WWU student team designs, tests and prepares to patent new heavy-duty saw for cutting complex, ultra-tough synthetic materials

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WWU student team designs, tests and prepares to patent new heavy-duty saw for cutting complex, ultra-tough synthetic materials

September 9, 2025

by Mikayla King

WWU Communications

WWU Associate Professor of Manufacturing Engineering David Gill and three manufacturing engineering students have created an innovative solution to an expensive manufacturing process: cutting through aramid honeycomb, an essential material for aerospace and automotive manufacturing.

Aramid fibers are heat-resistant, strong synthetic fibers used in a wide array of industries and products from ballistic body armor to phone cases and tennis rackets. Currently, the only way to cut aramid honeycomb is by using expensive, burr-type cutters that can cost anywhere between $250 and $1,250 each. These cutters also have a very short lifespan, lasting only a few hours.

Enter the ArcSaw, a patent-pending invention by Gill and his students. Instead of burr-type cutters which pierce into the material like a drill, the team created a new saw that utilizes a 100-millimeter circular blade to cut through the aramid fibers. Because of its small diameter when compared to conventional bandsaw blades, the ArcSaw has high stiffness and is resistant to bending out of shape.

Initial analysis shows that the ArcSaw blades will be able to cut up to 10 times faster than current cutting methods and will do so for a fraction of the cost.

The ArcSaw also reduces the health and safety risks associated with cutting aramid. Instead of turning the material into dust like the current manufacturing processes, the ArcSaw removes the material in strips that reduce risk to the machine's moving parts and the operator's lungs.

Manufacturing Engineering seniors - now alumni - Rowan Dickerson and Andrew Schmidt began development on the ArcSaw in the summer of 2024 as part of a donor-supported summer research project.

A typical day would have Dickerson and Schmidt arriving on campus around 7:30 a.m. when they would spend an hour deciding their plan for the day and finish up any leftover tasks from the day before. Then, after a quick check-in with Gill, the pair would get to work.

"Each day brought new challenges and tasks," Schmidt said. "The workload was shared evenly. Both Rowan and I contributed significantly to the design and functionality of the device. When it came time for physical machining, Rowan focused more on hands-on manufacturing, while I concentrated on running material simulations and data analysis."

No two days looked the same in the lab over the summer. Some days were spent focused on design work, while others saw the team dedicating hours to material testing. Dickerson and Schmidt even got to take a field trip to Seattle to have their blades welded.

"One of the most rewarding parts of the project was how open-ended the process was. We had a great deal of creative freedom and the opportunity to explore multiple paths toward our goal," Schmidt said. "With no predetermined solutions, we had to generate and interpret our own data, constantly evaluating which approaches were most effective."

The most rewarding of Schmidt's experience came when the team had to completely rethink their approach.

"Although our earlier designs were functional, they had become increasingly difficult to machine and were introducing stability and tensioning issues in the blade," Schmidt said. He proposed a new concept that replaced the original tensioning system and simplified the machining process, reducing the number of individual components needed and improving both blade tension and structural stability.

"By pivoting, I learned that continuous improvement isn't always about adding onto the existing parts but taking a moment to step back, questioning assumptions and start fresh from a new perspective; a lesson that reinforced my ability to think critically and creatively under pressure," he said.

In the fall, manufacturing engineering senior (now graduate) Jacob Wong was added to the project, and the trio have been working on creating a second prototype that is more efficient and integrated with the machine tool.

The school year included a mix of computer-aided design modeling, prototyping and hands-on manufacturing. An average day in the lab could include anything from collaborating with teammates on design decisions to matching components, troubleshooting assembly issues and adjusting the ArcSaw based on test results.

This summer, two more manufacturing engineering students joined the team: seniors Bree Carpenter and Bryce Nisly. They worked over the summer to move the ArcSaw design to commercialization by demonstrating the cutting capability of the tool, conducting a market survey to determine the potential industry need, and continuing to improve the ArcSaw's design and process planning.

The process to patent the ArcSaw will take several years. As of now, the team has filed a provisional patent, which protects their proverbial place in line to finalize the patent application. The team has a year to file the full patent application, at which point it can take three to five years to be awarded.

After the patent process is complete, the team will look for ways to commercialize the ArcSaw, which could include manufacturing processes or licensing the design to an existing company.

For Schmidt, his work on the ArcSaw opened up new horizons for his future in engineering.

"Without this experience, I don't think I would have had a strong chance of getting into grad school, regardless of my grades," he said. "This project gave me something real and substantial to talk about in my applications, and it helped me grow in ways that coursework alone couldn't."

To learn more about the ArcSaw or the work happening in the Advanced Machining Research Lab, visit David Gill's webpage.

Mikayla King ('17) covers the College of Science and Engineering and Woodring College of Education for University Communications. Reach out to her with story ideas at [email protected]