape effectively consolidated the part, but was very time and labor intensive. Now are moving to a vacuum bag process that will significantly reduce consolidation time. The second goal was to deploy 3 towers in rural locations. One tower was deployed in rural Virginia during this reporting period through a partnership with American Tower Corporation (ATC) developed during SBIR Phase I. IsoTruss will continue building the relationship with ATC for future deployments. Additionally, IsoTruss recently started a relationship with Farmer Mac with the potential to support rural farmers with revenue from a tower on their property. This relationship has promising potential for future deployments during the rest of the project.

      Publications