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| December 2010
Welcome to The CTMA Connector, a monthly newsletter designed to provide news and ideas about the Commercial Technologies for Maintenance Activities (CTMA) program. The CTMA program is a joint Department of Defense/National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (DoD/NCMS) effort promoting collaborative technology development between industry and the DoD maintenance and repair facilities. This newsletter highlights ongoing projects, serves as a forum for promoting new project ideas, and provides other news of interest to the program. Our goal is to stimulate your participation and solicit your input. Feel free to submit items for the newsletter as well as any suggestions to make it more useful. More information about the program can be found at http://ctma.ncms.org/. To subscribe or unsubscribe to the CTMA Connector, send a message to: listserv@listserv.ncms.org with “subscribe CTMANewsletter” or “unsubscribe CTMANewsletter” in the message body. We welcome the following companies/organizations into NCMS: InTheWorks, Inc. (www.intheworks.com) InTheWorks, Inc. (ITW) is a clean tech start-up company focusing on developing and licensing technology that will set standards in marine emissions reduction. The premiere offering is a patent-pending catalytic converter that has achieved groundbreaking results for gasoline marine engines, eliminating most of the harmful emissions and with added benefits to enhance the boating experience. The technology was developed on high performance engines and is unrivalled by any currently available exhaust systems. Edison Welding Institute (EWI) (www.ewi.org) Since the early 1980s, EWI has helped manufacturers in the aerospace, automotive, defense, energy and chemical, government, heavy manufacturing, and electronics industries improve their productivity, time to market, and profitability through innovative materials joining and allied technologies. Picometrix, LLC (www.picometrix.com) High speed optoelectronics, high speed optical receivers and terahertz inspection and metrology systems. Battelle (www.battelle.org) Battelle is the worlds largest, independent research and development organization, working to advance scientific discovery and application. Eastern Michigan University (www.emich.edu) Constitutionally incorporated Michigan institution of higher education providing an array of academic programs to more than 23,000 graduate and undergraduate students. Registration now open: 2011 CTMA Symposium April 4-6 Quantico, VA The Symposium will focus on the rapid response to the needs of the warfighter and will include DoD experts on warfighter needs, depot commanders outlining their current needs, project showcases/presentations, as well as highlighting other DoD-sponsored programs. The working agenda can be found at http://www.ncms.org/2011CTMA/agenda.htm. Two CTMA projects win awards at the Defense Manufacturing Conference Winner Collaborative Team Small Business Category- Modernization of Metal Electroplating with No-Mask Conforming Anodes NCMS managed this innovative R&D project working with Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD), Naval Fleet Readiness Center (FRC) Southwest, Advanced Tooling Corporation (ATC), and CAI Resources to reduce the cost and environmental impact of the electroplating process. The project team created a completely unique approach to a technological process that had otherwise gone largely unchanged for nearly a century. The projects No Mask Conforming Anodes resulted in amazing reductions in process time and $990,000 in immediate savings from the two most recent pilots. The process also all but eliminates toxic hazardous waste resulting from masking materials common in previous methods. Reusable, sustainable, and highly efficient, No Mask Conforming Anodes promise to revolutionize the world of electroplating. The team estimates that if this technology were deployed across the Department of Defense (DOD), a savings of over $50,000,000 could result over the next three years alone, with an overall process time improvement of 35-50%, all translating into improved readiness for the warfighter and reliability of platforms. Limited deployment has already generated an additional $7,280,000 in savings. Please visit http://www.ncms.org/NoMaskShowcase/Player.html to view two videos on this exciting new innovation Winner Collaborative Team Large Business Category- Automated Robotic Blade Stripping System (ARBSS) NCMS brought together the Keyport Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC), Naval Fleet Readiness Center (FRC) East, Penn State Applied Research Laboratory, General Lasertronics Corporation, Sikorsky Aircraft Company, and Michigan based Koops, Inc. to create an innovative solution for the refurbishment of helicopter blades. FRC East refurbishes up to 150 helicopter rotor blades each month. First, workers must remove the topcoat of paint using air-driven orbital sanders. The slow, error-prone process demands hours of tedious labor in a sweltering, hazardous environment. Personnel must wear protection equipment to avoid toxic dust inhalation. Stress injuries, fatigue, and lost time are significant problems. Hand sanding the paint off a blade is a skillfull art, but can still result in many damaged blades. Determined to improve this process with advanced laser and vision systems, the ARBSS team developed a proven automated robotic laser paint stripping technology that strips helicopter blades 75% faster than traditional methods, with practically zero error. This process is expected to save $900,000 annually, eliminates the generation of secondary hazardous waste, and provides an unprecedented level of safety and comfort for the maintainers. These two winning projects brings the total number of DMC awards to 9 for the CTMA program. Congratulations to each of the teams. We appreciate your feedback. Please contact Chuck Ryan with suggestions or input on other topics that would be of interest to you in this newsletter. The CTMA Program is sponsored by the Department of Defense; the content of this newsletter does not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the government; no official endorsement should be inferred. |
| © 2010 |
