NAVSUP WSS Navy Price Fighters have 3D printing costs on the ropes

Photo By Kelly Luster | The Mission of NAVSUP Weapon Systems Support (NAVSUP WSS) (formerly known as Naval Inventory Control Point (NAVICP)) is to provide Navy, Marine Corps, Joint and Allied Forces program and supply support for the weapon systems that keep our Naval forces MISSION READY. This mission is carried out by a single command organization operating in Mechanicsburg, Pa., Norfolk, Va. and Philadelphia. Here is the headquarters building in Mechanicsburg.  

NORFOLK, VA, UNITED STATES

11.09.2021

Story by Angela King-Sweigart 

NAVSUP Weapon Systems Support

NORFOLK, Va.- Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) Weapon Systems Support (WSS) Navy Price Fighters’ Additive Manufacturing (AM) team created a computer program for federal agencies to help them determine whether additive manufacturing—also called 3D printing—or traditional manufacturing is more cost effective for complex machinery replacement parts.

After researching, the team found the academic literature was not fully accounting for the unique additive manufacturing process in the Department of Defense, so the team developed their own set of equations and tools, according to Stephen Kuhn-Hendricks, NAVSUP WSS general engineer who holds a doctorate in biology.

“We began seeing options to use additive manufacturing for parts in the government contracts we work on as part of our duties as Navy Price Fighters,” said Ernesto Ureta, NAVSUP WSS senior operations research analyst. “This is something that is relatively new, and we had to find a good solution to evaluate these options.”

The team members, William Peterson, Ureta, Timothy Vorakoumane, and Kuhn-Hendricks are part of NAVSUP WSS Navy Price Fighters. The department has long been a key NAVSUP WSS player offering engineering-based cost and price analysis support to Department of the Navy, Department of Defense and civilian federal agencies’ acquisition workforce. The new AM computer program is an additional way Price Fighters’ expertise supports the workforce.

Several factors are used when evaluating if additive manufacturing is a good option. The factors include answers to questions like:
• Is the part obsolete?
• Will the part require a long time to procure?
• Can the design of the part be improved upon?
• What is the build volume of the part?
• What is the cost?

Ureta and Kuhn-Hendricks focused on both the cost and time factor of the evaluation as part of their Navy Price Fighter mission.

“What we saw were costing models that did not fully take into account the engineering costs of additive manufacturing,” explained Ureta. “It’s true that a part’s materials may cost less than traditional manufacturing, but when examined more fully, the total amount was often not including all the engineering or labor costs involved with designing that part.
Designing a complex replacement part to be 3D printed could take days or weeks of an engineer’s time.”

Focusing on the hidden labor costs along with other factors provides a full picture of what additive manufacturing actually costs the customer and how to trade-off between cost and time saving, according to Kuhn-Hendricks.

“What we did was develop a computer program where the end user inputs a few variables and then the program evaluates if additive manufacturing is right for them,” he said. “The program is designed to be very simple and user-friendly. It can be used down at the unit level. You don’t need a degree in engineering.”

While the current program may be easy to use, it involved months of behind-the-scenes testing and evaluation. “The program was presented at the AM conference where fellow engineers evaluated it. It passed,” said Kuhn-Hendricks.

Ureta and Kuhn-Hendricks encourage other federal agencies evaluating 3D printing options in contracts to call them if they need assistance with evaluating the options.

“Because,” said Ureta, “Just because you can manufacture a part, does not mean you should.”

For more information about NAVSUP WSS Price Fighter Services visit: www.navsup.navy.mil/public/navsup/products_services/pfs/.
NAVSUP WSS is one of 11 commands under Commander, NAVSUP. Headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, NAVSUP employs a diverse, worldwide workforce of more than 22,500 military and civilian personnel. NAVSUP and the Navy Supply Corps conduct and enable supply chain, acquisition, operational logistics and Sailor & family care activities with our mission partners to generate readiness and sustain naval forces worldwide to prevent and decisively win wars. The Navy Price Fighters AM Team works under the direction of their director Buster Jones and supervisor Jon Davenport. Learn more at www.navsup.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/navsupwss and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/navsup-wss/.

• Date Taken: 11.09.2021
• Date Posted: 11.09.2021 16:33
• Story ID: 409030
• Location: NORFOLK, VA, US