Information from our October 25, 2024 meeting:

  • When:   Friday, October 25, 2024 8:30 AM
  • What:  UPDATE !! Visit to ACC IMPACT Labs AND Tubular Networks.
  • Who:  Ernest Afuta Kapajika, ACC, and Dylan Mankey, CTO Tubular Networks
  • Where:  Visit to ACC Campus Map Link Here
  • Summary:  The meeting will start at the IMPACT Lab which is 5,000 square feet of advanced manufacturing prototyping space, enabling entrepreneurs and makers to develop prototypes for marketable products aimed at growing the advanced manufacturing ecosystem in Central Texas. The lab also provides workforce development, giving students access to advanced manufacturing equipment and techniques.

    After the initial announcement, we have confirmed a visit to Tubular Networks, which is also located on the ACC Highland campus.
  • Special:  You board will be bringing some tacos, coffee, and fruit. We will have an contribution bucket to offset costs. PLEASE register below so we know how many will be attending !!
  • Calendar Link

Core Mission:
- Identify promising entrepreneurs and early stage companies where access to advanced manufacturing and prototyping capabilities are a barrier to market entry, product development, and organizational growth.
- Provide partners with access to equipment, software, and consulting to enable their successful iteration of prototypes and exploration of limited or first-run production design.
- Provide partners with access to networks of expertise on growth, product lifecycle management, private and public funding options, and commercialization.

Click HERE for a Map to ACC Campus, Parking, and IMPACT Labs for our October 25th TAG Meeting. A garage and on-street parking areas are highlighted in yellow on the map, along with a pointer to the IMPACT Lab entrance.

The IMPACT Lab consists of 5,000 square feet of prototyping lab and office space:
- 1 IMPACT Lab Staff Office
- 1 Electronics Workroom
- 1 Storage Room
- 2 Private Offices - leasable by partner companies
- 1 Conference Room (capacity 7-12)
- 1 Open fabrication and assembly space (4200 square feet)

Austin Community College District (ACC) announces Ernest Afuta as the new IMPACT Lab Manager. Afuta has an extensive background in advanced manufacturing, from prototype development to production and operations management.

Afuta holds a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Lean Six Sigma from Indiana State University. He previously worked at the Tesla Gigafactory as the supervisor for the Body in White Maintenance Department. In this role, he was instrumental in overseeing the equipment installation phase and production scale-up of the Gigafactory. He also built teams, which included hiring and training new members. Additionally, he was responsible for maintenance operations and implementing process improvements on highly automated equipment, ensuring optimal performance and efficiency.

Tubular Network is a clean tech company aiming to decarbonize the transportation of goods. We address the logistics inefficiencies and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in industrial and urban domains (e.g. distribution, manufacturing, and warehousing).

Using self-driving electric shuttles within a controlled infrastructure, Tubular Network moves goods as soon as they are ready eliminating the need to group items together before delivery. This leads to delivery speeds that are 10X faster and significantly cuts greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Dylan Mankey has 15 years of engineering experience developing solutions for B2B, B2C, & B2B2C. He also has a decade of experience leading high performing engineering organizations. He has Created 50+ prototypes in the last year to accelerate learning. Dylan received his Bachelor of Computational Linguistics from UT Austin and was the Director of Engineering at Expedia Group.