Photo By Teri Carnicelli | (Left to right) Jason Bickford, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division...... read more read more
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Engineers’ redesign of a costly wrench that will help Sailors fix hard-to-reach cables took First Place at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division’s (NSWC PHD) first-ever Office of Technology (00T) and In-Service Engineering Agent of the Future (ISEAotF) Additive Manufacturing Grand Challenge.
Electronics Engineer Tyler Jones and Senior ISEA Christopher Lujan won the challenge with their design of two SPQ-9B wrenches. Colin Thatcher took Second Place for his design of a RoRo cabinet install fixture which helps installation engineers perform their work quicker and more efficiently, while Austin Cronk’s A Scope Bezel design received Third Place.
The May 15 event, a “Hack-a-thon” type challenge held via MS Teams, aimed to introduce Additive Manufacturing (AM) to the wider PHD ISEA workforce as well as increase the command’s use of AM to meet program and fleet requirements. As ISEAs are responsible for modernizing technology within Navy systems to improve ships’ reliability, maintainability and readiness, AM is a promising technology in its mission of fleet support.
The event challenged engineers, technicians and logisticians to find parts or components that can be 3D printed to minimize inventory, provide the Navy a new source of low-cost items, and eventually be 3D printed on ships in the near future to nearly eliminate the current timeline to get replacement parts.
“AM technology, if implemented with engineering rigor and discipline, presents enormous potential for our Navy,” said NSWC PHD Deputy Technical Director Vance Brahosky, and one of the event “sharks,” or judges. “We here in the ISEA community must now harness AM to give the fleet an additional margin over our adversaries.”
For the challenge, candidates used computer-aided design software to design a part, tool or fixture that could potentially be included in the Navy’s Allowance Part List or Allowance Equipment List databases of durable materials needed to support a deployed system.
The candidates presented their designs and printed prototypes during a “Shark Tank”-like event and pitched their ideas to a panel of “sharks.” The “sharks” included NSWC PHD’s Technical Director Paul Mann, Brahosky; then Chief Engineer Capt. Andrew Hoffman; Engineering and Logistics Directors Arman Hovakemian and Tim Carpenter; Alan Jaeger with the Office of Research and Technology Applications; and Jim Pluta, a member of the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) 05T Additive Manufacturing Tech Warrant Holder’s office. PHD AM Lead Armen Kvryan with Research Manager and ISEA of the Future Engineering Lead Jason Bickford coordinated and oversaw the challenge.
Jones, one of the First Place winners, with the help of Keith Sander of the Engineering Development Lab, designed two versions of the original SPQ-9B wrench no longer in standard production. Both were tools Sailors needed, Jones said, and nothing commercially available was long enough or provided the needed torque.
“The SMA wrenches help to eliminate bad connections and save troubleshooting time as well as ensure product performance by providing the specified torque to each connection,” Jones explained. “The length and offset wrench head also provides a way to reach otherwise difficult areas of shipboard equipment. The wrench also does not have the contracting cost and processing time that an outside contract would bring, so it has the ability to reach the fleet in larger quantities and quicker.”
He turned to his senior engineer, Lujan, to communicate with the fleet and the command on what was needed. The two wrenches have the same application but one is longer to reach areas harder to get to.
“Both types of wrenches have a specified torque designed into them which prevents the SMA cables from being overtightened, resulting in the solder joint to crack,” Lujan explained. “Once these joints crack the cable must be replaced. They are not procured items so restoring the system can take a while. Depending on the cable, this can severely impact the systems’ availability.”
The Navy intends to eventually equip Sailors aboard ships with AM machines to print parts as needed, often within hours, rather than wait days or weeks to have them delivered. To help with this effort, Kvryan, with the help of the ISEAotF, has developed a course on AM for engineers or Sailors to explain AM capabilities and limitations as well as recommended applications.
“This event demonstrated the value and range of applications AM promises for the ISE community,” Bickford said. “Low hanging fruit like hand tools and support fixtures don’t have the same safety or performance concerns, so it is a great place for us to start. Many people think printing parts for our systems is our goal, but often the tools that help us do our jobs better have immediate and lasting impact. Today we print at Port Hueneme; tomorrow we will be printing on our ships!”
During the event, Hoffman dared the team to innovate to support the mission.
“Continue to go out and push yourselves to come up with great ideas such as the ones presented,” he said. “This is how we transform and modernize the ISEA community. We have many tools at our fingertips here with the Fathomwerx Innovation Lab and the EDL that help us keep the Sailors ready.”
Jaeger added that “when technology converges, like in AM, we move forward and it helps keep us at the competitive edge.”
The challenge came with a prize pool. Lujan and Jones will receive $1,000 between them and will have the opportunity to have additional other parts additively manufactured. The other two winners will each receive $500. The command will also help develop the AM technical data packages for future components and final designs will be sent to NAVSEA 05T for awareness and tracking.
“It’s always refreshing to see the creativity that comes from those who are close to the tactical solutions,” Pluta said.
The 00T AM group has asked the winners to begin 3D printing prototypes at the command’s Fathomwerx lab, recently announced as the NavalX Ventura Tech Bridge, and the EDL.
“It is a fulfilling feeling to win the AM Grand Challenge as well as to directly support the fleet,” Jones said.
For Lujan the recognition “feels great,” he said.
“It’s a combination of knowing our ISEA team provided a valuable product to the fleet that is recognized by our command, but also that we’ve improved the supportability of our system.” he said.
| Date Taken: | 07.15.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 07.15.2020 12:14 |
| Story ID: | 373951 |
| Location: | PORT HUENEME, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 478 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, NSWC Port Hueneme Division’s First Additive Manufacturing Grand Challenge Deemed a Success and Names Winners, by Carol Lawrence, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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