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NMC Project Wins 2010 Defense Manufacturing Technology Achievement Award

Front: Michael Katz, CTC; John Carney, ONR; Tim Freidhoff, CTC; Edwin Erlbacher, PushCorp, Inc.; Robert Kirkwood, NGSB-GC; Stephen Davis, BIW: Dan Winterscheidt, CTC. Back: Greg Woods, ONR; Ed Sheehan, CTC; Gene Franke, NSWCCD; Rick Zebrowski, NSWCCD; John Foster, BIW; Kevin Roossinck, NGSB-GC. Not pictured: Bruce Horn and Kyle Reasbeck, CTC

A Navy Metalworking Center (NMC) project received the 2010 Defense Manufacturing Technology Achievement Award for the development and commercialization of a weld shaver system that has wide applicability for military ships, DoD weapon systems, and commercial structures. The award, which is given by the Department of Defense Joint Defense Manufacturing Technology Panel (JDMTP), was presented to the project team at the Defense Manufacturing Conference (DMC 2010) in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 30, 2010.

NMC led a project that developed a mechanized tool that removes 80 percent of the weld reinforcement at rates exceeding 20 feet per hour and was successfully implemented at Bath Iron Works (BIW) in the construction of DDG 51 and DDG 1000. The tool will reduce the construction cost of DDG 1000 by $2.77 million and significantly decrease the number of injuries and resulting medical expenses incurred from manual hand grinding. The tool was also modified to perform back gouging and is being used by BIW on DDG 1000 construction and is planned to be used by Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding - Gulf Coast (NGSB-GC).

“I’d like to commend Bruce Horn, Tim Freidhoff, and the entire project team for their accomplishments on this project,” said Dr. Daniel Winterscheidt, NMC Program Director. “Their approach ensured success by working directly with shipyard personnel who knew first-hand the need for a solution and by incorporating their adjustments in multiple versions of the tool. This winning effort reflects NMC’s commitment to quality, team-building and client focus.”

The Defense Manufacturing Technology Achievement Award recognizes and honors individuals most responsible for outstanding technical accomplishments in achieving the vision of the DoD Manufacturing Technology Program. The vision is to realize a responsive world-class manufacturing capability to affordably and rapidly meet warfighter needs throughout the defense system life cycle.

Weld Seam Facing project team members included the Office of Naval Research, CTC, BIW, NGSB-GC, Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division (NSWCCD), General Dynamics Electric Boat and PushCorp, Inc.

For more information, contact:
Daniel L. Winterscheidt, Ph.D.
NMC Program Director
winter@ctc.com
814-269-6840

This article was prepared by the Navy Metalworking Center, operated by Concurrent Technologies Corporation, under Contract No. N00014-06-D-0048 to the Office of Naval Research as part of the Navy ManTech Program. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.