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.

Laser Removal in Action (WMV)

This robotic laser stripping system is capable of removing paint from a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter blade in less than two hours – a time savings of 75% over hand-sanding. The laser system is so precise that it can remove only the top layers of paint, leaving the primer layer intact and not damaging the blade substrate.  When it was done by hand, technicians wore hazmat suits and worked in sweltering heat with toxic stripping chemicals.  Even a small mistake could result in irreparable damage to a $110,000 helicopter blade. This elegant laser system removes that risk. It’s going to save the Department of Defense about 80% in blade refurbishing costs, not to mention the huge time savings.

For more information about this project please contact Phil Callihan, NCMS Executive Director of Communications, at (734) 995-2046 or email philc@ncms.org.

NCMS is seeking participants for a new forming NMRPP project, New Technology Metal Deposition Repair for Navy Ship/Submarine Components.

Current methods of Metal Deposition Repair (MDR) for worn and corroded components are primarily limited to electroplating/conventional welding processes, which have significant limitations for component repair.  New MDRs are needed for valve bodies, valve balls, pump housings, compressors, impellers, shaft components/seals, and many other general wear and sealing areas on ships and submarines.

A number of existing metal deposition capabilities are available which could be applied to Navy component repair, building on existing, proven capabilities.
This project anticipates development of a wider range of repair options for problematic applications.  Significant ROI potential is possible by salvaging components previously scrapped, increased repair longevity, increasing operational availabilities and reducing repair costs of current repair processes (a previous aluminum laser deposition resulted in a cost savings of $35K per torpedo/target shell).  The objectives of the NMRPP New Technology MDR project are:

• perform component selection/ROI analysis
• develop repair process applicable to selected components, including performing metallurgical analyses
• obtain NAVSEA certification for up to three Fleet components.

Additionally, this project seeks to engage machinery OEMs, materials and software developers to achieve the necessary collaborations to develop the potential of these technologies for DoD and industrial applications.  This project currently seeks commercial and Department of Defense participants with an interest in electron beam deposition-welding, direct metal deposition, friction stir processing, metallurgical analysis, laser deposition, kinetic-spray, high velocity oxygenated fuel, and similar technologies related to component repair processes.  NCMS is a non-profit membership organization.  Project Participants must become NCMS members for those collaborative teams who are asked to submit a larger proposal. 

For more information please contact:

Heidi Hottinger heidih@ncms.org (360) 782-1370.

Photo credit U.S. Navy.

NCMS is seeking participants for a new forming NMRPP project, Environmentally Friendly Cutting Solutions. 

The current method employed for large-scale cutting and ship disposal (Oxy-Fuel) creates large quantities of visible emissions, metal fumes and debris.  Federal and State Clean Air Acts prohibit visible emissions greater than 20% opacity.  Attempts to control emissions to comply with these requirements have results in increased project costs and longer schedule duration.  This project will:

1. Develop and implement process improvements to control emissions associated with current cutting methods
2. Investigate steel cutting technologies with productivity comparable to standard flame cutting while meeting environmental requirements
3. Demonstrate effectiveness of these technologies on multiple cutting applications, where opacity levels, dry dock discharges and hazard waste reduction levels meet requirements of local, state and federal laws.

This project currently seeks commercial and Department of Defense participants with an interest in diamond rope cutting, plasma-arc welding, waterjet cutting, laser cutting, or other technology related to large equipment cut-up with minimized opacity generation.   NCMS is a non-profit membership organization.  Project Participants must become NCMS members for those collaborative teams who are asked to submit a larger proposal.

For more information please contact:

Heidi Hottinger heidih@ncms.org (360) 782-1370.

Photo credit U.S. Navy.

On 28 – 29 April, FRC East hosted a Technology Showcase sponsored by the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) through its Commercial Technologies for Maintenance Activities program (CTMA).  The showcase brought leading technology companies into FRC East to see first hand the challenges our maintainers face in order to identify innovative commercial solutions.

The Technology Showcase opened with Col. Loch providing an overview of FRC East operations and Mr. Greg Kilchenstein from OSD’s Maintenance Policy and Programs office providing an overview of maintenance technology’s role in DoD’s overarching strategy and he outlined the Commercial Technologies for Maintenance Activities program as proven technology transition venue.  NCMS member companies were given a comprehensive tour of FRC East operations and facilities.  Next on the agenda were table top displays, strategically located throughout the depot to ensure easy access for all base personnel to see the technologies  The table top displays provided industry representatives a unique opportunity to learn about challenges faced directly by the maintainers.  The first day concluded with a networking event at the “The Pitt.”  The second day was dedicated to one-on-one industry presentations with base personnel regarding solutions with immediate potential for deployment at FRC East.

The Technology Showcase was a powerful example of how the CTMA Program fast tracks innovative technical solutions from private industry directly into the hands of DoD personnel to increase systems availability while reducing cost.

NCMS members displaying technology included DIT-MCO International, Aging Aircraft Consulting, LLC, Superior Controls, iMAST/ARL (Penn State), Stratasys, Eclypse International, Adapt Laser Systems, Automated Precision, Inc., Aerowing, Imaginestics, LLC, Spatial Integrated Systems, Inc.,  Spectro Inc., GSA Service Company,  POM Group, REI Systems, Inc., and Pendaran Inc.,

Three CTMA projects have been formed to immediately meet FRC East needs:

• Wiring Shop Modernization - upgrade the capability to build and test wiring harnesses, currently very labor and time intensive.
• Automated Robotic Blade Stripping System (ARBSS) - Provide a reliability upgrade and training.  In addition, assess the challenges for wider deployment of automated paint stripping technology.
• Large Area Inspection of Composite Parts- evaluate and identify improved methods for detecting damage to composite aircraft components.

The Commercial Technologies for Maintenance Activities (CTMA) Program is collaboration between the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences, its member companies, and the Department of Defense (DoD).  Under an historic Cooperative Agreement between NCMS and the OSD Office for Maintenance Policy and Programs,, NCMS and its member companies co-sponsor technology development, deployment and validation with DoD organic maintenance activities.  The current focus is the use of maintenance related technologies to reduce the costs associated with maintenance and rebuild of weapons systems as an element of the overall DoD maintenance strategy.

By partnering with NCMS government services members, the organic DoD maintenance activities are able to quickly assess the benefits of new manufacturing technologies in their own facilities, working side-by-side with industry leaders solving manufacturing problems through collaboration.

NCMS is the largest cross-industry collaborative research and development consortium in North America, and is the only consortium in the U.S. devoted exclusively to maintenance technologies, processes and practices. NCMS has nearly 25 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.

The next Technology Showcase will be 8 – 9 June at the Marine Corps Logistics Base, Albany Maintenance Center in Albany, Georgia.

NCMS as the premier provider of collaborative research, information, knowledge and expertise to the North American manufacturing and defense community has spearheaded numerous technology developments to drive innovation for American manufacturers. Today, one of America’s greatest competitive assets is our high performance computing (HPC) capability. This tool set has been steadily developed and utilized by our nation’s government laboratories and largest industrial companies for many years, contributing to the success of many missions. This massive processing capability will be a significant enabler for U.S. manufacturing and related industries, and key to sustaining our global innovation leadership. If shared throughout our entire manufacturing base, including small and medium sized manufacturers, our competitiveness in the world will be enhanced. 

To achieve this end, the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences is developing a national innovation network: a knowledge infrastructure which leverages the wealth of talent, ideas and facilities within our nation’s universities, national labs and industrial research centers so that we can innovate smarter, faster, and more predictably.

Learn More About this Project Opportunity

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

NCMS is partnering with the Department of Energy (DOE) to identify and develop critical manufacturing technologies vital to the affordable manufacturing of alternative energy systems.  THe call for Concept Papers will be used to select projects to be funded by this program.  

NCMS is interested in Concept Papers in the following areas:

• Advanced composite manufacturing technologies that will enable process automation for wind blade manufacturing including process automation and advanced curing technologies for higher throughput. 
• Advanced joining technologies to reduce the cost of manufacturing and installing wind turbines. 

Collaborations are expected.

Available Funding / Cost Share Requirements

Approximately $220,000 of funding is available for each project, which will require an additional 1:1 cost share.  

Timeline

Two page Concept Papers need to be emailed to Chuck Ryan, chuckr@ncms.org by 5 pm EST, March 31, 2010.  Please follow the attached template.  Selected teams will be asked to develop a larger proposal (12-15 pages) based on the same template. 

NCMS Membership Requirement

NCMS is a non-profit membership organization.  Project Participants must become NCMS members for those collaborative teams who are asked to submit a larger proposal.   Please see the web site for details:  www.ncms.org  

Please direct questions to Chuck Ryan via email.

Chuck Ryan, Ph.D.
Vice President, Technology
chuckr@ncms.org

Concept Proposal Format and Instructions Template.doc (56.50 kb)

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