The CTMA Connector June 2011 DOD Maintenance

listserv@listserv.ncms.org with “subscribe CTMANewsletter” or “unsubscribe CTMANewsletter” in the message body.

We welcome the following companies/organizations into NCMS:

The National Center for Technology Advancement (NCTA) (www.tnctech.org)

The National Center for Technology Advancement (NCTA) and its subsidiary organizations apply and extend the application of digital sciences for enhanced development and empowerment through technology innovation. Serving at the intersection of governmental, educational, and private sectors, the NCTA was created to act as the umbrella non-profit modeled on the success of its first subsidiary, the National Agribusiness Technology Center (NATC), across multiple domains.

The Ohio State University/ Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC) (www.osc.edu)

The Ohio Supercomputer Center is a statewide resource that provides supercomputing services and computational science expertise to Ohio university researchers as well as Ohio industries. OSC has provided these services for over twenty years, and in fiscal year 2008 we estimate that Ohio researchers that use OSC have won over $85M of research funding for Ohio – a return on investment of 17:1.

General Dynamics – OTS ( www.gd-ots.com)

General Dynamics-Ordnance and Tactical Systems empowers the U.S. military and its allies with an extensive range of overarching product segments.. applied across all levels of strategic and tactical operations.

CTMA Project Extension: RARE Parts through “Rapid Manufacturing & Repair” (Phase III)

DoD participants:  Fleet Readiness Center East; 2. Fleet Readiness Center Southeast; Trident Refit Facility, Kings Bay; Oklahoma City Air Logistic Center; Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Keyport; Anniston Army Depot; Corpus Christi Army Depot;Tobyhanna Army Depot; Portsmouth Naval Shipyard; Naval Foundry & Propeller Center; Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard;  NAVAIR  China Lake

This active project is focused on advancing the maturation of a new transformational manufacturing industry, Additive Manufacturing (AM), for use within DoD maintenance activities through technology insertion, technology-knowledge deployment, and standards formation.  DoD and industry continue to join the project team with the additions of Corpus Christi Army Depot and Baxter Healthcare.  Maintenance activities are acquiring Additive Manufacturing equipment now with their own funding and learning through team involvement how to best implement the technologies within their depots.

Through the efforts of this team and with the AM community at large, members are involved in ASTM standards generation through ASTM F-42 Committee.  The pace of national and international activity has quickened over the past two years, with the establishment of the ASTM F-42 Committee (over 120 members world-wide), and with the adoption of AM by an increasing number of DoD Maintenance activities.  We are on the cusp of sweeping changes in how DoD will perform manufacturing and repairs.  With the additional 20 months time, the project team will continue these current activities, will evaluate new AM software that enables .stl file accommodations uniquely for varying AM processes to produce any 3D AM part design, and will evaluate and perform Design of Experiment studies on new lower-end machines to measure their fabrication capabilities against the team’s current AM equipment capabilities.  If these lower end machines (SLA and FDM types) allow users to make accurate 3D structures, albeit more slowly, and with material properties equal to currently utilized SLA and FDM machines, low quantity tooling and masking could be economically made by any depot or in the field on these small, portable and relatively inexpensive machines.

Additionally, the team continues to follow the materials development occurring for EOS and ARCAM metals processes, favored by NAVAIR and the Air Force, and the polymers and rubber-like materials that can produce gaskets, plugs and seals on the Objet Connex, possibly for use in field repair.  Reverse engineering studies comparing inspection/software systems using a standard test piece, Amber, continues as well.   Team members having acquired new inspection systems will use Amber to assess the accuracy and fidelity of their systems.

NCMS Program Manager is Connie Philips, conniep@ncms.org, 386-445-2785.

NCMS Partners with Navy to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) through remotely operated vehicle challenges

NCMS is working with the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Keyport to manage its Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) program focused on Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) on the Kitsap Penisula. The cooperative agreement between NCMS and NUWC Keyport will support the Department of Defense’s (DoD) mission of scientific outreach and education in working to nurture future scientists capable of providing support to the development of DoD identified critical technologies.

The current lack of robotics-specific degreed engineers and technicians poses a serious threat to future development and deployment of robotic and unmanned systems which are integral to ensuring the safety of the warfighter. This program will inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers by engaging students, kindergarten through college, in STEM-related hands-on learning activities using Navy content, preparing them for future employment in ROV disciplines, supporting academic institutions or the naval contractor community. Finally, it will help employ, retain and develop naval STEM professionals to support this technologically advanced sector.

NCMS will leverage its experience in workforce training and interactive games-based learning to ensure that an educated and well-prepared ROV workforce is available to meet both naval and national competitiveness needs.

The NCMS contact is Doyle Maleche, doylem@ncms.org, 360-782-1370.

Make plans next year for the 2012 CTMA Symposium

26-29 March, San Diego

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.