The CTMA Connector July 2011- DOD Maintenance

We welcome the following companies/organizations into NCMS:

Osterhout Design Group (www.osterhoutgroup.com)

Development and manufacture of commercial and DoD electronics devices.

Emerson Process Management LLLP (www.emersonprocess.com)

Emerson is a diversified global manufacturing and technology company offering a wide range of products and services in the areas of network power, process management, industrial automation, climate technologies, and tools and storage businesses. Recognized widely for our engineering capabilities and management excellence, Emerson has approximately 127,700 employees and 240 manufacturing locations worldwide.

New Mexico Computing Applications Center (NMCAC) (www.nmcac.net)

The NMCAC provides innovative and effective solutions to complex challenges by creating partnerships between businesses and organizations that include Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories, New Mexico’s institutions of higher education, and New Mexico’s forward-looking state government. This network draws on the full range of talent in the State while also driving progressive education, workforce and community development efforts that are critical to successfully growing high-tech businesses.

CTMA Project Extension: Validation of Functional Trivalent Chromium Plating Process

Project results to date have validated the trivalent chrome process ablility to successfully pass several key tests. The coating performed comparably to hexavalent chrome for thickness, hardness, adhesion and hydrogen embrittlement. Additionally, the trivalent chrome plating bath tests showed no signs of residual hexavalent chromium after more than 1,400 amp/hrs of use, which indicates the new process does not appear to generate harmful hexavalent chromium ions impacting the environment and worker safety. While initial wear tests at high loads were not favorable, the team strongly believes the failure was due to an unusual microstructure (less dense and columnar in nature) observed in the trivalent chrome samples. The unusual structure introduced various failure modes including cracking of the columnar deposits and liberated columns of material functioning as abrasive particles during the wear tests, particularly during the higher loads wear testing. The cause of the unusual microstructure was felt to be due to a less than optimized process. As such, the project team will perform a “Hull Cell Experiment” to identify more optimal process parameters (e.g., current density and bath temperature) to address the unusual microstructure issue that caused wear test failure.

NCMS Contact is Bill Chenevert, billc@ncms.org, 734-995-7989.

Three CTMA Projects Selected for Great Ideas Competition at the DoD Defense Maintenance Symposium, Fort Worth, November 14-17.

Half the projects being presented at the Great Ideas Competition this year are part of the CTMA program.  Come to the Symposium and vote for one of these projects:

1. Automated Process and Inspection Guide

Overhaul and repair inspections are paper based, conducted over three shifts, not co-located, and are performed by multiple individuals.  This leads to no standardization of data capture and inspection processes.  This project is demonstrating the benefits of replacing inefficient paper-based processes with mobile data capture devices combined with COTS software to guide inspectors.  Anticipated benefits include:  inspection cost reduction, reduced repair cycle time, increased industrial capacity and enhanced failure and trend analysis.

1. Modernization of Metal Electroplating with No-Mask Conforming Anodes

Thousands of metal parts make up expensive vehicles, aircraft, and machinery; some moving, some stationary, all exposed to forces of corrosion and wear. Electroplating is critical to making them perform better and last longer.  Unfortunately, the basic activity of electroplating has not changed substantively in over 100 years. Carefully hand mask areas of a part you wish to protect from plating, and dip in an electrified tank for several hours. Time consuming (masking takes hours and is highly error prone), inefficient (as much as 90% of the electrical power is wasted), and dangerous (plating baths are highly toxic). This CTMA project addresses all issues with a single, powerful solution: eliminate masking labor, achieve faster plating times, and improve uniformity of deposits.

1. Composite Structure Inspection and Repair Preparation Cell (IRPC)

IRPC is a direct response to reducing sustainment cost by increasing the availability and reliability of critical composite structures through replacement of artisan dependant inspection and repair operations with computer based technology. The current manual practice includes tap testing as the detection method, manual scarfing to remove the defect, and manual patch preparation, all contributing elements of inaccuracy and waste. This CTMA project is identifying and demonstrating a suite of integrated technologies to achieve this goal. The baseline artifact selected for evaluation of the technologies is the C-130 Radome although the technique can be applied to new aircraft program materials to identify manufacturing defects as well as structures being refurbished. Defects include delamination, physical damage, and presence of moisture.

New ASTM Additive Manufacturing Specification Answers Need for Standard Interchange File Format

The additive manufacturing industry will greatly benefit from a new ASTM International standard that will allow computer- aided design programs, scanners and 3D graphical editors to communicate with 3D printers and additive manufacturing equipment. The standard will answer the growing need within the industry for a standard interchange file format that can work with features such as color, texture, material, substructure and other properties of a fabricated target object.

The new standard, ASTM F2915, Specification for Additive Manufacturing File Format (AMF), was developed by Subcommittee F42.04 on Design, part of ASTM International Committee F42 on Additive Manufacturing Technologies.

“As additive manufacturing technology is quickly evolving from producing primarily single-material, homogeneous shapes to producing multi-material geometries in full color with functionally graded materials and microstructures, there is a growing need for a standard interchange file format that can support these features,” says Hod Lipson, Ph.D., associate professor, Cornell University, and an F42.04 member. “ASTM F2915 is XML-based, covers these new capabilities and allows for expansion.”  According to Lipson, ASTM F2915 will provide engineers, architects, artists and anyone involved in 3D design and printing to seamlessly transition from design to physical printed object, independent of the specific software or printer hardware being used.  “This is similar to the PDF file format that allows any document to be viewed and printed regardless of the display and printer being used,” says Lipson. “The availability of such a standard is key to growth of the additive manufacture industry and the proliferation of new applications.”

Lipson notes that geometric design software vendors and 3D printer manufacturers will be the primary users of ASTM F2915, but he also says that anyone involved in the design, aggregation, fabrication and consumption of 3D objects using new additive manufacturing technologies would benefit from use of the new standard.  A website with files, documentation and forums for ASTM F2915 is located at www.stl2.com.

The NCMS contact for this program is Connie Philips, conniep@ncms.org, 386-445-2785.

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.