The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) today announced that its Volumetric Accuracy for Large Machine Tools (VALMT) project has been honored with a R&D 100 Award. VALMT, which pioneered an innovative process in volumetric error compensation for large machine tools, is the fifth R&D 100 Award NCMS has received. Widely recognized as the "Oscars of Innovation," the annual R&D 100 Awards honor excellence in high technology products.

 "VALMT will save ship and aircraft manufacturers millions of dollars," said NCMS Vice President Chuck Ryan. "Machine tool calibrations used to take an entire week, with VALMT the same process can be performed in a day. The benefits of this technology aren’t just time savings; it will allow for more accurate parts, reducing or eliminating expensive re-work during assembly."

Learn More About VALMT- Podcast  VALMT Awards and Articles

The NCMS Collaborative R&D Process teamed private industry (Automated Precision Inc., The Boeing Corporation, Siemens Energy and Automation and MAG Cincinnati Machine, LLC) and the Department of Defense (U.S. Air Force Logistics Center, Naval Foundry and Propeller Center, U.S. Navy Fleet Readiness Center East, and the U.S. Army Anniston Depot) for the VALMT project, quickly developing the groundbreaking technology affordably, and with less risk than alternative “go it alone” R&D methods.

“The secret to the success of NCMS R&D is collaboration,” said NCMS President & CEO Rick Jarman. “Collaboration maximizes benefits and reduces risk and cost. This award is the latest validation that the NCMS collaborative model works.”

Winners of the R&D 100 Awards are selected by an independent judging panel and the editors of R&D Magazine. The publication and its online portal serve research scientists, engineers, and other technical staff members at high tech industrial companies and public and private laboratories around the world.

R&D 100 is not the only award to honor VALMT: the technology also received a coveted Defense Manufacturing Excellence Award for outstanding cooperative efforts on technology development between government, industry and academia (the seventh for NCMS). Northrop-Grumman recently selected VALMT to improve accuracies on their large-volume machine tools used for production of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Aerospace Engineering & Manufacturing Magazine has a great article highlighting the success of the award-winning NCMS-CTMA Volumetric Accuracy for Large Machine Tools (VALMT) project.

...One of the most vexing catch-22s in large-part machining appears to have finally been caught. Rapid volumetric compensation for high accuracy in large-scale five-axis machining is now within the grasp of the manufacturing community.

Why is this significant? Large components are often painstakingly crafted from numerous smaller components because the best machining technologies are not accurate enough to achieve the tight tolerances on large monolithic parts that could reduce part count and assembly time

...A joint project of the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences called Volumetric Accuracy for Large Machine Tools (VALMT)—involving Mag Industrial Automation Systems, Automated PrecisionInc. (API), Boeing, and Siemens—recently completed development of a rapid, and hence game-changing, approach to volumetric error compensation. Created especially for large and multi-axis machines, the system achieves the goals set by the design consortium: to reduce the downtime needed to determine necessary volumetric compensations from weeks to a day or less via a simple automated process that improves a machine tool’s volumetric performance by 50% or more.

Full Article

VALMT Podcast

The NCMS Volumetric Accuracy for Large Machine Tools (VALMT) project is the subject of an article in the latest issue of Quality Digest.

...The entire measurement process can be accomplished in a matter of hours rather than days, resulting in more accurate measurements and eliminating costly machine downtime. Calibration is performed in a single set-up with automated measurement of hundreds of points and is completed in just a few hours compared to alternate methods that can take much longer. By accomplishing the measurement task in such a short timeframe, the measurement data is far more reliable.

The VALMT project has pioneered an innovative process in establishing a new methodology in volumetric error compensation for large machine tools which can save the Department of Defense (DOD) and the commercial aircraft industry millions of dollars anually. 

Full Article

Jim Dallam from MAG Industrial Automation Systems joins NCMS radio to discuss the award winning Volumetric Accuracy for Large Machine Tools (VALMT) project.  

VALMT has pioneered an innovative process in establishing a new methodology in volumetric error compensation for large machine tools which will reduce the amount of reworking of machined parts during onsite vehicle assembly and save the Department of Defense (DOD) and the commercial aircraft industry millions of dollars. 

NCMS Radio- “Collaborate, Innovate, Commercialize- Volumetric Accuracy for Large Machine Tools (VALMT) Project Success Story”- Jim Dallam  MAG Industrial Automation System (13:39)

Subscribe to NCMS Radio on iTunes- search for NCMS.

Don Bell (WR-ALC), Sam Easley (Boeing), Ben Thompson (FRC-East), Rick Jarman (NCMS),

Rich Curless (MAG Industries), Lisa Phelps (Boeing)

Members of Volumetric Accuracy for Large Machine Tools (VALMT) project team collect the Defense Manufacturing Excellence Award at the 2009 Defense Manufacturing Conference.  It is the seventh such award for NCMS.  The Defense Manufacturing Excellence Awards are presented by the National Center for Advanced Technologies (NCAT) for outstanding cooperative efforts on technology development between government, industry and academia.

"...The kind of innovation that Tony and the guys at NCMS are bringing to the table is exactly what the manufacturing industry in the U.S. needs.  Saving millions through enhanced efficiency is a building block to substantially increased competitiveness on a global stage."

Full Article- Industry is Cool: National Center for Manufacturing Sciences

Ultra Precise Calibration Process Will Save DOD Millions Annually

ANN ARBOR, MI – December 2, 2009.  The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) today announced that its Volumetric Accuracy for Large Machine Tools (VALMT) project has pioneered an innovative process in establishing a new methodology in volumetric error compensation for large machine tools.  The costs for current assembly practices of measuring and fitting are substantial; reducing the amount of reworking of machined parts during onsite vehicle assembly will save the Department of Defense (DOD) and the commercial aircraft industry millions of dollars. 

“The innovative VALMT project will save the DOD millions while ensuring weapon systems are mission ready and available for our warfighters when they need them,” said NCMS Vice President Chuck Ryan.  “This technology will also pave the way for reducing the manufacturing costs of commercial ships and aircraft, benefiting both government and industry.”

The success of the VALMT project was recognized this week with a Defense Manufacturing Excellence Award presented by the National Center for Advanced Technologies (NCAT), the seventh award of its kind given to NCMS for its outstanding cooperative efforts on technology development between government, industry and academia.

"This groundbreaking process will dramatically reduce assembly and fitting costs which represent up to 1% of the total cost per aircraft," said Sam Easley, Engineer/Scientist, Metallic Processes at The Boeing Company.  "On large programs like the F-18 or the 700 series, we could save $100 Million per year."

“VALMT has the potential to save the U.S. Navy money and shave valuable time off of vessel construction costs, putting assets where they are most needed, with the warfighter.” said Faris Ibrahim, Mechanical Engineer of the Naval Foundry and Propeller Center.
 
The VALMT project teamed private industry (Automated Precision Inc., The Boeing Corporation, Siemens Energy and Automation and MAG Cincinnati Machine, LLC) and the DOD (U.S. Air Force Logistics Center, Naval Foundry and Propeller Center, U.S. Navy Fleet Readiness Center East, and the U.S. Army Anniston Depot) using the NCMS R&D collaborative process to quickly develop this groundbreaking technology.

“The success of the VALMT project rests heavily on the technical expertise and collaborative R&D experience of the NCMS and its partners,” stated Richard Curless, CTO at MAG Industrial, “The NCMS has been a leader in bringing government and industry together to create usable technologies for over 23 years and this project is just another of many feathers in their proverbial cap.”

About NCMS

The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) is the largest cross-industry collaborative research and development consortium in North America, and is the only consortia effort in the U.S. devoted exclusively to manufacturing technologies, processes and practices. NCMS has over 20 years of experience in the formation and management of complex, multi-partner collaborative R&D programs, and is backed by corporate members representing virtually every manufacturing sector.

For more information please contact:

NCMS Program Manager Tony Haynes at (734) 995-4930 or tonyh@ncms.org

Quality Digest has published a detailed article on the Volumetric Accuracy for Large Machine Tools (VALMT) project.  VALMT has been nominated for a Defense Manufacturing Excellence Award for "... outstanding cooperative efforts on technology development between government, industry and academia."

A joint project of NCMS called Volumetric Accuracy for Large Machine Tools (VALMT), partnering Automated Precision, Boeing, Siemens and Mag Cincinnati, has pioneered an innovative process and established new methodology in volumetric error compensation for large machine tools. Volumetric error compensation or VEC, is a true volumetric calibration that improves close tolerance and working accuracy of complex five- and six-axis machine tools throughout their entire working envelope.

Full Article