JOHNSTOWN, PA — The National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) is proud to announce that three of its projects have been recognized by the Manufacturing Leadership Council as finalists for the 2023 Manufacturing Leadership Awards. NCDMM is a finalist for outstanding achievements in the categories of Digital Supply Chain and Engineering and Production. Projects include Advanced Manufacturing Crisis Production Response (AMCPR), Acceleration of Large-Scale Additive Manufacturing (ALSAM), and Additive eXtreme Improvement in Optical Mounts (AXIOM).
“We are proud to once again be recognized as a finalist by the Manufacturing Leadership Council for three projects that embody the spirit of NCDMM’s work,” said Gary Fleegle, NCDMM President and CEO. “As we celebrate our 20th year of collaborative innovation, we remain committed to executing applied research and development projects through advanced manufacturing to improve Department of Defense weapons and support systems. This recognition is not only a testament to our mission to give the United States warfighter a superior advantage but also to our NCDMM team who work each day to move the needle forward.”
The AMCPR project, in collaboration with the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Deloitte, Quotient, and the team overseeing the AMNOW Project, developed a next-gen crisis response infrastructure leveraging additive manufacturing (AM) to bridge supply chain gaps and readiness resulting from COVID-19 while simultaneously building out a crisis-agnostic playbook and capability. The AMCPR project accelerated response through improved network engagement, communications, and regulatory agility through a centralized, digital exchange to mobilize domestic suppliers and improve U.S. AM response capability during future crises.
The ALSAM project, in collaboration with GE Global Research, Pennsylvania State University Applied Research Laboratory, and the U.S. Department of Defense, was in response to the need for an open architecture multi-laser platform that would allow research in support of AM materials, such as Laser Powder-Based Fusion (LPBF) and mission-critical alloys, for the most austere conditions. The research platform expanded on results from former America Makes projects and enabled sensitive research, previously non-existent in the continental U.S., to address concerns for refractory alloys that are critical to the success of high-speed systems.
The AXIOM project, in collaboration with Raytheon Technologies, nTopology, the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR), and the U.S. Department of Defense, was in response to the need to manufacture optical components using exotic, non-toxic AM methods and designs to reduce health risks, costs, and build-cycle time. Using Topology Optimized Reflective Optics, the project was able to advance the capabilities in optics by using AM materials with exotic designs enabled by innovative software workflow and successfully reduced the cost of production by approximately 65% and the build cycle time by more than 80%.
NCDMM will be recognized, along with other award finalists, at the Manufacturing Leadership Awards Gala, set for June 28, 2023, at the JW Marriott in Marco Island, FL. Winners in all project and individual categories will be announced at that time, along with the Manufacturers of the Year and Manufacturing Leader of the Year. For more details about the awards, visit HERE.
