Photo By Daniel DeAngelis | Securing our workforce with the tools they need to succeed! Norfolk Naval Shipyard...... read more read more
Through a partnership with Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s (NNSY) Inside Machine Shop Mechanical Group (Code 931), Production Facilities Department (Code 900F), and the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP), NNSY recently welcomed a new Machine Tool Research (MTR) Computer Numerical Control (CNC) shaft lathe to its arsenal within Shop 31, fitting the team with the tools needed to grow the workload of shafts at the shipyard.
As part of the NNSY Machine Shop's modernization and consolidation initiative, the team sought new equipment to meet the needs of the ongoing shaft repairs done within the yard and the increase of propulsion shaft repairs. With aging equipment spanning across nearly 70 years, this new acquisition was needed to increase capabilities and to allow for the older equipment to get the repairs and upgrades needed while not affecting production.
“The bulk of a shaft’s restoration work must take place in a lathe – and with aging equipment being unreliable due to needed repairs, this work can become a bottleneck,” said Code 900F.21 Engineering Tech/Project Manager Kamau Adams. “We had three lathes that would constantly require maintenance, making it harder to keep up with the need. With the purchase of this fourth lathe, we can now focus on getting the work done while also upgrading our new lathes. And though these upgrades will take time, the payback will be an increase in capacity that will ensure NNSY excels in shaft repairs for the enterprise.”
The project began building the package for the $22 million lathe, the official groundbreaking of the project taking place in January 2024. Through challenges in infrastructure and foundation, the new shaft lathe was fully operational and turned over to Shop 31 June 30, 2025. The shipyard held a ribbon cutting ceremony July 28 to celebrate the new tool and the teamwork that went into bringing it to NNSY.
“This project has been a tremendous undertaking and this shaft lathe is our pride within Shop 31,” said Code 931 Group Superintendent Benny Bray. “Here at Norfolk, we do shafting across three different class availabilities – so it’s important that we have these lathes operational. This project was a huge undertaking and was a testament to the amazing teamwork with our NNSY shops, NAVFAC, NAVSEA, SIOP and more getting the lathe acquired, delivered, installed, and operational. It took a lot of work and coordination – and together, we reached the finish line with first class quality.”
Then Shipyard Commander Capt. Jip Mosman was first with the command as the Production Resource Officer (Code 900) when the initial project was established and was excited to see it reach the finish line. “It’s great to see Shop 31 getting this new lathe installed and seeing our workforce able to get the work done with this state-of-the-art machine. It’s important that we at America’s Shipyard fit our teammates with the tools they need to succeed – and this was a big win as we continue to expand in our capabilities for shaft repair,” said Mosman.
“NNSY acquired this shaft lathe to ensure the missions of the fleet can be met and that all shaft repairs can be delivered on time to ship availability and rotatable pool schedules,” said Adams. “We’re in line to receive one more lathe – which will continue to increase our capacity so we can serve our mission.”
This is the third of five shaft lathes purchased under the SIOP, a comprehensive, long-term recapitalization effort that is delivering integrated investments in infrastructure and industrial plant equipment at the Navy’s four public shipyards, expanding shipyard capacity and optimizing shipyard configuration to meet the Navy’s nuclear-powered fleet maintenance requirements.
Previously, NNSY’s shaft lathes were operating in a degraded state. Installing a new lathe improves reliability and capacity, and standardizing shaft lathes allows workers to immediately operate the equipment at any of the four naval shipyards when needed.
Recapitalizing the shipyards' century-old infrastructure increases maintenance throughput and improves quality of service for the Navy’s 38,000 shipyard employees.
Since 2018, SIOP has completed nearly 50 facilities projects, totaling approximately $1 billion, including utilities, flood protection, and training facilities. Almost 300 items of industrial plant equipment, valued at over $600 million, have been delivered, including new cranes, faster and more precise shaft lathes, 5-axis routers, and precision cutting machines.
| Date Taken: | 09.02.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.02.2025 07:18 |
| Story ID: | 546987 |
| Location: | PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 174 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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