Timely access to technical data is a pervasive Depot need. Whether it is a crucial broken part where no computer model or even drawings are available, or a maintenance technician in a tight airframe crawlspace needing information to diagnose a new problem just identified, the problem is timely access to technical data.

For a broken part, the ability to quickly reverse engineer a new computer model of the part isn’t enough. The model must be delivered to process planners and part programmers for the creation of a manufacturing process, and then to Quality for validation that the part does indeed meet requirements. In today’s world, the model, manufacturing process, quality plan, and validation results are all stored and managed electronically in Product Data Management (PDM) systems or their modern instantiation, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems.

For the maintenance technician diagnosing a problem just the reduction or elimination of trips to the library of technical orders (TOs) and drawings isn’t enough. Access must be framed in the proper context and that means the context of the work control business processes. The com­bination of work control and access to technical data implies the conversion of current paper-based business processes to electronic ones plus mobile access to the controlling information system.

The OptiCAM/I-POMX project focuses on two seemingly disparate functions; 3D imaging for reverse engineering applications (OptiCAM) and the integration of a powerful tool for mobile access to an information system that can deliver work control documents and technical data to the point-of-maintenance (I-POMX). The uni­fying factor is UGS PLM Solutions’ Teamcenter^™ product. 3D images captured by OptiCAM can be delivered as Unigraphics solid models to Teamcenter^™ for presentation to downstream applications. Battlefield damage teams can capture accurate surface models of damage and attach them to AFTO-97 documents. They can access solid models of underlying structure to better predict internal damage, all at computer speeds.

The OptiCAM system developed in Phase I was tested at Tinker AFB for both Aircraft Battle Damage Reports (ABDR) and for rapid reverse engineering. It met first year requirements for both applications. Phase II enhancements, which will be proposed to OSD, will improve scan accuracy and strengthen integration with Teamcenter^™.

Issues that remain to be addressed for the OptiCAM system to be production worthy include:

• Scan accuracy improved to better than 0.005 inch.

• Progress toward “hands free” conversion of scanned images to surfaces and solids

• Integration with Teamcenter^™

• System specification for COTS components.

OptiCAM has already yielded strong indications of significant benefits that can be derived from its application to Depot processes. The lid for an electronics module, though not flight critical, was run through an entire rapid manufacturing process. Completion of the necessary scans, conversion to a solid model, and output as an STL file required less than half a day’s work. Manufacturing a part on Solidica’s rapid manu­facturing system required only a few hours. Bottom line—non-flight critical parts that lack technical data can be reverse engineered and manufactured in a day or two, depending on size and complexity.

The Navy is keenly interested in OptiCAM. Norfolk and Pearl Harbor have expressed interest in using OptiCAM for ship checks. Puget Sound would like to use it for component applications ranging from propellers to piping.

The I-POMX system underwent a very limited pilot in the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center (OC-ALC) Engine Shop in Phase I. The pilot successfully demonstrated huge potential for information mobility at the point-of-maintenance, but also served to clearly identify issues that must be addressed in follow-on work before the system is production worthy. The issues include:

• A better definition of mobility needs is indicated. Tablet personal computers (PCs) with wireless access to the information technology (IT) system are not required for every application. A study is needed to build use-case scenarios for the different applications so that client requirements may be defined.

• A requirements specification for client platforms is needed. The specification must address physical as well as logical require­ments.

• For those applications that require wireless access, the current OC-ALC wireless infrastructure isn’t adequate. An upgrade is planned by OC-ALC outside this project.

• A study is needed to define the work scope and requirements for integrating necessary technical data repositories and work control systems with I-POMX. The study should be followed by an integration task within the context of the I-POMX project.

• In preparation for integration, existing Teamcenter^™ installations at OC-ALC need to be upgraded as necessary for consistency.

• A study is needed to define the requirements and cost of a limited-scale production pilot of the I-POMX system. A small scale production pilot (one shop for example) could be done within the context of the I-POMX project. A large scale production rollout would be outside the Commercial Technologies Maintenance Activities (CTMA) scope.

The brief I-POMX pilot executed in Phase I was too limited to yield precise savings or productivity improvement data but did yield solid indications of significant future benefits. Improvements cited include:

• Engineering personnel cited significant benefits in receiving electronic notification that parts required disposition, and also in their subsequent digital interface with the H-240 Form as parts flowed through the non-conforming material request (NCMR) process. Given the size of Tinker AFB and the paper-bound existing process, in which the H-240 Forms and the work control documents (WCDs) physically travel with the parts, these capabilities save significant time and effort.

• Engineering and Maintenance personnel cited the ability to access TOs through the I-POMX wireless PC interface as a significant advantage.

• The responsible Maintenance supervisor estimated that the overall flow-day savings associated with I-POMX Phase I capabili­ties was to have been between one and two weeks. Of this, two to three days were estimated to have been driven by improved Engineering responsiveness enabled by the I-POMX tools.

Comparison of I-POMX pilot results to the NCMR records for 1,800 parts indicates a savings in throughput time on the order of 40% (i.e. average throughput time reduced from 11 to 7 days). NCMR personnel cited another benefit of I-POMX was eliminating the problem of re-creating records if the paper H-240 Form, which physically traveled with the parts, was lost. Assuming I-POMX is implemented for the entire NCMR process and using industry stan­dard values for labor, inventory carrying costs and so forth, the yearly savings is estimated at approximately $734,000, the ROI at 510% and the payback period 2.3 months.

The ultimate vision for I-POMX is that the system replace virtually any paper-based process with an electronic one, providing significant productivity benefits through electronic access to rich data sets, real-time error checking, asso­ciation of supporting documents, elimination of transport delay, electronic notification of work assignments, and knowledge capture. It can benefit any Depot. Portsmouth NSY has joined Phase I as an observer and expects to receive a pilot when Phase III is funded in FY 2005.

Both OptiCAM and I-POMX demonstrated great promise in Phase I but neither is yet production worthy. Both need additional work to achieve that promise. A Phase II proposal is in progress.

Table 1 lists the team partners who participated in the OptiCAM/I-POMX project. More detail about the project partners can be found in Appendix A.