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Chicago's bid to bolster its position as the U.S. center for high-tech gear manufacturing has stalled before getting to the starting line.
A $35-million federally sponsored research project associated with the Illinois Institute of Technology is a year behind its production schedule and has been stymied by cost overruns and a change in top management.
Now, the Instrumented Factory for Gears--known as INFAC--is imperiled because some of its federal funding was cut.
The program is one of the federal govemment's first efforts to aid a basic industry facing severe competition from foreign manufacturers.
Though INFAC's primary purpose is to improve production time and quality for gears used in the defense industry, gearmaking is central to almost all manufacturing, and gear industry hopes are high that INFAC can serve as a U.S. model for the kinds of public-private research centers operating successfully in Germany and Japan.
Several glitches have delayed the startup of INFAC, a program of the IIT Research Institute (IITRI), a not-for-profit company associated with the South Side institution.
IITRI's management overestimated both the generosity of machine tool manufacturers, whose equipment they hoped would be donated, and the amount of time needed to get their facility up and running.
In mapping their production schedule, they also didn't figure on the miles of red tape involved in a government project.
A year behind schedule, the program finally has begun to take delivery on the $6.7 million in machinery it needs to develop the next generation of gears. But Congress has thrown a monkey wrench into the works by yanking $2 million from...