The CTMA Connector

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.

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SEE YOU IN QUANTICO NEXT WEEK

U.S. Marine Corps Land Systems Technology Sustainment Workshop

February 26 - 27, 2008

Marine Corps Base Quantico

Information at:

https://www.ncms.org/SSL/08CTMA-Quantico/08-registration.htm

LEARN MORE ABOUT DoD SUSTAINMENT NEEDS AT:

2008 Annual CTMA Working Symposium

"Call to Collaborate"

April 7 - 9

Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards

110 South Eutaw Street

Baltimore, Maryland 21201

Phone (800) 228-9290

For best rates and convenience we recommend that you reserve your room as soon as possible!!

Symposium Registration at:

https://www.ncms.org/SSL/Symposium2008/registration08.htm

Who Should Attend:

Industry – Defense OEMs, commercial industry, and technology providers for both manufacturing and sustainment operations
DoD Maintainers, Logisticians, and Program Managers

Benefits:

Networking between DoD and industry to identify areas of common issues / needs and strategies for solutions
Industry – gain knowledge of DoD sustainment issues

Plenary Session features speakers for across the Services and from the Office of the Secretary of Defense to share their needs and requirements for improved weapon system readiness.

Highlights of several award-winning CTMA projects will be featured as well.

Three Track Sessions will explore issues in more depth and initiate new collaborative projects:

Sustainment Operations
Data Management
Reliability & Readiness

Is your company or facility interested in more visibility at the Symposium? Sponsor a meal or networking event. Contact Debbie Lilu at 734-995-7038, debral@ncms.org.

New Project Formation: Laser Projection of Camouflage and Stencil Patterns

Problem/Impact: Application of camouflage and stencil patterns is currently a manual method dependent on the skill of the technician. This project aims to

reduce the time required to chalk the surface of a system,
change over to another system,

make the painting operation more efficient,

reduce the disruption of the product flow, and

increase quality

by ascertaining a methodology of converting "paper"-based camouflage (or other) patterns to digital information and then using this digital information in projecting a 3-D pattern with a laser projector upon the product surface. Currently, laser projection technology is used in composite lay-up and machining. We are looking to broaden the usefulness of the technology to the application of camouflage patterns or other patterning needs within the Depot and industrial community. We are seeking the participation of potential Government and industrial users of this technology who are willing to join this team and contribute to the methods devised and to evaluate system performance and report potential benefits associated with using this capability over current manual methods.

The NCMS contact is Constance J.S. Philips, 386-445-2785, conniep@ncms.org.

New Project Approval: Volumetric Accuracy of Large Machine Tools

DoD Participants: Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Norfolk Naval Shipyard (Philadelphia Detachment)

The Volumetric Accuracy of Large Machine Tools (VALMT) project addresses a problem common to all services – that of maintaining precision positioning across large working envelopes of machine tools designed to handle very large parts such as Navy propellers, aircraft structural parts, and large armored vehicles where individual axis measurements may be tens of meters. It is difficult to measure linear distances in that range accurately, much more difficult to maintain machine tool positioning accuracy.

Navy propeller surfaces require precision contours to minimize cavitation noise. Production cycle times on the order of 36 months are common with much time consumed by repeated machine/inspect/add metal/grind/ cycles until the required accuracy is achieved. Historically each such cycle required that the propeller be moved from the machine tool to an inspection center and back. The CTMA project High Performance 3D Scanning System relieved the need to remove the part from the machine for inspection. This project will develop a tool kit that will map position errors over the entire working volume of the machine tool and then apply active real time position error compensation so that machining accuracy of less than 0.005” can be maintained over the entire working volume. The combination of the two technologies promises to dramatically reduce rework requirements, thereby reducing production cycle times.

Aircraft structural parts such as spars, ribs, and bulkheads are subject to the same machining accuracy limitations. The result is that airframe assembly requires considerable hand drilling and custom shimming which adds weight to the aircraft and extra time to the production cycle. Again, this project promises to greatly reduce the need for hand drilling and shimming.

The NCMS contact is Tony Haynes, tonyh@ncms.org, 734-995-4930.

Participants needed on New Project Ideas: Submit and view project ideas at http://ctmaideas.ncms.org. Add your comments to new project ideas and indicate your interest in helping to define and participate in the project.

We now have over 70 new project ideas submitted for the CTMA program. These projects are all being reviewed with the individual services in order to seek funding to augment the 2008 CTMA funding directed by Congress. Keep the ideas coming, because they also serve to illustrate the tremendous need for new technologies to increase weapon systems readiness.

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.