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The A2Z Manufacturing Magazines are the premier precision manufacturing publications in the U.S. Three regional publications. We are regionally focused for positive effect and for concerted business development in territories established by the industry. We bring the precision manufacturing industry together through positive manufacturing news, trends, outsourcing contacts, and stories on great manufacturing companies that are on the move.
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A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 1 • FEB / MAR 2016
Free Shipping on $150+ orders. Factory Direct. 30% Less.
800.754.6920
Vol. 6, No. 1, FEB/MAR 2016Front Cover Story Pages 28-29
West Coast Edition For WA, OR, CA
A Big Name For Making Superior Small Swiss and Micro Sized Components:
Pacific Swiss & Manufacturing, Inc.
SIZE MATTERS
HOW SMALL IS MICRO
A Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST www.a2zmanufacturing.com
WE PUT OUR MOST IMPORTANT JOBS ON THE MAKINOS BECAUSE WE KNOW THEY ARE GOING TO RUN. THEY’RE INCREDIBLY RELIABLE MACHINES.– Machining Engineer
When it counts, successful shops count on Makino.Hear their stories at Makino.com/reliability.
Clancy Machine Tool, Inc.3942 Valley AvenuePleasanton, CA 94566925-249-2299www.clancymachinetool.cominfo@clancymachinetool.com
SST West17800 Newhope Street, Suite KFountain Valley, CA 92708714-444-4334www.singlesourcetech.comjonathan.hay@singlesourcetech.com
Published bi-monthly to keep precision manufac-turers abreast of news, contracts, trends, and to supply a viable supplier source for the industry.
Circulation: A2Z Manufacturing West Coast maintains a master list of over 14,000 decision makers consisting of fortune 1000 companies, small manufacturing companies, engineering firms, DOD & Scientific Lab facilities, machine shops, fab-shops, and secondary source businesses. It has an estimated pass on readership of more than 25,000 people. The majority of our readers are based in CA, OR, WA area!
Advertising Rates have remained the same since 1999, deadlines and mechanical requirements furnished on our website at: www.a2zManufacturing.com.
All photos and copy become the property of A2Z Manufacturing.
The Publisher assumes no responsibility for the contents of any advertisement, and all representations are those of the advertiser and not that of the publisher.
The Publisher is not liable to any advertiser for any misprints or errors not the fault of the publisher, and in such event, the limit of the publisher's liability shall only be the amount of the publishers charge for such advertising.
CONTRIBUTORSLinda Daly, Hugh Taylor, Eugene Wirth, Stephen Hannemann, Kate Carpenter, Greg Ce de Baca
Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.
- Henry Ford
It is better to have one person working with you than three people working for you.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
None of us is as smart as all of us.- Ken Blanchard
I witnessed something this weekend that I have only talked about and preached about for years. Yet there it was in front of me to enjoy and be edified by, hundreds of young people with their friends and family acting and working as cohesive teams. They were having fun, helping each other, encouraging each other, and when one failed to make their mark they were encouraged by their teammates, embraced, and admonished with words like, you got this, you can do it, and hugs and high fives.
The game of volleyball, originally called “mintonette,” was invented in 1895 by William G. Morgan 4 years after basketball. Morgan, a graduate of the Springfield College of the YMCA, designed the game to be a combination of basketball, baseball, tennis, and handball. Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team’s court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summer Olympic Games since 1964.
During all of these tournament games that filled the football stadium, I heard not one curse word, no one taunted each other and the only loud tones were cheers and admonitions. I saw one player get upset with herself and lightly slam the ball to the floor to let off some steam. The court judge immediately called over the team’s leader and notified her if her player slammed the ball again he was going to card her, which is a penalty.
All of these teams worked together in complete unison and had to communicate steadily to each other during the rapidly changing play. It looked as if no two plays were alike so creativity, quick innovative thinking and teamwork were necessary to survive and a positive attitude was medicine.
At the end of the day there were winners and teams that lost, but you would never know it because they all hugged each other and high fived each other and the teams worked together like a gaggle of geese heading south for the summer.
I think most of us work to create teams within our organizations and I think if we were to run our business teams like a volleyball team we would realize that our team could benefit from a true, “We Are In This Together” spirit. There is no win on the court by or for just one person. It takes the same team spirit to win on the shop floor.
In closing encourage your team, praise your team, and cheer your team on. When they fall, help them up, when they doubt themselves tell them we have this, and when they do well get the rest of the team together to cheer them on.
Until next issue, we wish you continued success, happiness, and health.
Stay united, and God Bless Our Troops!
Kim Carpenter
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With Touch Software Allowing Fully Automated Production Metrology Using
Laser Scanning Technology
Perceptron has launched a CNC multi-sensor CMM solution that seamlessly integrates touch-probe and laser scanning functionality into a single measuring station, operated exclusively by touch software. The Perceptron EXPERT CMM offers full point-cloud geometric feature extraction and direct comparison
to CAD for automated inspection of production parts. The automatic scanning package price is comparable to lower accuracy manual portable arm measuring solutions.
Laser scanning has proven its role in manufacturing over past years with the increased application of manual portable arm scanning systems. These labor intensive systems are more suitable for reverse engineering and one-off inspection tasks. Perceptron has harnessed its expertise in automated inline production metrology for global vehicle production by widening the reach of its industry-leading scanning technology for general manufacturing. Software complexity of traditional measuring equipment mandates its use by metrology experts; Perceptron’s TouchCloud™ software module add-on for its TouchDMIS™ software puts the EXPERT into the solution, and significantly reduces the necessary user skill level.
Full feature extraction from point-cloud rather than rendered .STL format provides for faster and more accurate measurements. Part features can be touch-probed or laser-scanned depending on feature type and tolerance.
The Perceptron ScanR™ scanner is available with a standard red laser line and optionally with a green laser to significantly extend dynamic range, allowing scanning of both highly reflective and black parts.
EXPERT CMM can also be supplied with any size and configuration CMM from the Perceptron Coord3 CMM range or retrofitted to existing customer-installed CMMs.
Perceptron’s Vice President of Global Marketing, Keith Mills says “Perceptron is a leader in supplying automated metrology using robotic technology for the automotive industry in their most demanding production line applications. The EXPERT CMM package further extends the reach of our technology into global manufacturing.”
Perceptron supplies a comprehensive range of automated industrial metrology products and solutions to manufacturing organizations for dimensional gauging, dimensional inspection and 3D scanning. Products include 3D machine vision solutions, robot guidance, coordinate measuring
machines, laser scanning, and advanced analysis software. Automotive, aerospace and other manufacturing companies globally rely on Perceptron’s metrology solutions to assist in managing their complex manufacturing processes to improve quality, shorten product launch times and reduce costs. More than 900 systems, 12,000 Perceptron measuring sensors and over 3,000 COORD3 coordinate measuring machines are in active daily use worldwide. Headquartered in Plymouth, Michigan, Perceptron has approximately 360 employees worldwide, For more information, please visit www.perceptron.com.
For Manufacturers Only
We heard summit attendees loud and clear in 2015: you want to hear from more manufacturers. We’re honoring your requests by keeping the 2016 summit exclusive to your industry, as well as recruiting more of the best and brightest Oregon manufacturers as presenters.
You will find only industry peers, sponsors, educators, and public service providers at our Summit. Get on the cutting edge of manufacturing optimization at the one conference that gives you the best tools and ideas to make your manufacturing company more competitive.
WHAT: Oregon Manufacturers’ SummitWHEN: Monday, March 14, 2016 | 7:00am – 3:30pmWHERE: Salem Convention Center200 Commercial Street SESalem, Oregon 97301HOW MUCH: Early Bird Pricing $85 | After February 5 $125
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 7 • FEB / MAR 2016
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GMN’s New High Speed Spindles
GMN, a world leader in spindle development has released a new range of high-speed spindles with highly efficient hydroviscous damping. The innovative product successfully reduces natural vibrations by up to 65% in comparison with standard spindles. This makes for more cost effective workpiece machining, since components can be worked consistently with greater cutting depths and therefore higher material removal rates. Improved surface quality can be obtained throughout the machining process whether rough or finish machining.
The new high-speed spindles are independently driven by their own small, energy-saving hydraulic power unit. In addition, the bearing preload of the spindle can be controlled via the oil pressure. Through this process, the rigidity of the spindle can be modified and therefore its behavior optimized depending on the machine task, speed and tool. Increased preload can, for example, be used to significantly improve spindle performance at lower speeds.
The new spindle models with hydroviscous damping are available for machining centers for use in milling and drilling operations as well as grinding machines. Since they are structurally identical to the standard models, they can easily be retrofitted to existing machines.
For more information, please contact GMN USA at 800-686-1679
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 8 • FEB / MAR 2016
Announcements Continued Cimatron Donates $1.7 Million Software to
Iowa Community College for Advanced CAD/CAM Training
Cimatron Technologies Inc., a subsidiary of Cimatron Limited (NASDAQ: CIMT), is donating software valued at over $1.7 million to Southeastern Community College (SCC) in Iowa. The CimatronE software—a CAD/CAM solution for mold, tool and die makers as well as manufacturers of discrete parts—will be used to provide training for students in design and advanced manufacturing.
It is one of the largest donations to SCC and will provide the foundation for training students from high school through college to meet the increasing demand for manufacturing expertise by companies in Iowa. The region is home to such industries as energy, pharmaceutical, food
processing, and plastics. The donation was facilitated by the Lee County Economic Development Group, a private/public partnership to foster development and employment in the county.
“This donation, along with another donation to North Iowa Area Community College last year, underscores the importance Cimatron places on growing the manufacturing industry in Iowa and throughout North America,” said Bill Gibbs, Cimatron North America President. “The demand for skilled CAD/CAM workers is the number one challenge that comes up in every conversation we have with customers as well as in a survey of toolmakers and manufacturers we conducted last year.”
Training on CimatronE software for mold, die making, and manufacturing will be part of the curriculum for Associate of Applied Science in Computer Assisted Drafting and Advanced Manufacturing degrees. “This will elevate the status of SCC among prospective students and employers as a college on the cutting edge of CAD/CAM,” said Michael Ash, the president of SCC.
“In Iowa, manufacturing is big business. In fact, the percentage of the state’s GDP derived from manufacturing has consistently ranked in the top 10 in the country,” said Debi Durham, the director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA). “The advanced manufacturing sector is so strong in Iowa because the public and private sectors work together to ensure conditions are favorable for growth. Keeping Iowa’s community colleges equipped with leading edge technology is an essential part of training the next generation of highly skilled workers who are sought by Iowa’s manufacturers to support future growth.”
With over 30 years of experience and more than 40,000 installations worldwide, Cimatron is a leading provider of integrated, CAD/CAM software solutions for mold, tool and die makers as well as manufacturers of discrete parts. Cimatron is committed to providing comprehensive, cost-effective solutions that streamline manufacturing cycles and ultimately shorten product delivery time.
The Cimatron product line includes the CimatronE and GibbsCAM brands with software solutions for mold design, die design, electrode design, 2.5 to 5 Axis milling, wire EDM, turn, Mill-turn, rotary milling, multi-task machining, and tombstone machining. Cimatron’s subsidiaries and extensive distribution network serve and support customers in the automotive, aerospace, medical, consumer plastics, electronics, and other industries in over 40 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.cimatron.com
GOT CIMATRON?More than 40 AMBA member companies are using Cimatron
CAD/CAM software to increase productivity and shorten delivery times.
Learn more at www.bettermoldmaking.com or call 248-596-9700 ext. 237 today.
See What AMBA Members That Use Cimatron Say:
“Our efficiency has been increasing incredibly. I know it has impacted our bottom line. We can take on more business, because we are not spending as much time in design. The flow from design to manufacturing is much smoother, shortening our delivery dates, making us more efficient and improving quality.”Kent Smith, President, Diamond Tool & Engineering
“Cimatron has really helped us stay ahead of the curve when it comes to creating more sophisticated molds, such as those required for products with blended curves. Without Cimatron in place, designing and producing such goods would be nearly impossible.”Thomas LaMarca, Jr., Owner, L&Z Tool and Engineering
“We believe one of the things that sets LS Mold apart from other shops is our Cimatron CAD/CAM capabilities. Cimatron really listened to our needs and it shows in how they implement our requirements in the software. The modeling package is first rate. It particularly shines in electrode creation. Customer support from Cimatron is outstanding.”Jim Dent/David Koning, LS Mold
www.cimatrontech.com
Cimetron_CCI.indd 1 1/16/13 10:45 AM
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 9 • FEB/MAR 2016
Announcements Continued
Mitsubishi Will Spend $70M And Hire 50 Workers For Plant Expansion In South
Sacramento
Mitsubishi Rayon Co. Ltd. began site work two months ago to build a new $29.8 million building on the company’s 10-acre South Sacramento campus.
Site work began two months ago to build a new $29.8 million building on the company’s 10-acre South Sacramento campus. The machinery and equipment will cost another $30 to $40 million.l
The new plant is expected to open in the second half of 2016, and it will require about 50 more employees to the Sacramento operation’s existing 120-person workforce, said Susumu “Sam” Sasaki, president of Mitsubishi Rayon Carbon Fiber and Composites Inc. The Orange County-based firm is a subsidiary of the Japanese industrial giant.
The plant has been in Sacramento since 1980. Carbon fiber produced in Sacramento is used to make wind-turbine blades, robot arms, golf clubs and fishing rods.
The company is seeing strong demand from automotive manufacturers using carbon fiber to replace metal parts to cut weight. Another big
growth segment is for pressure tanks that hold gases or liquids, such as the fuel tanks for liquid natural gas trucks and busses.
Mitsubishi Rayon used to be called Grafil Inc. Acquired by Mitsubishi in 1991, it became a subsidiary. The company changed its name from Grafil in April 2013 when Mitsubishi merged two of its subsidiaries, Grafil and Newport Adhesives and Composites Inc. Source: Sacramento Business Journal
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 10 • FEB / MAR 2016
Functional Prototypes Durable Production Parts 3D Design to Part Multiple Materials Secondary Finishing
Take your customers into the next generation of manufacturing.
Western precision Products, Inc., has been in the machining business for over 30 years. As a second generation family-owned business, we make it a priority to listen to our
customers in order to provide the best ser vice exper ience. WPP employs state-of-the-art precision CNC machines. We offer support of prototypes through production. Contact us today:
Northwest Rapid Manufacturing Remains Your Source forRapid Manufactured 3D Printed Parts
and Prototypes
Northwest Rapid Manufacturing (NWRapid) is known for its unrivaled capability to produce structurally sound, thin-walled parts using the Selective Laser Sintering
The SLS process creates high function, lightweight parts as quickly as overnight without molds or tooling.
SLS produces production parts in tough, durable nylon and carbon fiber composites. SLS differs from other additive manufacturing processes which may produce parts that degrade quickly, break easily, or lose their shape at elevated temperatures.
Some of our complex components have flown more than 800,000 total hours on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), and serve purposes as diverse as fuel delivery, aerodynamics, cosmetic, EMI-shielding, and structural. Other parts are found on some of the fastest race cars in America, helping provide the edge to championship teams!
NWRapid’s part quality is exceptional for the rapid prototyping industry, as our engineers have a strong background on the many SLS process variables operating the newest and most reliable machinery from EOS, including the EOSINT P 390, P 730 and P 760.
At Western Precision Products, Inc. Efficiency Rules
You know that efficiency is key to any operation. So does Western Precision Products, Inc. Employing cellular manufacturing has not only increased our efficiency, but has exponentially increased our versatility in being able to deliver quality CNC machined components as well as cost savings to our clients. Why? Because we provide consistency from component to component.
Fixtures remain resident in the cell to ensure lot-to-lot repeatability and to eliminate redundant set-ups. These systems teamed with the rigidity of the Mori Seiki robotic CNC equipment allow us to produce components efficiently, with precision and added value.
Our robotic CNC cellular manufacturing is a great fit for high production runs or low volume high mix work statements.
WPP produces parts used in many applications and industries, including:
Aerospace * Electronic hardware * Hydraulics * Power supply equipment * Recreational equipment * Semiconductor processingTesting and measurement equipment
WPP manages your project from prototype through production within our high-tech, 70,000 sq. ft. production facility.
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 11 • FEB / MAR 2016
dti EXACT™ Company History
Consistent product quality, extreme tolerances and the need for quick turnaround times all drove dti™ to invest in dti EXACT™. This idea became a reality in 2004 when dti EXACT™ established new facilities, top of the line equipment and talented employees, all to fill the demands of the ultra-high pressure waterjet cutting industry. Pure necessity driven, the sole purpose of dti EXACT™ was to manufacture extreme, tolerance sensitive tooling and fixturing and continuously develop and automate new specialized processes for diamond orifice.
With measurement capabilities far beyond that of typical fabrication shops, dti EXACT™ began manufacturing processes for drilling holes as small as .0001” and machining diamond edge reliefs at submicron levels.
After several years of great in-house success and a growing reputation for high precision and quick turnaround times, dti EXACT™ opened its doors to new manufacturing applications as a contract manufacturer for any industry in need of consistent quality, tight tolerances and short lead times.
Today the company continues to expand with more employees and precision equipment to capture the needs of our evolving customers. While we continue to grow, at the center of dti EXACT™ will always be the desire to fill our customer’s needs with meticulous care and precision.
What dti Exact Customers Are Saying
“Our first experience with EXACT™ could not have been better. The product supplied exceeded our expectations, Quality & customer service was great. We will be ordering additional product in the near future.” ~ Patrick R. Dougal, H&M Pipe Beveling Machine Co., Inc.
“We continue to be impressed, not only by the amazing quality of work
and quick turn around, but also by the helpful staff. I highly recommend dti EXACT™ as a company that I am proud to do business with.” ~ Sara Harvill, Enertechnix, Inc.
“Exquisite parts that meet my tight tolerances every time, quick lead times, friendly and helpful team of engineers. Working with dti EXACT™ for the last 5 years has saved us time and money and I highly recommend them to anyone looking for quality manufacturing and service!” ~ Ryan Rothell, Waterjet Cutting Industry
“My experience with dti™ has been superb. I have used thier services in fabricating sapphire and diamond parts and found their expertise and commitment to quality to be fantastic. Their creativity when tackling a challenging design problem has been a great plus” ~ Arianna G. Stanford University
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 12 • FEB / MAR 2016
Don’t have time to stop making parts to finalize your OMP set-up?
Get your On-Machine Probing going with help from us.
Ready to get started? Please contact Pat Barrett at: 503-771-3570 ext. 105
We can help automate OMP tasks through developing custom controller macros for you. We can also integrate probing routines into NX CAM and NX post processors. Run faster setups and first article checks, save time and money and keep ahead of the competition.
We Can Deliver: • Custom controller macros
• New post processors • Automated OMP tasks • Offsite programming and spot training
• Integrated probing routines
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Davenport and CNC Machines Prototype to Production Up to 3.00” Diameters
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 12 • FEB / MAR 2016
A $37B Deal Closes As Oregon Officially Loses Its Second-Largest Public Company
Precision is now, officially, a Berkshire subsidiary.The acquisition consisted of Berkshire’s $235 per share for Precision’s stock, in an all-cash $37.2 billion transaction. Precision’s shareholders had approved the deal, which also “met all U.S. and non-U.S. regulatory filing requirements.”
Precision’s Mark Donegan was honored Thursday as a PBJ Executive of the Year. Donegan will continue to lead Precision, which will keep its headquarters in Portland as it becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire.
Vancouver Yacht-Maker Back In Production Behind New President
Christensen Shipyards, a Vancouver-based yacht manufacturer that shut down last year, is now back in full production with a new interim president.
The appointment of Jim Gilbert, the founding editor and former president of ShowBoats International magazine, as interim president was announced earlier this week by Henry Luken, a long-time Christensen customer and shareholder from Chattanooga, Tenn., who took control of the company last year.
Christensen, whose customers at one point included Tiger Woods, was noted for being the only yacht builders to make everything, from the hull to the cabinets, in-house. But the yacht business rides the ebbs and flows of the global economy.It employed as many as 480 in 2008 before sinking to 80 after the Great Recession. It waged a comeback in 2012, bringing its workforce back to above 300. But, as the Columbian reported, Christensen struggled last year to pay contractors and its employees and ended up in receivership, where its $5.5 million in assets were acquired by WIT Washington, a company overseen by Luken.
Now Luken says the company is back in full production, with four yachts in some stage of construction, all between 160-feet and 164-feet long. To lead the company, at least for the time being, Luken chose someone he’s worked with before. Luken was a shareholder at ShowMedia, the holding company for ShowBoats International, when Gilbert and other shareholders sold it in 2004.
2015: A Year of Historic Victories for Manufacturers
National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) President and CEO Jay Timmons issued the following statement after a year of historic victories for America’s manufacturers and job creators:
“2015 brought a wave of historic legislative and legal victories for manufacturers, following months—and in some cases years—of aggressive advocacy from the NAM. Not only did we secure landmark provisions in Congress’ year-end omnibus bill, but we also achieved
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 13 • FEB / MAR 2016
Strom Manufacturing, Inc. offers a wide range of turn-key services to our customers:
CNC MachiningSheet Metal ManufacturingIn-house AssemblyPem Hardware Installation
We also work closely with several local vendors to supply:Paint, Silkscreen and Powder Coating ServicesPlating and Anodizing Services
Our new building is located in North Plains, Oregon. During our first year in the new building, we have already expanded our machining capabilities. In June of 2014, we added a new Mori-Seiki 5 pallet horizontal milling machine!
With this expanded capability, we have substantially increased the amount of work we can handle to support our customers.
We are a single source solution!
wins throughout the year that will create jobs and grow the middle class.”
“We secured the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank, passage of a long-term infrastructure bill and approval of Trade Promotion Authority, as well as made progress on important regulatory reforms, such as reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act and an extension of the Positive Train Control deadline. All of this will help small and large manufacturers better compete in the global economy.”
“For more than 20 years, the NAM has led the fight for a permanent research and development tax credit that can compete with the more robust research incentives of other countries—so that manufacturers will be better able to innovate here in the United States. As the year came to a close, that goal became a reality, and this one historic achievement will help to secure our mantle of leadership in innovation for future generations.”
“Manufacturers also secured other key tax provisions at the end of the year, such as the suspension of the medical device tax and a delay of the employee benefits tax, also known as the ‘Cadillac’ tax.”
“In the courts, the NAM led the fight against a requirement from the Securities and Exchange Commission that would have created unnecessary bureaucracy for manufacturers, fought in a landmark case to require the Environmental Protection Agency to consider costs in the rulemaking process and helped a small family-owned manufacturer win a 17-year battle against the federal government that will set an important precedent
to rein in False Claims Act cases.”
“These victories were no accident. This was a phenomenally successful year because manufacturers across the country raised their voices. By bringing people together and telling our stories, we were able to advance our priorities at a time when we faced serious challenges and headwinds.”
New Contracts In The Region
Baldi Bros. Inc., Beaumont, California, is being awarded $10,308,021 for firm-fixed-price task order 0003 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62473-15-D-2443) to replace asphalt runway 24L at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed by October 2016. Fiscal 2016 operation and maintenance (Marine Corps) contract funds in the amount of $10,308,021 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Five proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. Northbank Civil & Marine Inc., Vancouver, Washington, was awarded a $10,528,300 firm-fixed-price contract with options for the Dalles Lock and Dam project. Work will be performed in The Dalles, Oregon, with an estimated completion date of April 15, 2017. Fiscal 2015 other procurement funds in the amount of $10,528,300 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland, Oregon, is the contracting activity.
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A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 15 • FEB / MAR 2016
You Can Now Buy Your Own $21,000 Oregon-Made Farm Drone
An Oregon manufacturer will start selling its agricultural drones in farm equipment stores across the Pacific Northwest. HoneyComb Corp. has struck a deal with Papé Machinery to sell the company’s drone
systems at Papé stores starting Jan. 25, according to agriculture publication Capital Press.
According to the story, the new partnership will place the drones in 21 Papé equipment dealerships in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and California.A full system sells for about $21,000. For that, buyers get a drone and case, spare parts and a data processing service from HoneyComb. Bargain buys are possible for $10,000 to $13,000, but those don’t include the bells and whistles like data processing, according to Capital Press.
Vestas Will Soon Start Buying Oregon Steel
A Danish wind energy company will soon buy steel for its turbine towers from Oregon.
Vestas will start purchasing steel from Evraz’s plate mill in Portland to use in manufacturing at its Pueblo, Colorado turbine tower-making plant.Vestas will soon buy steel plate from EVRAZ in Portland. According to the Pueblo Chieftain, which has the full story, steel plate will be shipped to Pueblo by rail. Evraz has a mill in the Colorado city, but it does not produce steel plate. The Chieftain reports the mill in Portland could supply as much as 20 percent of the tower factory’s steel orders. Vestas’ U.S. and Canada sales and service division is based in Portland. President Chris Brown was recently named an Executive of the Year by the Business Journal. Source: Portland Business Journal
Northrop CEO Says Autonomous Aircraft Represent The Future Of Drones
Autonomous systems will prove a game-changer for unmanned aircraft, according to Northrop Grumman CEO Wes Bush. “I’m talking about cognitive autonomous systems. These are robotic systems that operate using the same actions we would expect from the judgment and, ultimately, the ethics of a pilot,” he said, speaking at the Wings Club in New York. “It is not as mysterious as it sounds, but it is an enormous challenge to overcome. And autonomous aircraft will not grow into their full potential until we overcome that challenge.” Source: Aviation Week & Space Technology
Yamawa High PerformanceTaps for Aerospace applications
Specifically designed for:• Stainless Steel• Nickel based alloys• Titanium alloys• Inconel
Professional grade tapping solutions
• Largest range of any tapping head mfg
• Extended length tap adapters standard
• Coolant through or coolant groove tap adapters standard• Adjustable tap collet adapter for quick change to other tap sizes
Numertap TappingHeads
Spiral Point Taps for Stainless Steel
Size Ranges:UNJC - #4~1”UNJF - #4~1”
Suitable Work Materials303 Stainless Steel304 Stainless Steel410 Stainless Steel
8710 (SNCM240)
Spiral Point Taps for Nickel Base Alloys
Size Ranges:UNJC - #4~3/4”UNJF - #6~3/4”
Suitable Work MaterialsInconel 718 / 750
WaspalloyHastelloy
A28615-5PH
17-4PH (SUS630)316 Stainless Steel
LH Spiral Flute Taps for Titanium Alloys
Size Ranges:UNJC - #4~1/2”UNJF - #10~1/2”
Suitable Work MaterialsTitanium Alloys
(Ti-6Al-4V)
Spiral Flute Taps for Stainless Steel
Size Ranges:UNJC - #4~1”UNJF - #4~1”
Suitable Work Materials303 Stainless Steel304 Stainless Steel410 Stainless Steel
8740 (SNCM240)
Spiral Flute Taps for Nickel Base Alloys
Size Ranges:UNJC - #4~3/4”UNJF - #4~5/8”
Suitable Work MaterialsInconel 718 / 750
WaspalloyHastelloy
A28615-5PH
17-4PH (SUS630)316 Stainless Steel
Spiral Flute Taps for Titanium Alloys
Size Ranges:UNJC - #4~1/2”UNJF - #10~1/2”
Suitable Work MaterialsTitanium Alloys
(Ti-6Al-4V)
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 17 • FEB / MAR 2016
Supply Dynamics Named to List of Great Supply Chain
Partners Supply Dynamics LLC, the leading provider of innovative supply chain visibility software solutions, has been recognized by SupplyChainBrain in the organization’s list of 100 Great Supply Chain Partners. This marks the second time in the past three years that Supply Dynamics has received the honor. Trevor Stansbury, Founder and President of Supply Dynamics, comments:
“We are naturally excited to be recognized among an elite group of supply chain solutions providers. Especially satisfying is that this comes as the result of a strong endorsement from our customers. On behalf of the entire Supply Dynamics team, we appreciate the distinction and look forward to solidifying our reputation as a valued and trusted partner to the global manufacturing community.” About SupplyChainBrain
SupplyChainBrain (www.supplychainbrain.com) is the world’s more comprehensive supply chain management information resource. It is accessed year round through a wide range of ever evolving multi-media formats by hundreds of thousands of senior level industry executives. In addition to addressing the fundamental principles of supply-chain management, SupplyChainBrain identifies emerging trends, technologies, best practices, forward thinking ideas and cutting edge solutions – and continues to write and report about these as they evolve and mature. SupplyChainBrain targets the high-level executive concerned with managing risk, aligning the supply chain with corporate planning, achieving competitive advantage, balancing customer demands with the need to control cost, and improve the bottom line. The industry’s most experienced staff and many well respected content partners offer executive decision-makers a synthesis of many minds, singularly focused and delivered in the medium they choose. Headquartered in Cincinnati, OH, Supply Dynamics, LLC works with leading Fortune 1000 Global Manufacturing ‘OEM’-Brand Owners that are committed to pro-actively extending their influence and control throughout their Supply Environment. We provide technology, processes and solutions designed specifically to address the challenges of managing sourcing, procurement and supply chain complexity in highly distributed manufacturing environments.
To learn more about Supply Dynamics please contact us: by phone at +1 (513) 965-2000, e-mail [email protected] or visit MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from “supplydynamics.us2.list-manage.com” claiming to be www.supplydynamics.com.
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 18 • FEB / MAR 2016A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 18 • FEB / MAR 2016
Aerospace Industry Rethinking How to Build Military Aircraft
The changing defense market is putting the squeeze on companies that design and build cutting-edge aircraft. The focus is now on rapid prototyping and other techniques that let buyers experiment with new systems before they commit to major investments.
“I’ve been hearing about a paradigm shift,” says Kevin Mickey, vice president of advanced design at Northrop Grumman. There appears to be a “real push” by customers like the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the U.S. Navy and Air Force to find more efficient ways to develop new aircraft as they try to figure out their requirements, Mickey tells National Defense. Mickey is an aerospace veteran who until recently was president of Scaled Composites, a Northrop subsidiary, that specializes in experimental aircraft and prototyping.
“I hear DARPA talking about X planes, the Navy talking about rapid capabilities,” he says. The technology exists to design and produce revolutionary aircraft in shorter timelines than has been possible in the past, but the question is whether the Pentagon is poised to exploit these advances. The military aircraft business increasingly is leaning toward “rapid prototyping,” Mickey says. As the military decides what it needs to fight
future enemies, it does not want to commit to traditional programs that do not allow flexibility to modify systems as security threats change. Prototypes are adaptable so buyers can test before they make up their minds, he says.
“You want to demonstrate aerodynamics at full scale. You don’t need all the capabilities [in order] to explore the aerodynamic envelope.” Northrop Grumman in 2007 acquired Scaled Composites with the goal of infusing fresh thinking into its military aircraft and space business. Under Northrop’s ownership, Scaled — founded by Burt Rutan in 1982 — still operates as a separate company. Scaled Composites president Ben Diachun says the company is working on 15 different aircraft programs, a mix of military and civilian models. Some of those designs are intended to help Northrop Grumman win future Pentagon competitions as a prime contractor, rather than as a supplier of major components.“On average we do one new aircraft type to first flight per year,” Diachun tells reporters. The secret sauce that enables the company to take a clean sheet design to flight within a year are engineers who wear multiple hats, he says. “They do conceptual designs, detailed designs and carry the hardware through the manufacturing and tests; and 70 percent of our engineers are pilots.” Some of the aircraft concepts that Northrop is positioning for future Pentagon deals bear the Scaled imprint, including a new trainer for the U.S. Air Force, an unmanned spy plane for the Navy and a sixth-generation fighter that would fly without a pilot in the cockpit.
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 19 • FEB / MAR 2016
Vice has been a staunch advocate of corporate investments in manufacturing technologies. In the early days of his career, Vice worked on the B-2 stealth bomber, one of the military’s most advanced but also most expensive airplanes. The company set up an assembly line in a one million square-feet facility to build 132 bombers, but the order was truncated to 21. The poor economies of scale inflated the price of the aircraft to about $2 billion each. To avoid a repeat of the cost escalation that doomed the B-2, Northrop is betting big on high-tech manufacturing and digital design. Aircraft should be affordable regardless of the size of the production run, Vice says during a meeting with reporters. “You’re building 70 Triton [unmanned aircraft] for the U.S. Navy, 21 B-2s, up to 2,000 F/A-18 fighters. The F-35 run is likely to be 3,000,” he says. “We have to have an ability to build 70 of something as efficiently and as cost-effectively as we would build 2,000 of something.” Modern manufacturing methods tend to help lower costs, but making programs affordable also requires a “consistency in how things are funded,” Vice says. “If we say we’re going to build 100 of something, let’s build 100” at the rate that was planned. While working on the B-2 bomber, Vice recalls, the company studied General Motors’ production process for introducing its new Saturn line and estimated that if only 20 cars had been built, each would have cost $350 million.“We do that sometimes to ourselves in this industry,” he says. “And it’s likely to happen in the future. So we have to think differently. How are we going to bring economies of advanced manufacturing and know-how so we can build fewer things, or many things, and still do it efficiently?”
In today’s defense market there is little tolerance for miscalculations, he adds. “There’s a lot at stake in the next 30 to 40 years. There’s an intensity around these competitions.” A key player in Northrop’s push for lower-cost production is KUKA Robotics, a global supplier of industrial robots. The company made the equipment used at the Northrop’s “integrated assembly line” that produces major components of the F-35 airframe. The next wave, what he calls the “factory of the future,” has been in the works for six years and will become a selling point as Northrop takes aim at future military contracts like the Air Force T-X trainer and the sixth-generation fighter. The idea is to create an “integrated digital enterprise” where the data, models and information about a system flow across the entire life cycle. “You can take something that’s brand new from a 3D model and actually forecast how it would go through a factory like this, how you would build it.” The company is making a big wager on next-generation robotics technology that would turn military systems into independent thinking machines. Today’s unmanned systems are not as revolutionary as they could be, he says. Current drone models “constrain our ability to think about innovative new designs. If we think about never having a pilot, it allows us to design things that human beings would never allow,” such as airplanes that push beyond 9 g’s, that take off and land vertically, and do things that pilots would not want to do.
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 20 • FEB / MAR 2016
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Boeing Will Boost 737 Production, Slow 777 Rates
The Chicago-based aerospace giant said in an earnings call the changes reflect shifting market demands as the two product lines prepare for the introduction of next-generation replacement variants before the end of the decade.
Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg announced in the call the company will boost production of its 737 single-aisle jet to a record 57 airplanes per month in 2019. The announcement follows previously planned rate increases to 47 jets per month in 2017 and a further jump to 52 in 2018. The company currently manufactures the airplanes at a rate of 42 per month at its plant in Renton, Wash.
Boeing released a bullish earnings report, but the stock is slammed after analysts are surprised the company will deliver about 20 fewer jets in 2016, after last year’s record of nearly 770 planes.
Boeing’s stalwart 737 continues to show strong sales, bolstered by the next generation iteration of jet; the 737 MAX. The company has booked 3,072 firm orders of the upgraded airframe since it launched in 2011. The first MAX is due to fly as early as this Friday, with a first delivery set for 2017. The order book extends beyond 4,300 airplanes orders for current generation models are included.
Many industry watchers believe the uptick is necessary to keep pace with rival Airbus, which is likewise setting record build rates on its A320 model, Airbus’ direct competitor to the 737. Airbus is set to produce 60 of the airplanes per month in 2019 across four factories spread worldwide. Boeing, meanwhile, produces every 737 from a single plant in Renton, leaving it at a delivery disadvantage.
While the 737 program cannot pump out jets fast enough, the 777 program has struggled to maintain production levels between current-generation 777 “classic” models and the next-generation 777X, which is due for delivery in 2020. Slumping 777 classic sales have left the company unable to keep the line going seamlessly during the transition between the two programs.
Boeing admits that even the new rate is still not enough. Should the company fail to sell enough 777 classics in the coming year, production rates could face further cuts. With the new rates, Boeing reported that 2016 delivery slots are sold out while 2017 stands at 80% filled. Details on 2018 and beyond were not disclosed.
The announcements follow Boeing’s decision to slash production rates for its poorly selling 747 jumbo-jet in half, to just a single airplane every other month. Source: USA TODAY
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 21 • FEB / MAR 2016
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Boeing Awarded $2.5 Billion Contract For 20 P-8A Maritime Surveillance Planes
Boeing Co has won a contract worth $2.5 billion to build 20 more P-8A maritime surveillance aircraft, the Pentagon announced recently.
The contract covers the production and delivery of 16 aircraft for the U.S. Navy and four for the Australian government, the Defense Department said in its daily digest of major weapons contracts.
The work is expected to be completed in December 2018. Source: Reuters
Textron Aviation Sees Higher Jet Deliveries, Profit
Textron Aviation delivered more jets and recorded a higher profit in 2015, and it expects to see higher sales and profitability in 2016.That was despite a fourth-quarter revenue decline in 2015.
Textron Aviation delivered 60 Cessna Citation business jets and 33 Beechcraft King Airs in the three-month quarter ended Jan. 2. That compares with 55 Citation and 41 King Air deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Despite lower King Air deliveries, which Textron Inc. said partly contributed to a $32 million quarterly decrease in revenue at Textron
Aviation, the Wichita-based aircraft maker increased its profit to $138 million in the fourth quarter of 2015, a 6.2 percent increase over the $130 million in the same quarter in 2014.
Textron Inc. CEO Scott Donnelly said on a conference call with analysts that for the year, Textron Aviation delivered 166 jets — including 16 of Cessna’s new midsize Latitude — compared with 159 in 2014.
Donnelly did not say how many King Airs were delivered in 2015.
This year, Textron Aviation is expected to see 6 percent growth in revenue, to $5.1 billion, which largely reflects an increase in Latitude deliveries, Textron Inc. chief financial officer Frank Connor said.
“We expect solid growth at aviation,” Donnelly said.
Donnelly said in his opening remarks that customer reaction to Textron Aviation’s announcement of the super midsize Longitude and the large-cabin Hemisphere has been “very positive.”
He added that new products such as the Latitude will largely lead the company’s jet sales this year.
“I would say most legacy (Citation) models will be sort of flattish, but … new things like the Latitude coming out is really what’s driving growth in the business,” Donnelly said.
Last June, the Federal Aviation Administration awarded type certification on the Latitude, which is the first Citation with a flat floor, 6-foot-high cabin. It began deliveries of the jet in the third quarter of 2015.
Analysts wanted to know why Textron was forecasting moderate growth in aviation profit, as well as if Textron Aviation’s $1.1 billion backlog — down $308 million from the third quarter of 2015 — shouldn’t be bigger.
In 2016, Donnelly said, Textron Aviation will have “a fairly high number of deliveries that will go into NetJets.” The fractional jet ownership company has a 2012 order for up to 150 Latitudes, which are priced at slightly more than $16 million.
“Typically sales into fractional are at a lower margin than our retail sales,” Donnelly said, later adding that the price of an airplane sold to a fractional company rather than to a single customer can be about 2 to 3 percent lower.
“It’s still good business for us, but lower margin,” he said.
Textron Aviation’s lower backlog was also a focus for a couple of analysts, including Noah Poponak of Goldman Sachs, who questioned whether $1.1 billion was enough to sustain the company in an economic downturn.Donnelly said that unlike the commercial airplane makers, business jet manufacturers don’t rack up backlogs with billions of dollars each time they announce a new airplane.
“If someone would give me another billion or so in backlog, we’d take it,” Donnelly said. “But the fact of the matter is that’s not where the market has been, and it’s been this way for at least six years.
“You go out and you sell them pretty much one plane at a time. And that’s working for us.”
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 23 • FEB / MAR 2016
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Saudi Arabia’s purchase of 10 Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk ant i -submarine helicopters
“dovetails nicely” with delivery of the last of 280 examples to the US Navy, according to the brand’s new parent
Lockheed Martin, particularly as production of Australian and Danish “Romeos” concludes.
Sikorsky clinched the Saudi contract for 10 green aircraft last month, seven months after the foreign military case worth an estimated $1.9 billion was approved by the US government.
Lockheed’s director of MH-60R business development Mike Fralen confirms that initial deliveries of the torpedo-toting maritime helicopter to Saudi Arabia begin in 2018 – with the first delivered in July and the last in April 2019.
That schedule aligns favourably with final delivery to the US Navy in 2018, with 217 of 278 production models already received by the service.
The last seven Australian MH-60Rs will be received by the Royal Australian Navy in 2016, concluding the 2011 deal for 24 aircraft — seven of which support training. Lockheed expects final delivery in August.
Two initial Royal Danish Air Force MH-60Rs have been completed, and were procedurally signed over to the US Navy in October as crew training gets underway at Naval Station Mayport in Florida.
Fralen says six Danish examples will be delivered in 2016, although the last aircraft is due by April 2018 – a spokeswoman confirms.
Opportunities for export of advanced anti-submarine warfare capabilities currently abound despite a bleak outlook previously for the Romeo, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region where sabre-rattling over territories has navies on high alert. This security climate gives Lockheed confidence of continued export success for the type, first delivered in 2005.
“The MH-60R is currently being considered by other countries, and we’ll look to see how their analysis and contract decisions mature over the next one to two years,” he says. “Over the next three years, we’ll look at what other countries want to add to their capabilities, then we’ll look at that production time line.” Lockheed, which supplies the submarine-hunting mission systems and cockpit, acquired Sikorsky in November, and is now leading the global sales push against competitors such as the anti-submarine-warfare-configured NHIndustries NH90 and Airbus Helicopters AS565.
There are outstanding MH-60R cases with South Korea, with eight aircraft approved by the US in 2012, and Qatar – 10 approved in 2013. Other interested parties reportedly include Taiwan.
Armed with Lockheed Hellfire missiles, Raytheon torpedoes and guided rockets for the Saudis, the MH-60R also comes equipped with advanced radar, deep-water sonar, forward-looking infrared and electronic protection
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 25 • FEB / MAR 2016
systems, with full-mission simulators and training provided by CAE. It replaces the SH-60B and SH-60F for the US Navy.
Northrop Lays Out Vision for ‘Cyber Resilient’ Next-Gen
Fighter Northrop Grumman is still ramping up its work on the Pentagon’s most advanced fighter jet, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, but the company is already thinking about what comes next.
Tom Vice, president of Northrop’s aerospace sector, laid out his vision for a long-range, potentially unmanned fighter, featuring laser weapons and advanced “cyber resiliency” to counter threats in the increasingly connected world of 2030.
The Pentagon has begun early conceptual work on a sixth-generation fighter, intended to replace the Air Force’s F-22s and the Navy’s F/A-18s in the 2030s. Early last year, the Air Force began a deep-dive process that will eventually determine what technology and capabilities it will fund to ensure air dominance in the future.
In the meantime, industry is gearing up for a competition in the next decade. Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor on the fifth-generation F-35, is reportedly working on a design for a future fighter concept, while Boeing has quietly released several mockups.
Northrop, a subcontractor on the F-35, will also make a bid as prime contractor for the sixth-generation fighter, Vice told reporters Jan. 14 during a media trip to Northrop’s Palmdale, Calif. facility. The company is involved in several trade studies to determine performance parameters for the next-generation jet, according to Chris Hernandez, company vice president of research, technology and advanced design.
One major problem the Pentagon must confront is protecting aircraft data and lines of communications in a world where cyber hacking is the norm. The government can’t thwart every cyber attack — instead, it must be able to detect the intrusion and prevent damage, Vice said.
“The human body today is susceptible to infection, so the idea of blocking at the skin surface any infection entering the skin — it’s just impossible to do. The question is, when you are infected, what does your body do?” Vice said. “Your body has an incredible system called white blood cells that attack and try to manage that virus in such a way that prevents it from
harming the body. The systems in 2030 will have something very similar.”The next generation of air dominance will leverage a digital version of a white blood cell, able to inoculate a system to prevent a cyber infection from spreading, Vice said.
Another key consideration for industry is finding the perfect balance of speed and range. Although speed and maneuverability have historically been dominant factors in developing fighters, Hernandez said he believes the future plane could trade speed for endurance. Range will be increasingly critical in a world with limited basing, he emphasized.
“Range and speed are orthogonal — subsonic airplanes have significantly more endurance than supersonic aircraft,” Hernandez said. “So it’s too early to say, but it’s quite possible that the next-gen fighters will have supersonic capability, but maybe not to the maximum extent that we have today in some fighters because endurance is going to be what’s important.”
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 26 • FEB / MAR 2016
Boeing Builds The Most Powerful Rocket Ever Made
A giant metal frame standing several yards wide rises up nearly 200 feet inside the Michoud Assembly Facility, NASA’s massive 832-acre space park.
“What you’re looking at is the largest welding system in the world,” said Jackie Nesselroad. She is leading a team from Boeing that’s welding together the world’s most powerful rocket, the Space Launch System. “It’s about the coolest job on earth.”
SLS is not a rocket that will be reusable, like the one Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin just landed for the second time in a row.
It is not a system like the one that Elon Musk’s SpaceX contracts out to NASA for ferrying supplies to the International Space Station.Instead, the SLS has one customer and one mission: to take Americans into deep space.
“Mars is a million times further away than the space station. It’s all about discovery. There isn’t a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, so to speak.” -Paul Wright, senior manager, Boeing.
The goal is Mars. The program will cost billions.“It is designed for beyond low-Earth orbit exploration with humans,” said Frank McCall, the deputy program manager from Boeing who called SLS “a mission that is long overdue.” The first unmanned test flight is slated for late 2018. By 2021, the rocket is supposed to carry astronauts aboard the Orion space capsule built by Lockheed Martin.
“The first crewed mission … will be a mission that goes to the far side of the moon, literally farther than we’ve ever gone before in manned spacecraft,” said NASA SLS manager Patrick Whipps.
This year alone, Congress is giving NASA $2 billion for SLS, and much of that funding is going to the core rocket built by Boeing. That core includes powerful liquid hydrogen and oxygen fuel tanks, which will give the first version of the rocket 8.5 million pounds of thrust.
“That’s 31 747s at full power,” said Boeing engineer Tony Castilleja. That thrust will be even greater in later versions. It also makes SLS the most powerful rocket in history. “This is the only rocket that can cut the time in half and double the science and double the exploration.”
Why does NASA have to pay so much, and why does it need to own the rocket? Musk has plans to get to Mars on his own, so why not just ride along with SpaceX? NASA management believes deep space exploration is so big, so expensive, so fraught with risk, that it needs to own the mission. “Mars is a million times further away than the space station,” said Paul Wright senior manager for test and evaluation at Boeing. “It’s all about discovery. There isn’t a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, so to speak.”
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 27 • FEB / MAR 2016
At least not yet.The good news for Boeing and NASA is that Americans are once again infatuated with space. The credit goes to everything from the bold visions of billionaires like Musk and Bezos to films like “The Martian.” Congress voted to give NASA a raise in 2016 to $19.3 billion — more than the agency requested. The SLS program
is hoping for continued funding to pay for more trips, because beyond the first two missions, the way to Mars isn’t clear. Perhaps the rocket system could take astronauts back to the moon, or to an asteroid. It all depends on how the first two missions go, how much it costs, and what other competing priorities there are through 2035.
Boeing is trying to keep costs down by reusing technologies from the space shuttle programs, such as the engines and solid-fuel rocket boosters. McCall doesn’t see that as looking backward. “Why reinvent the wheel if the wheel works?”
NASA is also exploring new technologies for the program down the road, such as using nuclear energy to take the Orion capsule all the way to Mars. NASA’s Whipps said astronauts will also need new spacesuits. Instead of wearing suits for a few hours a day on spacewalks outside the space station,
“we’ll be using the spacesuit literally every day, sometimes many hours every day, on the surface of Mars or an asteroid.” The suits will have to be stronger, and astronauts will need the tools to repair them on site.
“When you’re 40 or 60 million miles away from your home planet, there is not a depot to take parts back to,” Whipps said.
For now, however, the focus is building the rocket, making it lighter, and keeping the SLS program on budget and on time. The core rocket will be unpainted to save on hundreds of pounds of white paint that was only for cosmetic purposes. Boeing has revamped the welding facility at Michoud to create welds that weigh less, and it’s reduced the number of tools needed from two dozen during the Shuttle program to only six or seven for SLS.
Meanwhile, at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, NASA is spending $76 million this year to build two new towers where Boeing will test the fuel tanks. The liquid hydrogen tank alone will stand 130 feet, and testing could begin later this year. “The biggest challenge for us is we are going to be doing all these tests — the engine test, the liquid hydrogen tank, the inner tank and the liquid oxygen tank, almost all at the same time,” said Boeing’s Wright.
Those tests ultimately will determine the rocket’s limits. “We’re going to qualify those by testing all the way to failure,” said NASA’s Tim Flores. For him, knowing the rocket’s limits, and making sure SLS is safe, has gotten personal. His 11-year-old son recently decided he wants to be an astronaut when he grows up, and Flores believes someone his son’s age will be the first human on Mars.
“Now I think, ‘Am I making the right decisions with the things that I’m doing?’” he said, standing atop a test tower in Alabama. “My son might actually be on one of those flights.”
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 28 • FEB / MAR 2016
Pacific Swiss & Manufacturing, Inc. Supports Its Customers in a Large Way,
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In the beginning, there was a clear focus on hi-precision small parts machining.
Since 1995, Pacific Swiss has been supplying precision-machined parts with short lead times to a variety of manufacturing industries worldwide. Their customers choose them and put us in a position of trust to provide them with quality parts, delivered on-time and at a reasonable cost. The parts they manufacture are for some of the largest companies in their respective industries. These industries include but are not limited to, medical, aerospace, electronic, interconnect, linear & motion control, plastic molding, recreation and telecommunication.
The Pacific Swiss niche is the ‘micro miniature” components. They consider themselves a small parts manufacturer which is one inch and under, but their real niche is ‘Micro Miniature’ CNC Swiss Turning. One of a handful of shops doing real Swiss Turning is Pacific Swiss and that’s what sets them apart from the multitudes of shops that claim to do it all. “This is all we do”, says Greg; Day to day we focus on ‘Micro Miniature’ and have for the past 10 years, as a whole for 20 years.”
When producing micro and miniature sized parts for their customers, it is the power and precision of their company’s machining capability and their team members’ experience that puts the strength and overall quality into every part. As is typical with these types of parts, they require extremely tight tolerances and high surface finish callouts. Everyday, they make parts with tolerances of +/- 0.0005” and surface finishes of 16Ra or better.
The benefit of machining parts on the multi axis CNC swiss machines is that it primarily allows Pacific Swiss the ability to produce simple to extremely complex parts in one machining operation, in which the part comes out of the machine virtually burr free. There is less chance, therefore that a part is damaged in a secondary operation. This reduces their thru-put time and allows them to get the parts to the customer faster, thus reducing their time to market. In the event parts do need a deburring operation, heat treat or a plating process, they have a highly qualified supply chain that they rely on for those processes. As these suppliers are extensions of Pacific Swiss, they review their quality systems annually.
Pacific Swiss is all CNC ‘Multi-Axis’ Swiss machines, and this is very important. Greg said, “we don’t have a secondary operation department. Everything we do comes off the machines complete. Everything is accomplished on the CNC machines and this accentuates our speed to get parts to our customers that helps them to be profitable. This also assures their parts will get to market faster which
is critical for the medical industry.
Pacific Swiss & Manufacturing Inc. has been involved with a number of major medical and electronic manufacturers from product design thru FDA approval and supporting full production. A few of those manufacturers have taken the assembly of their product off shore, either to China, Malaysia or England. These customers have chosen Pacific Swiss to support those global operations. Maintaining their capacity as a global critical component supplier to these customers is a testament to their commitment to quality and customer service. Pacific Swiss supported a major printing company’s assembly plant in Penang, Malaysia with critical plastic components for a number of years. These parts were supplied for the complete life cycle of multiple printer models.
Quality Control
Pacific Swiss is in the process of obtaining ISO certification. Currently their Quality Control manual meets the requirements of MIL-I-45208a and MIL-Q-9858a. It is also ISO and FDA compliant. Quality is constantly monitored on all parts and Jim Motter, their Quality Control Manager handles the AQL samplings for final inspections. The inspection room is temperature
controlled and equipped with an extensive range of inspection tools and gages. Parts are inspected under magnification on one of their many microscopes, Starrett HB350 optical comparator or on their state of the art Keyence IM-6225 non-contact automated dimension
inspection system. Jim states, “The addition of the Keyence non-contact inspection system with auto-recognition capability is key to our future growth. It will reduce the time it takes to inspect parts while giving our customers more inspection data. Once the part features, dimensions and tolerances are programmed into the system, that information will be used on all future inspections. As future parts are run, the parts will be placed on the inspection stage and the auto-recognition system takes over. The part will be recognized by specific features on the part. All measurements will be
taken simultaneously within 10 seconds and the data displayed on the monitor. That data will then be saved to file for use on the final inspection report. SPC charts and Histograms can then be extracted from the recorded data and sent to the customer.”
What’s New With Pacific Swiss?
They have added sales representatives in 4 major territories in the Western United States and they are looking to bring back representation in the Southwest US region. Their plan by the end of 2016 is to have the Western United States covered with specialized teams of outside sales representatives.
Pacific Swiss continues to work with students to help them get
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 29 • FEB / MAR 2016
the educational edge needed in today’s manufacturing environment by partnering with the manufacturing department of Clackamas Community College. Students come to Pacific Swiss to complete their Cooperative Work Experience (CWE) of 120 work hours. Pacific Swiss uses the college curriculum and they have their own internal curriculum. This has been a great recruiting method for Pacific Swiss as they have found some exceptional students to work in their business once they have completed their degree program. This work-study program actually allows students to have hands on experience and to see if they really like and want to do this for a living.
The Team at Pacific Swiss is unified in their goals to build the business; Greg Cde Baca is CEO/President, Jim Motter is QA, Jacob Sims in Customer Service, Doug Wilson is Engineering and new part introduction, and Shop Leader Mike Lally all have a combined tenure of over 45 years. Set up operators Justin, Kevin, Nick and Matthew support Doug and Mike unequivocally on the shop floor.
I asked Greg if people like working in his shop. Greg said, “I had 3 of our guys leave for greener pastures and all three came back and love it here. Dental and vision is paid 100% by the company and the employees get a monthly stipend for their medical, and they get free lunch on Fridays! We buy the Team lunch on Fridays as a way of saying thanks for the previous weeks work. The camaraderie is really great here and they all just generally like each other. Greg continued, “We are very focused but we are very flexible, they know when they need to buckle down and get things done and they know when they can be easy going in the shop. My team holds each other accountable and this allows me the freedom to step away from the shop because they know their responsibilities, and they are empowered to make their own decisions. It’s a great feeling to know my guys will take care of every shop and business related task as if it were theirs. I do follow email while I’m gone but I do enjoy a real vacation and feel a great deal of trust in my team to take care of the business.”
Another key ingredient to the Pacific Swiss successful business is their Citizen-Cincom CNC Swiss Machines and their distributor Spinetti Machinery Inc.. Page Spinetti of Spinetti Machinery out of Rocklin, CA takes excellent care of the Pacific Swiss business with local service and exemplary options for finance and tooling. Greg said, “Doing business with Spinetti has been tremendous! They have the best local service with service engineers that are minutes away from our shop when service is required. They are very flexible and very responsive, when we need replacement parts quoted or parts shipped in they make it happen, they are very accessible! That’s one of the things we look for when we buy equipment is the follow up service and accessibility from the distributor. Spinetti continues to be Top Notch!”
Pacific Swiss offers dock-to-stock quality and managed inventory systems for our customers. This gives them the flexibility to place large orders to get best possible pricing, Once parts are in inventory they can be shipped to a predetermined purchase order schedule or shipped on-demand.
Greg knows he needs great team members, great sales reps, and great machines to support his customers. He enlists the best distributor of the best machines, the best educated team members to support the best customers in the world, and it works well.
Hear what some of Pacific Swiss Customers have to say
“We send Pacific Swiss our smallest work but it is some of our most important work. Not many companies can do what Pacific Swiss does for us and they do it so well. We get good pricing, great delivery, and it’s a pleasure calling them because they are so upbeat. I highly recommend Pacific Swiss to anyone looking for a great Swiss machining company!”
- Engineering for a major US manufacturing company
“ I’ve worked with Pacific Swiss for over 3 years and they bend over backwards for us! They always run a few extra parts for us and stock them and this saves my bacon every time. Packaging is great, customer service is great, and they always exceed my expectations with a high quality product, on time!”
- A Supply Chain Manager at a major US Medical Company
“I’ve worked with Pacific Swiss for a few years now…very good relationship. Flew up to Oregon to see Greg’s shop with a customer and the customer was very at ease with putting work into the shop once they saw how totally organized the shop is. Pacific Swiss is great to work with. They
make great parts, on time, and they are attentive to customer needs.”- Sales Rep, So Cal
“I’ve been doing business with Pacific Swiss for over 5 years and my company has been with them for years before I showed up. We make inspection equipment and Pac Swiss as I call them makes parts that are integral with very tight tolerances. They are one of the best for meeting my requirements. They are flexible, priced right, and very high quality.”
- A Purchasing Pro for an Inspection Equipment Company
For more information on Pacific Swiss & Manufacturing, Inc. Call: 503-557-9407,
15423 SE Piazza Ave., Clackamas, OR [email protected], www.pacificswiss.net
my expectations with a high quality product, on time!”my expectations with a high quality product, on time!”my expectations with a high quality product, on time!”my expectations with a high quality product, on time!”
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 30 • FEB / MAR 2016
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Gamechanger: How Pratt & Whitney Transformed Itself To Lead A Revolution In
Jet Propulsion
Recently Airbus delivered the first aircraft in its upgraded family of A320neo narrow body jetliners to Lufthansa. News that a European aircraft maker is delivering planes to a German carrier might not sound like a breakthrough for American technology, but in this case it is. That’s because the “neo” designation of the Airbus family stands for “new engine option,” and the planes Lufthansa has bought will be equipped with a revolutionary “geared turbofan” engine made by United Technologies unit Pratt & Whitney. Pratt has spent $10 billion and 20 years developing the geared turbofan, which it is marketing in multiple variants as the PurePower family of high-bypass engines. To say the PW1100G engines built specially for the A320neo are a breakthrough is a bit of an understatement. The engines will reduce fuel consumption 15%, extending the plane’s range by 500 nautical miles. They will reduce environmental emissions by 50%. They will reduce noise by 75%. And that’s just for starters – the fuel savings will grow to 20% by 2020 as the engine technology is refined, and Airbus is projecting major savings on aircraft maintenance. The key to the gains is a reduction gearbox built into the engine that allows each of its sections to spin at optimum speed. It’s an idea that has been around for some time, but was devilishly difficult to develop into the kind of engines a next-generation narrow body required. The
clearest indication Pratt & Whitney has succeeded is that 7,000 of the engines have been ordered before the first commercial flight even occurred. Most of the aircraft makers adopting Pratt’s PurePower line plan to make it the sole propulsion offering on their new jets. Airbus will offer two options on the neo — including an upgraded conventional turbofan from GE — but there isn’t any doubt which engine will be quieter, more fuel efficient, or more environmentally friendly. It will be Pratt’s geared turbofan, which has already disrupted business as usual in the short-to-medium haul segment of the market to such a degree that every aircraft and engine maker has been forced to respond with new product offerings. Unfortunately for Pratt’s competitors, there is no way they can catch up with the Connecticut-based company’s lead in new technology anytime soon — which is one reason why Pratt expects engine production to double through the end of the decade. Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower family of geared turbofan engines is revolutionizing jet propulsion, and in the process disrupting business as usual in the commercial transport sector. But getting to this point required Pratt to transform its business culture, including relying much more heavily on a rigorously managed supply chain. Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower family of geared turbofan engines is revolutionizing jet propulsion, and in the process disrupting business as usual in the commercial transport sector. But getting to this point required Pratt to transform its business culture, including relying much more heavily on a rigorously managed supply chain. The other reason is the F135 engines it is building for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter, a program that will deliver over 3,000 stealthy tactical aircraft to three U.S. military services and a dozen overseas allies. That program is ramping up too as the price of engines and airframes falls in each successive production lot, headed toward a price-tag per plane similar to that of the Cold War fighters the F-35 will replace. Pratt is the exclusive supplier of engines for the F-35, which means both the military and commercial parts of its business are looking bullish for decades to come (much of its profits come from the aftermarket, supporting fielded engines during multi-decade service lives). But it is the geared turbofan that I want to focus on here, because the PurePower family is emblematic of what U.S. manufacturers can accomplish in global commercial markets when they have a vision of the future, coupled with the discipline and skills required to make that vision real. Pratt generates 90% of the PurePower family’s content by value within U.S. borders, even though 80% of the engines are sold overseas (the engines already have 70 customers in 30 countries). It is an amazing feat to have accomplished this with a manufacturing base concentrated in the high-wage, high-tax, heavily-regulated state of Connecticut. I go into it in greater detail in a report I released today. United Technologies has been a contributor to my think tank for some time; I have been able to closely follow Pratt & Whitney’s efforts to best its competitors for the better part of a decade. When I first encountered the unit, it was struggling to keep up with competitors in both the military and commercial segments of the engine market.
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 31 • FEB / MAR 2016
Machinists Inc. Creates Parts for World’s Largest Underwater Observatory
At 10,000 feet down to the Pacific Ocean floor, off the Washington, Oregon coast, the pressures are incredible. It’s called the Regional Scales Nodes Project, a joint project of the University of Washington and the National Science Foundation. Machinist Inc. is building titanium components for the project, very high pressure cylinders, where the scientists will place their electronic monitoring equipment, and also the titanium frameworks where all these monitoring devices will be placed and installed onto the sea floor.
It is the largest underwater observatory in the world, giving real time data back to the scientists who are watching the movement on those plates. At the same, its giving real time information on things related to climate change, changes to the ocean atmosphere and other affects on ocean life in that area.
Machinist Inc. has been building deep water equipment for a long time, according to MI sales and estimating. MI understands the real world circumstances that impact their customer’s designs and helps them develop workable solutions.
For more information on the Regional Scales Nodes Project. http://www.apl.uw.edu/project/project.php?id=rsn
Contact Jeff Tomson, 800 / 244 4130 or http://www.machinistsinc.com
Machinists Inc. Manufactures Autonomous Underwater Vehicles
Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, as they are called, have been in development for the last 20 years or so, but now, are becoming increasingly more prevalent, due to emerging technology. The AUVs are used as real time centurions patrolling under the water.
Machinists Inc. makes primary hulls for AUVs, which can withstand pressures at fairly significant depths. Typically, the AUV is made from titanium, but sometimes aluminum, for units not going as deep. They are basically like a small, unmanned submarine that flies around underwater through the commands of a computer aboard a ship usually that tells it what search area to work in.
They have a function very similar to the high pressure cylinders that MI has done for the other underwater vehicle projects, except for the fact they are independently mobile. MI has made a series of parts, which could be called production units. Those have been tested in the ocean areas where they’ll be working.
MI has completed recent prototypes for a new developing technology. AUVs will be deployed and run around the ocean, not to be retrieved for very long periods of time. AUVs will dock in
underwater docking stations and be charged up by a solar cell floating on the surface. Then upload all the information being gathered to a satellite.
Contact Jeff Tomson, 800 / 244 4130 or http://www.machinistsinc.com
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A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 32 • FEB / MAR 2016
Wage Growth Is Finally Here -- If You’ve Got The Skills Employers Need
Wages are going up even as hiring and sales stay flat, according to a survey of business economists. Nearly half say their companies have increased their workers’ pay over the past three months, according to the National Association for Business Economics survey. That’s up from 33 percent in NABE’s October survey, and is the highest percentage reporting pay raises since 2005. Only 4 percent reduced pay. Nearly half of businesses surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics raised wages in the fourth quarter -- the largest number since 2005.Plus, 58 percent expect their companies will increase wages and salaries over the next three months. Wage growth has lagged the rest of the economy, so this increase is welcome news. The outlook for sales isn’t as robust, however. The survey found that 47 percent of businesses reported sales growth in the fourth quarter, while 15 percent said sales were down. That’s a net increase of 32 percent, the same number that was reported during the previous quarter. So why are wages growing when sales and hiring are flat? “In a lot of areas, it ties in with the difficulty our respondents keep telling us they’re having in hiring qualified workers,” said Jim Smith, chief economist for Parsec Financial in Asheville, N.C. That’s true in industries such as construction, where skilled welders, plumbers and electricians are in short supply, and in manufacturing, where there’s a shortage of trained plant operators and instrument technicians. But Smith also sees a shortage of qualified workers in industries where skills aren’t so specialized, such as the hospitality industry. In western North Carolina, where the unemployment rate is only 3 percent,
“companies are beating the bushes” to find qualified workers, he said.
“There are a lot of bidding wars out there all over the country, and that raises wages and salaries,” Smith said. This is great news for workers who have the skills employers need.But it’s also a sign that some young adults would be better off going to trade school than college, said Kevin Swift, chief economist for the American Chemistry Council.
DOD To Place New Weapons On Old Aircraft
The arsenal plane “takes one of our oldest aircraft platforms and turns it into a flying launchpad for all sorts of different conventional payloads,” said Defense Secretary Ash Carter. “In practice, the arsenal plane will function as a very large airborne magazine, networked to fifth generation aircraft that act as forward sensor and targeting nodes, essentially combining different systems already in our inventory to create whole new capabilities.” Source: The National Interest online
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 33 • FEB / MAR 2016
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Pentagon’s Budget Plan Funds 404 Lockheed F-35 jets
The U.S. Defense Department plans to buy 404 Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jets over the next five years, a net decrease of 5 to 7 percent from last year’s plan, sources familiar with the plans said.
The orders will amount to about $40 billion in new revenue for Lockheed, the Pentagon’s No. 1 supplier, and engine maker Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp.
The revised procurement numbers will be released when the Pentagon issues its fiscal 2017 budget and the new five-year plan, said the sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly before the budget release.
The change in the Pentagon’s plan for the $391 billion weapons program defers orders for 45 Air Force jets, compared with last year’s plan, while accelerating orders for the Navy and Marine Corps models of the aircraft, the sources said.
The Pentagon still plans to buy a total of 2,457 jets for all three military services in coming years, they added.
The Pentagon’s plan does not include an estimated 260 international F-35 orders over the five-year period, said the sources. Those orders could rise further over the period given potential orders from countries including Finland, Denmark, Belgium and Singapore, the sources said.
The new plan calls for the Air Force to buy 243 F-35 jets through fiscal 2021, 45 fewer than planned, as the service juggles funds to pay for a new long-range bomber to be built by Northrop Grumman Corp, and KC-46A refueling planes to be built by Boeing Co.
It calls for the Navy and Marine Corps to buy 64 F-35C jets, which can take off and land on aircraft carriers, over the next five years, and 97 F-35B jets, which can land like a helicopter, the sources said.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced plans to buy 13 more F-35 fighter jets for the Navy and Marine Corps than planned last year, but he did not disclose the total number of jets to be purchased across the department.
Two sources said the plans could actually represent an increase of 21 F-35 jets for the Navy and Marine Corps over the five-year period. No comment was immediately available on the discrepancy from Carter’s office.
The U.S. Marine Corps declared an initial
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 35 • FEB / MAR 2016
STAINLESS STEELS • DUPLEX STAINLESS STEELS • NICKEL ALLOYS • TITANIUM ALLOYS • COBALT ALLOYSsquadron of 10 of its F-35B model jets ready for combat last July.
The Air Force is due to follow suit in August, followed by the Navy in late 2018 or early 2019. Source: Reuters
Puget Sound Shipyard To Build Two Cruise Ships In New $95M Contract
Two Seattle-area companies will be designing and building two 100-passenger cruise ships, a contract worth nearly $95 million.
The two 238-foot ships, in the smaller expedition category of cruise ships, will be built by Nichols Brothers Boat Building on Whidbey Island, and delivered in the second quarters of 2017 and 2018.
The 238-foot ships, to be built on Whidbey Island, will be outfitted for adventure travelers.
The buyer, New York-based Lindblad Expeditions, will operate the ships between Baja, Costa Rica and Panama during the winter, and southeast Alaska, Oregon, Washington and Canada during the summer months.
Designing the ships is Seattle-based Jensen Mar itime, owned by San Francisco-based Crowley Maritime Corp.
The contract demonstrates the continued competitiveness of Washington shipyards in fabricating new vessels. Nichols has long built medium-size work and passenger vessels, with the scale partly determined by the shallow waters of the tidal estuary where the vessels must be launched.
The twin-propeller vessels for Lindblad will be outfitted for expedition cruising, where the smaller ships are able to get closer to natural features and wildlife than their larger cruise ship counterparts. The ships will feature a remotely operated underwater vehicle, a video microscope, an external hydrophone for listening to sounds, an external camera at the bow, and full warm and cold water diving gear.
“These new ships mark an exciting step in the long-term growth of the company, and enable us to capitalize on the substantial demand for our expeditions,” said Sven Lindblad, president and CEO of Lindblad, in a statement.
Jensen will be taking a page from aircraft design, by doing all of the work on a 3D computer design system.
All details of the structural, electrical, mechanical and HVAC systems of the vessel will be woven into one 3D computer model. Engineers will be able to use the model to see how the systems will fit and function together.Source: Puget Sound Business Journal
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 36 • FEB / MAR 2016
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U.S. Budget Plan Includes Over $13 Billion For New Submarine
R e u t e r s / M a s s C o m m u n i c a t i o n Specialist 1st Class James Kimber/U.S. Navy/Handout via Reuters
The Pentagon’s next five-year budget proposal seeks over $13 billion in funding for a new submarine to carry nuclear ballistic missiles, plus orders for more Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin Corp fighter jets, according to sources familiar with the plans.
The plan also shifts the Navy’s strategy for a new carrier-based unmanned drone to focus more on intelligence-gathering and refueling than combat strike missions, said the sources, who were not authorized to discuss it publicly before the budget’s release.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter plans to map out his spending priorities for the $583 billion 2017 defense budget on Tuesday ahead of the official budget release on Feb. 9.
The Pentagon’s plan will also underscore the need to fund all three legs of the U.S. strategic deterrent “triad” - a new Air Force bomber, a replacement for the Ohio-class submarines that carry nuclear weapons, and new nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles, said one of the sources.
The Navy’s proposed fiscal 2017 budget will fund procurement of materials for the new submarines that take a long time to acquire, with funding for construction of the first full new submarine to follow in fiscal 2021, said one of the sources.
Over the next five years, the Navy would spend over $4 billion on research and development of the new submarines, plus over $9 billion in procurement funding, the sources said.
General Dynamics Corp has the lead role on the new submarine to replace the current Ohio-class of submarines, together with Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc .
Boeing would receive well over $1 billion in new aircraft orders as it seeks to extend production at the company’s St. Louis facility. The Navy will request funding for two Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets as part of the fiscal 2017 war budget, and 14 in the fiscal 2018 budget, said one of the sources.
Navy officials also will likely add a request for 12 more Boeing Super Hornets to their annual list of “unfunded priorities” for fiscal 2017, said one of the sources.
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 37 • FEB / MAR 2016
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Those moves are aimed at filling a shortfall in the number of strike fighters available on aircraft carriers, given delays in the Lockheed F-35 fighter jet program and longer-than-expected repair times for current Boeing F/A-18 jets.
The five-year budget plan calls for Lockheed to sell a total of 161 F-35 fighter jets to the Navy and Marine Corps
- 64 C-model jets that take off and land on aircraft carriers and 97 B-model jets, which can take off from shorter runways and land like a helicopter, according to one of the sources.
Boeing, Lockheed, Northrop Grumman Corp, which makes the unmanned, unarmed X-47B plane that has been tested on U.S. carriers, and privately held General Atomics spent tens of millions of dollars to prepare for the previous tender.
But the program was put on hold in 2014 pending a Pentagon-wide review of intelligence and surveillance programs. Source: Reuters
Boeing Looks To Continue Gresham Jobs-Creating
Investments
Boeing’s Gresham facility helped the company meet its ambitious 2015 goals.
And because of that, the Chicago-based company that’s set a Pacific Northwest manufacturing standard “continues to make investments in our facility for future production rate increases,” a pronouncement that could mean good things for the Portland jobs picture.
The word came as Boeing officials revealed the company slightly beat its own guidance for 2015. Boeing delivered 762 jets among five different models.
Boeing had revealed in 2010 it would spend $100 million to fortify its Portland operations. That strategy came three years after the city of Gresham signed-off on a Boeing request that led to an $80 million investment in the site.
The Gresham Boeing site employs around 1,650 employees who work on complex machining, gear systems and flight controls. It employed 1,500-plus at the site in 2010.
Company leaders said the local facility “produces some of the most critical machined parts and structures for Boeing jetliners.”
Specifically, in 2015, the Portland-area site delivered parts for the company’s 747-8, 767-300 freighter and the 737 MAX. It plans to deliver parts for Chicago-based Boeing’s 777X jet in 2016.
The Puget Sound Business Journal’s analysis of Boeing’s report notes that Boeing had projected delivery of 750 to 755 jets for the year.
The highlight of the report was the 135 twin-engine 787 Dreamliners that Boeing delivered from its facilities in Everett and North Charleston. Boeing had sought to deliver 120 such models.
The company also produced a record 495 single-aisle 737s in 2015, up slightly from the 485 it produced in 2014.The PSBJ called 767 “the sleeper of the year ... reborn by a FedEx order for 100 of the twin-engine jet, counting options, as freighters.”
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 38 • FEB / MAR 2016
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Did Northrop Grumman Just Reveal America’s Next Fighter?
The arrow-shaped aircraft in Northrop’s Super Bowl ad could join the armed forces in the 2030s.
We now have an idea of how defense giant Northrop Grumman visualizes America’s first sixth-generation fighter, and it comes from an unlikely source: A Super Bowl
commercial. The plane seen buzzing around during the high-dollar ad may foreshadow the real fighter that will enter service in 15 to 20 years, replacing the F/A-18 Super Hornet and perhaps even the F-22 Raptor.
Even with the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marines Corps’ massive commitment to the F-35, the F/A-18 Super Hornet will still make up about half of the Navy’s fighter fleet by the 2030s. And at the same time, the Air Force’s F-22 Raptor will be a 40-year-old design by then, with the youngest aircraft in the fleet twenty years old.
Both services are starting up programs to replace these fighters: the Navy calls its program F/A-XX, while the Air Force’s is called F-X. The two services may even work together to develop a common fighter. Three companies—Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman can be expected to bid for the new fighter.
While we don’t know what Lockheed’s or Boeing’s plane will look like, the commercial aired during the Super Bowl gives us an idea of what Northrop Grumman would propose. Northrop’s commercial briefly shows three mysterious, futuristic-looking fighters doing aerial acrobatics. The gray-painted fighters appear arrowhead-like, with one long, continuous wing and two engines. The fighters twist around in the sky, revealing large internal weapons bays.
While we’re a long way from hearing specifics about America’s next fighter, we can guess at what technologies will become key parts of the aircraft. For one thing, the fighter will probably be the first with a built-in laser weapon. The weapon could be used in place of a gun or short-ranged missile for dogfighting, and also to shoot down incoming air-to-air missiles.
Another technology is optional manning. The fighter could have a cockpit for a pilot, but on especially hazardous missions could be flown remotely like a drone. Other technologies include sensors built directly into the skin of the aircraft, small drones that can be deployed at near Mach 1, and artificial intelligence.
New threats will drive new requirements for the fighter. The rise of the Chinese Air Force—and the resurgent Russian Air Force—means America needs a fighter optimized for air-to-air combat. The plane probably will be big, as the long distances involved in Europe and Asia and the Pacific require an aircraft with a large internal fuel supply.
Another reason is that the Grumman half of the company has a very long history of producing fighters for the U.S. Navy. Grumman supplied the Navy with carrier aircraft continuously from the FF biplane of the early 1930s to the F-14D Tomcat produced up until the early 2000s. Northrop Grumman also developed the X-47B, the first carrier-based drone.
NASA Rover Marks 12 Years In Service On Mars, Far Past Its Expected Demise
With a little help from Martian dust devils, NASA’s Mars Opportunity rover has
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extended its originally envisioned 90-day useful life to 12 years. The tiny twisters have kept the rover’s power panels clear of dust, providing the power needed to keep it going. Meanwhile on Earth, engineers and scientists have found ways to tweak Opportunity’s software to overcome other challenges and even remotely upgrade its capabilities. Source: TechCrunch
Musk Moving On Electric Jet
Elon Musk says he’s “close” to developing a “vertical takeoff and landing electric jet” as a practical alternative to conventional aircraft. During a Q&A session with students at Texas A&M last week the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX was asked what his “next great idea” might be and he brought up the design that he first mused about last year. “Well I have been thinking about the vertical takeoff and landing electric jet a bit more,” he told the students.
He first talked about the concept last October in a podcast interview with Marketplace about the future of electric power. “I do like the idea of an electric-aircraft company. I think one could do a pretty cool supersonic, vertical takeoff and landing electric jet,” he said. “That would be really fun … I have a design in mind for that.” “I think, ultimately, seeing is believing. Seeing physical hardware moving and doing useful things, that’s what convinces people.”
W h a t R e c e s s i o n ? Manufacturing Jobs Hit 7-Year High
Apparently, no one told American manufacturers that their business is collapsing, because they kept on hiring more workers in January.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that manufacturing companies added 29,000 workers in January to reach a seven-year high of 12.4 million. After a soft patch in the middle of last year, it was the fourth month in a row that manufacturing payrolls had increased.
It wasn’t just a few sectors that increased employment. Of 79 manufacturing industries, 64% were adding workers.
Not only were factories hiring, they were working their employees longer shifts. Average weekly hours rose a tick to 40.7 hours in January, which is significant because the manufacturing workweek is considered to be one of the best leading indicators for the health of the economy as a whole. Despite the strong dollar, the drop in export orders and the decrease in capital spending, average hours in manufacturing have been roughly unchanged since April.
Factories were also paying their workers more in January. Average hourly pay rose 0.3% or 8 cents to $25.61 an hour. Weekly pay rose by $5.81 to $1,042.33 a week.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. All we’ve been hearing for the past few months is how terrible manufacturing is doing. Orders for factory goods are falling. Exports are down. Companies aren’t investing in new equipment. The Institute for Supply Management’s widely following index has been in contraction mode for four straight months. If manufacturing is in a recession, it hasn’t hit the workers yet. Source: MarketWatch
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MEP Opens Competition To Fund Manufacturing Centers
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) opened a competition to award new cooperative funding agreements for its Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers in 12 states and Puerto Rico. The competition continues a multiyear effort to update the program’s funding structure to better match manufacturing industry needs with resources in MEP’s nationwide network. The MEP centers help small and mid-sized U.S. manufacturers create and retain jobs, increase profits and save time and money.
The current competition will fund awards for centers in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Utah and Vermont.
“MEP continues to play a key role in the resurgence of manufacturing in the United States. These new awards provide resources that will assist U.S. industry in remaining as competitive as possible in the current global environment,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Willie E. May.
The awards provide half of each center’s first-year operating funds, which the centers must match with funding from nonfederal sources. MEP anticipates awarding a total of nearly $39 million for up to 13 centers in these locations.
Established in 1988, MEP is a public-private partnership that delivers a high return on investment to taxpayers. For every one dollar of federal investment, MEP helps businesses generate nearly $19 in new sales growth and $21 in new client investment. This translates into $2.2 billion in new sales annually. For every $1,978 of federal investment, MEP helps create or retain one manufacturing job.
Each MEP center works directly with area manufacturers to provide expertise and services tailored to their most critical needs, ranging from process improvement and workforce development to business practices and technology transfer. Through local and national resources, MEP centers have helped thousands of manufacturers reinvent themselves, increase profits, create jobs and establish a foundation for long-term business growth and productivity.
U.S.-based nonprofit institutions or organizations, including existing MEP centers, are eligible to participate in the competition.
This competition will continue to ensure the process of re-competing the centers in all states will not disrupt the MEP system or degrade its performance. It also will allow for the testing and refinement of procedures, milestones and resource requirements. To date, new awards have been made for centers in 20 states.
MEP will host a webinar for interested parties approximately 15-30 business days from the release of the Federal Funding Opportunity. Full details on the competition and award process can be found in the Federal Register Notice.
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The Thermetrics division makes l i fe-s ize ther mal manikins
— commonly known as test dummies — as well as testing equipment. Engineered Compost Systems makes tools that measure heat levels throughout large compositing facilities.
The Line Control Instruments Group has developed equipment that measures the tension on large maritime winches and related equipment.
The structure of the companies –which are housed under a single roof – is complex.
Tim O’Neill is founder and president of Measurement Technology Northwest and president of Engineered Compost Systems. Rick Burke is president of Thermetrics, while Tom Rezanka is president of Rugged Controls.
This approach makes Measurement Technology Northwest Inc. seem more like a collective than a single company.
But to O’Neill, it makes perfect sense.
“The common thread,” O’Neill said, “is that we apply sensors, software and automation to all these different product areas.”
The formula must be working, because the 55-person company, half of them engineers, has grown at a steady 5 percent to 15 percent a year since 2002, with revenues now in the $10 million to $12 million range. About half of the company’s products are exported.
Measurement Technology Northwest’s single biggest business sector is the life-size “thermal manikins,” which the company produces for automobile companies.
Those companies need to know how well their cars’ heating and cooling systems are working, and the manikins are fully fitted with sensors that measure temperature, humidity and air flow across multiple points on the dummy’s body.
Most of them are customized for specific needs, and the company has developed submersible and child models that can supply data that will tell researchers what a human’s experience will be.
The Thermetrics division also makes a completely different looking line of test equipment, mostly sold to designers and manufacturers of advanced fabrics, to determine how effective those fabrics are.
For instance, the Gore company needs to know how well its fabrics breathe,
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while makers of fire-fighting suits need to know how their fabrics will stand up to heat.
Elizabeth McCullough, co-director for the Institute for Environmental Research at Kansas State University, said her organization depends on the manikins for fabric testing.
“Thermetrics is the leading producer of thermal measuring equipment for textile products,” she said. “I would not recommend anybody else. They are the best by far, and they continue to innovate their thermal equipment.”
In this category — and most of the sectors in which the Measurement Technology Northwest companies operate — the companies are world leaders because their niches are so specialized and technical.
One Chinese company tried to make a knock-off of one of Measurement Technologies garment-testing tools, but was unable to replicate the key sensor technology.
“We look for places where very specific technical knowledge and capabilities, allow us to operate successfully without a lot of competition,” O’Neill said. “In small markets, as a small company, you can do marketing more efficiently.”
Also, O’Neill said as a manufacturer operating in Seattle, the company must produce products that have a high value.
“You can’t manufacture in a high-paying area unless you’re doing high-value products,” he said. “Land prices and wages being what they are here, you have to produce things that have quite a bit of value-add to them.” Source: Puget Sound Business Journal
Siemens Opens Rail-Car Maintenance Facility In Sacramento
Siemens has opened a 60,000 square-foot plant in McClellan Park to repair and maintain rail cars, the global manufacturing company announced.
The leased site will be for refurbishment and accident repair, as well as a delivery space for spare parts. It will serve as the U.S. headquarters for Siemens Mobility Customer Services and its West Coast logistics hub.
“This expansion signals our dedication to servicing and modernizing rail systems across North America while continuing to deliver industry-leading manufacturing expertise,” said Chris Maynard, head of customer service for Siemens Mobility, in a statement.
The new plant will complement operations at the existing Siemens plant in South Sacramento, said company spokeswoman Annie Satow. That facility employs over 800 people and houses manufacturing, design and engineering for light rail and locomotives. Thirty people will be transferred from the South Sacramento facility to the new plant in McClellan Park. Source: Sacramento Business Journal
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High-Speed ‘Trees’ Generate Electricity From Wind
Small electromechanical structures that look like trees shaking in a storm could prove to be the next big thing in energy generation.
Research announced by the Ohio State University points to the possibility. There, engineers used mathematical modeling to study realistic ambient vibrations, such as the random motions experienced by the leaves of a tree in high wind. The project was led by Ryan Harne, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and the director of the Laboratory of Sound and Vibration Research.
Next, he and his team built a practical model. That model was made up of two thin steel beams, one serving as the equivalent of a truck and the other a branch. They were connected by polyvinylidene fluoride, an electromechanical material that could convert movement into electrical energy.
Vibrating the device at high speeds creates a high-energy trick of the eye: while it oscillated at such a high speed that the human eye couldn’t see it moving, it produced a small amount of voltage (0.8 volts). Adding noise to the system – a random ‘nudge’ in the oscillation that varies the
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oscillation in one direction or another – produced more than double the voltage. The device could be seen to sway back and forth now; the high frequency energy was channeled into low frequency oscillation. With this addition, the device produced 2 volts.
It might not be a lot of energy right now, but Harne sees it as just a proof-of-concept for something larger.
“Buildings sway ever so slightly in the wind, bridges oscillate when we drive on them and car suspensions absorb bumps in the road,” he said.
“In fact, there’s a massive amount of kinetic energy associated with those motions that is otherwise lost. We want to recover and recycle some of that energy.”
Women in Manufacturing™ Launches Community Chapter in California
Women in Manufacturing™ (WiM) is pleased to announce the launch of a community chapter in San Francisco, California. The newly established WiM California Chapter will host an event on Monday, February 22, 2016, from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. at Carbon’s headquarters in Redwood City, California. This is an opportunity to network with other WiM members and women in the manufacturing industry. WiM President Allison Grealis will kick off the chapter’s first event. WiM California is directed by Dana McCallum, business development manager at Carbon. Dana has a history in manufacturing, beginning her career in injection molding and 3D printing. She also serves as vice president on the board for the Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG).
“I am honored to be a part of the launch for the WiM California Chapter,” said McCallum. “I am a true believer in WiM’s purpose and have a passion for manufacturing as well as networking, so it is exciting to have the opportunity to bring women in California together.”
Kicking off our very first WiM California chapter event as keynote speaker will be Milo Werner, director of new product introduction operations at Fitbit. “We are extremely excited to have Milo, a great leader in manufacturing, share her story with us,” said McCallum.
“We are thrilled to launch our first chapter on the West Coast,” said Allison Grealis, WiM president. “As a growing national organization, we aspire to eventually have a community chapter in every state and our WiM California Chapter is another step towards this goal. Women across the country are seeking an industry support network and I’m proud that Women in Manufacturing is fulfilling this need.” WiM communities are designed to bring together women in their states, allowing them to develop new contacts, participate in local networking events and become an advocate for women in the manufacturing industry—all while simultaneously learning about business development and job opportunities in their communities.Community chapters should typically meet bimonthly and meetings
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range in subject matter based on the interests of members. Each community is pioneered and run by a WiM member. Contact Kristin Moore at 216-503-5700 or [email protected] if interested in starting your own WiM community.For more information or to register for the WiM California kickoff meeting , visit the WiM website.
Internet Access Taxes Banned By Congress
The ban was included in a customs enforcement bill that passed the Senate 75-20 and is headed to President Barack Obama for his signature.The technology industry welcomed the permanent ban, which had been in effect on a temporary basis and extended seven times since 1998. Without the legislation, Internet access could be subject to taxes that are imposed on traditional telecommunications services.
“This legislation ensures, once and for all, that hundreds of millions of consumers, students, families and businesses across the country will never have to pay onerous taxes to use the Internet,” said Jay Driscoll, executive director of the ITFA Coalition, which lobbied for the Internet Tax Freedom Act.
“The cost, speed and availability of broadband Internet access should continue to be a national priority, and by making the Internet Tax Freedom Act permanent, we can boost the growth of the Internet and the economic and societal benefits that come with it,” said Daniel Castro vice president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.The National Retail Federation had hoped a permanent ban on Internet access taxes would be combined with legislation allowing states to collect sales taxes on more Internet purchases. But it endorsed the bill that included the Internet access tax ban, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, because faster processing of cargo through customs will benefit retailers.
Manufacturers also stand to benefit from the legislation.“By streamlining procedures that will cut red tape and facilitate legitimate trade, this bill would provide one of the most concrete improvements to our customs and border policies in over a decade,” said Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers.
The legislation also strengthens trade enforcement mechanisms, particularly on intellectual property, according to the National Foreign Trade Council.
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First Image Of Bezos’ Blue Origin Rocket Engine Contains Hints It Will Be Built In
Kent
Jeff Bezos’ new BE-4 rocket engine will be larger than a person, judging from the first photos of the engine’s metal bell.
We can tell the size of the engine from a photo Blue Origin tweeted out, with the engine bell next to a smiling propulsion design engineer. A company contact declined to
share the name of the woman in the photo.
The metal bell next to the woman is where the combustion will place, which will provide the engine thrust. Pumps and ignition equipment will be attached to the apex of the bell, to make it a functioning engine.
The bright metal of the bell suggests it was milled in Kent out of one large piece of metal, or several put together.
When complete, the 500,000-pound-thrust engine will power United Launch Alliance’s forthcoming Vulcan launch vehicle, as well as Blue Origin’s own booster, which will launch from Florida.
While prospects for the BE-4 were knocked back in December, when the omnibus spending bill included a provision lifting a ban on purchasing Russian-built RD-180 engines, that decision may be reversed.
Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona), has introduced new legislation to re-instate the ban, saying: “It is morally outrageous and strategically foolish to ask American taxpayers to subsidize Russia’s military industrial base,” in a Jan. 27 statement.
Blue Origin’s BE-4 engine is to be fueled by natural gas, unlike the current and smaller BE-3 engine, which runs on hydrogen.
If Bezos’ team builds the BE-4 engines at Blue Origin’s Kent headquarters as locals hope, the production will be a significant boost to the region’s growing outer space industry.
Blue Origin’s Kent campus is large – 260,000 square feet on 26 acres – which is plenty of room for full production.
In addition, while the 550,000-pound-thrust engines will be relatively large – about 12 feet high – that’s still not too large to transport.
Last month Blue Origin had multiple Kent job listings on its website, many of them for manufacturing-related engineers. The Florida listings are mostly for launch site developers, suggesting that the company’s manufacturing focus is Kent.Source: Puget Sound Business Journal
After $12.4M Industrial Deal, California Investor Wants To Buy More In Seattle
The Puget Sound area’s industrial market is surging and attracting investors.
The latest to enter the market is Bixby Land Co., a Newport Beach, California-based investor and developer. It has bought two new industrial buildings in Auburn and Sumner from Panattoni Development Co., for a total of $12.4 million. The buildings are fully leased to an aerospace company and a communications firm.
Real estate investors are pouring billions of dollars into the Puget Sound region’s industrial market. Among the latest investors is Bixby Land Co., which is the new owner of this Auburn building, which Tellwork Communications leases.
Spurred by greater Seattle’s strong economy, the region’s industrial market is surging. Big new buildings are going up, but not fast enough to keep up with demand. This has caused rents to rise more than 8 percent in the Kent Valley, and investors like Bixby are flocking here to capitalize. Last year, total sales volume surged 202 percent to $2.4 billion, according to international research firm Real Capital Analytics.
Bixby owns properties in California, Arizona and Nevada, and is now making Seattle “a major focus,” said Bixby Senior Vice President Mike Severson said, who added that the company is looking to buy more assets here.
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In Sumner, Bixby bought a 63,768-square-foot building at 14513 32 nd St. E. The tenant is Omada International, a new company that supplies the aerospace industry. Last spring, Omada acquired Carlson Formetec, a Tacoma company that specializes in a technology for forming titanium for aerospace.The Tacoma company, which now operates in a 25,000-square-foot facility, is the second acquisition for Omada. Bixby also acquired a 34,435-square-foot building at 1417 West Valley Highway N. in Auburn. Tellwork Communication is the tenant.
SpaceX Ramping Up Rocket Production
This year’s busy launch schedule has pushed SpaceX to transition its Falcon 9 rocket cores from testing and development to mass production.
SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell made the announcement at the Federal Aviation Administration’s Commercial Space Transportation Conference last week. At the conference, Shotwell also said that the company would make several modifications to make the rockets “even more robust” for reuse after examining the Falcon 9 that the company landed in December.
“Now we’re in this factory transformation to go from building six or eight a year to about 18 cores a year,” Shotwell said, according to Gizmodo.
“By the end of this year, we should be at over 30 cores per year.”
The company’s next launch is schedule for Feb. 24 and will put a SES-9 satellite into orbit. Given that the rocket will use nearly all of its fuel — reaching about 35,000 kilometers above the Earth’s surface — SpaceX is expected to again use a drone ship for a landing at sea.
Following the February launch, Shotwell estimates that launches could take place every two to three weeks through the rest of the year, mainly through missions for the International Space Station and the U.S. Air Force.
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NASA’s next crewed spacecraft is now under development and represents a return to the design philosophy of the Apollo era. Stuart Nathan reports
Since the last flight of the Space Shuttle in 2011, there has only been one way to get humans into space: the Soyuz system, using the capsule design that has been in operation since 1968 with only minor changes; the most recent was in 2010 and that module was intended to go out of service the following year. It’s a highly reliable system, but a Soyuz is nobody’s idea of a comfortable place. As those who have visited the Cosmonauts exhibition at London’s Science Museum will know, it’s so cramped that its crew can’t even sit with their legs extended during launch and re-entry. And it can’t get beyond low-Earth orbit.
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NASA’s next crewed spacecraft, Orion, is under development. It passed one major milestone in 2015 with the first flight of a functional model of its crew capsule into Earth orbit and its successful return, and has reached a second with the start of testing of structural test models of its major components, the crew module and service module.
As this implies, Orion represents a return to the design philosophy of the Apollo era. Rather than design another fully reusable system such as the Shuttle, NASA has opted to save money by going for the older, less complex design.
L i ke A p o l l o, Orion consists of a cylindrical service module t h a t h o u s e s t h e c r a f t ’s p r o p u l s i o n system, along with a ir and water for up to four crew, who will sit in a command module in a frustum (truncated cone) shape whose base is a heat shield to protect the crew during re-entry. “This is a design and a shape that we can be completely confident will work,” said Mike Kirasich, NASA’s programme manager for Orion at the agency’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston at an event to welcome the structural model of the service module to NASA’s test site in Sandusky, Ohio.
The Service Module is being supplied by the European Space Agency; the first time NASA has collaborated with the outside agency on a crew-carrying spacecraft. The collaboration is part of the agreement covering the International Space Station, to which ESA contributes ‘in kind’ rather than by financial payments.
The European Service Module (ESM) is based on the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) or ‘Space Truck’, the unmanned craft developed by ESA to resupply the ISS, of which five were built; originally ESA hoped to develop this directly into a crewed craft – the agency’s first – but abandoned this plan when the opportunity arose to become part of the Orion project.
It makes much more sense for a project with this scope to be a collaboration with different nations – Oliver Junkenhöfel
This, explained Oliver Junkenhöfel, ESM project manager at Airbus Defence and Space, which is building the module at its Bremen plant, made financial and operational sense. “When the Constellation programme [the forerunner to Orion] was cancelled in 2009 and NASA abandoned the idea of building the entire spacecraft itself, we had a system that had all the component functions. It makes much more sense for a project with this scope to be a collaboration with different nations, and we’ve already proved with the ISS that such multi-agency projects with equipment made in different places that has to interface together not only work, but can flourish.”
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Experts: Boeing Could Deliver 737 Max Six Months Early
Boeing won’t confirm, but several experts are predicting company will deliver the first of its new 737 Max aircraft, to Southwest Airlines, up to six months early.
In a Wall Street Journal story, writer Jon Ostrower said Boeing may accomplish what he called a “rare feat” in the industry: an early delivery.
“Behind the scenes, industry officials say, Boeing is telling customers it might deliver the jet as much as six months early,” he wrote.
An early delivery would be a significant accomplishment for Boeing, and for its workers, signalling that the 737’s storied dependability is continuing with the new, re-engined model.
Analyst Bjorn Fehrm is among those who foresees first delivery earlier than Boeing’s official projection of third quarter of 2017.
“It will be earlier, barring a major problem cropping up (and the chances are good there will be none,” Fehrm wrote in a digital update of Leeham News, adding that he expects first delivery at least three months — and perhaps six months — earlier than what Boeing previously has said publicly.
To be sure, Boeing still is sticking with its official guidance.
“First delivery of the MAX is still on track for 3Q 2017,” Boeing spokesman Doug Alder said. “There has been no change to that guidance.”
Six months early would still be more than a year from now. That time buffer is far larger than during the flight test period of the 787 Dreamliner, which had just nine months for an extremely difficult regime of flight tests, after it finally first flew in 2009.
In that case, nearly everything about the Dreamliner was new. In the case of the 737 Max, the jet is a proven air frame, well understood by engineers, with the only variations being the new engines, digital cockpit displays, and a few details, including the split winglets and tail cone.
The plane that flew virtually flawlessly last month will be the first delivered. Pilots emerging from the plane last week after the first flight were all smiles.
“It was an unbelievably clean airplane,” chief test pilot Craig Bomben said, referring to the lack of technical problems or surprises. “It flew beautifully.” Source: Puget Sound Business Journal
NASA Electric Propulsion Technology Could Be The Future Of Aviation
At Edwards Air Force Base in California, NASA has been testing a new technology called distributed electric propulsion. “DEP could mean a fundamental shift in how we design aircraft,” said NASA researcher Mark Moore of the Convergent Electric Propulsion Technology Sub-Project based at Langley Research Center. Source: PBS
Air Force Picks Aerojet To Set Standard For 3-D Printed Rocket Parts
Aerojet Rocketdyne is literally going to write the book on 3-D printing of metal parts used for liquid rocket engines.
The Rancho Cordova company announced Tuesday it won a $6 million contract from the U.S. Air Force to define standards for qualifying liquid-fuel rocket components made by additive manufacturing techniques.
Aerojet Rocketdyne announced it won a $6 million contract from the U.S. Air Force to define standards for qualifying liquid-fuel rocket components made by additive manufacturing techniques, which is the metal version of 3D printing.
Aerojet has been testing and using additive manufacturing — the process of layering metal alloys — for two decades.
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Aerojet is being tasked to set a standard that defines the engineering and inspection processes to be followed when producing and testing 3-D printed components for critical space missions.
This award is a part of the U.S. Air Force’s migration away from the use of Russian-made RD-180 engines, which are currently used on Atlas V launches for Air Force missions. Aerojet is in the third year of development of an American-made replacement for the RD-180 engine, called the AR1.
Aerojet has shown additive manufacturing cuts costs and reduces manufacturing time, while maintaining quality of precision metal parts. Last year Aerojet hot-fire tested a rocket engine with 5,000 pounds of thrust made entirely with additive manufacturing. Source: Sacramento Business Journal
Are You Ready For The 18-Hour Flight?
The oil embargo of 1973 was a miserable period when American towns banned Christmas lights to save electricity, billboards urged citizens to
“turn off the damn lights” and filling stations dispensed gasoline by appointment only. The crisis got everyone thinking seriously about innovation and energy efficiency. One result: the massive and efficient jet engines that power the world’s longest commercial flights today.
Emirates launched the world’s longest passenger flight between Dubai and Panama City. A westbound Boeing 777-200LR powered by a pair of GE90 engines covers the 8,950 miles that separates them on a single tank of gas in 17 hours and 35 minutes. But that record may soon topple. Qatar Airways just announced plans to launch a 9,034-mile flight lasting 18 hours and 30 minutes between Doha and Auckland in New Zealand. That route would also use a Boeing 777. Finally, United said it would start the longest flight originating at a U.S. airport between San Francisco and Singapore. If approved by regulators, it will be the world’s longest scheduled route flown by a GEnx-powered Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner.
Qatar Airways just announced plans to launch a 9,034-mile flight lasting 18 hours and 30 minutes. Above: A Qatar Airways’s 25th Boeing 787 powered GEnx engines. Images credit: Adam Senatori for GE Reports
These new efficiency benchmarks have their origin in the oil shock. NASA, in particular, began a quest to develop an energy-efficient engine for commercial aircraft known as the E3 (E-cubed) program. GE joined
early on and developed a new generation of high-bypass turbofan engines starting with the GE90. It has since added the GEnx for the Dreamliner and 747-8, and the GE9X engine, which is currently in development.
To reduce weight, GE equipped the engines with light, carbon-fiber composite fan blades. To this day no other engine maker has engines with composite fan blades in service today. (The design for the GE90 was so fetching that one blade is now on display inside New York’s Museum of Modern Art.). “This was a huge, expensive and risky project,” says Shridhar Nath, who leads the composites lab at GE Global Research. “We planned to replace titanium with what is essentially plastic. We were starting from scratch and we did not know how carbon fiber blades would respond to rain, hail, snow and sand, and the large forces inside the engine.”
The GEnx engine has 18 fan blades made from lightweight carbon fiber composites. GE Aviation by Tomas Kellner
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A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 52 • FEB / MAR 2016
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NEWS, REVIEWS AND ARTICLES ABOUT BAND SAW BLADES AND PARTS
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New Power Generation: GE-Alstom Energy Deal Redefines Power Industry In Coming
Decades
by Mark Egan&Tomas Kellner
GE completed its acquisition of Alstom’s power and grid business today. The transaction, GE’s largest industrial deal ever, unites two storied businesses with roots stretching to the very dawn of the power industry more than a century ago and to its pioneering founders Thomas Edison and Elihu Thomson.
GE has been transforming itself into the world’s largest digital industrial company. With Alstom’s power and grid global footprint, GE will be able to apply big data analytics to an even larger installed base to reduce unplanned downtime and improve performance of turbines, power plants, wind farms, and the grid.
“The completion of the Alstom power and grid acquisition is another significant step in GE’s transformation,” said Jeff Immelt, chairman and CEO, GE. “The complementary technology, global capability, installed base, and talent of Alstom power and water will further our core industrial growth. We are open for business and ready to deliver one of the most comprehensive technology offerings in the energy sector for our customers.”
The Haliade turbine developed by Alstom has a rotor diameter of 150 meters – one and a half times the length of a football field. Image credit: GE Power & Water
Some 1.3 billion people don’t have access to reliable electricity today. The International Energy Agency’s 2014 World Energy Outlook estimates the world needs to add some 7,200 gigawatts (GW) of power generating capacity by 2040 to meet new demand and replace old plants. Two thirds of that growth will be in non-OECD countries, including places like China when Alstom had a big presence.
The acquisition boosts GE’s installed power generation base to some 1,800 gigawatts (GW). That’s more than enough to supply all of U.S.
The company will also be able to improve its power plant design and greatly expand its grid business. With Alstom, it now has the grid footprint and scale to compete globally. Alstom, for example, supplied equipment to the world’s largest transmission line, the Linhão do Madeira in Brazil. The 2,380-kilometer (1,480 miles) long line runs from the Amazonian state of Rondônia to the state of São Paulo in the southeast, and includes 20,000 kilometers (12,400 miles) of cable held aloft by 5,000 steel towers.
Software analytics applied to data coming from a huge installed base will help GE and customers reduce unplanned downtime and improve performance of turbines, power plants, wind farms and the grid.
The will deal will also leave GE with one of the broadest and deepest renewable energy portfolios in the industry. While GE has been a leader in
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onshore wind, the acquisition will allow GE to expand into offshore wind. For example, GE acquired the massive Haliade wind turbines that will power America’s first offshore wind farm off the coast of Block Island, RI.
Bryan Martin, head of U.S. private equity at D.E. Shaw & Co. — which is backing the offshore wind farm — says combining Alstom’s wind turbines and GE’s power generation into a single company changes the wind farm competitive landscape. “GE and Alstom getting together creates the first real competitor to Siemens” for offshore wind farms in Europe, Martin says.
The company also believes that the GE Store — the concept that knowledge and inventions fuel further innovation and applications across the company’s varied industrial sectors as workers in different businesses share their expertise and technology — will also benefit from the combined firm. GE expects $3 billion in savings from synergies in year five of the merger.
The deal closed after receiving regulatory approval in over 20 countries and regions including the E.U., U.S., China, India, Japan and Brazil.
The ties between the two companies predate the creation of GE itself. The name Alstom (originally Alsthom) itself underscores the links between the two firms. The name is a mash-up of the Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques (giving “Als” to the name) and the Thomson-Houston Electric Company (the “thom” of the original moniker).
General Electric inventors Elihu Thomson and Charles Steinmetz, on a street in Boston, Massachusetts.
Elihu Thomson and GE engineer Charles Steinmetz, whose power grid designs helped electrify America, on a street in Boston, Mass. Image credit: Museum of Innovation and Science Schenectady
The two firms merged in 1928. Thomson-Houston was a predecessor to General Electric. In 1892, it merged with the Edison General Electric Company to form GE.
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The Manufacturer’s Secret Weapon
THE SOUND OF RANE
We all have enjoyed music at one time or another, be it on the radio, a home sound system, or at a club or concert. But unless we are musicians, or work in the music business, few of us pause to ponder how music reaches our ears. Ever since Les Paul revolutionized the guitar’s sound and created the multi-head recorder, sound engineers have been on the move, improving, manipulating, purifying and delivering music to our ears. And for 35 years the folks at RANE Corporation have been doing it well and at the speed of technology.
Founded and incorporated in 1981, RANE’s four founders set up shop in Mountlake Terrace, Washington. Right away they made their mark in the industry by blowing away the competition with their versions of a headphone amplifier, an equalizer with real time analyzer, a mixer of live sound and a rugged six channel amplifier for commercial installations. These units provided both superior sound quality and equipment longevity at a midrange price point thus guaranteeing their long-term future in the marketplace. In the first two years RANE designed and shipped eight new products, four of which are still in production today, with the HC6 headphone amplifier being one of the original four.
Now nestled in the trees of Mukilteo, WA, RANE is a bustling hive of activity, creating and assembling a bevy of mixers, DJ platforms, and specialty controllers and related equipment. RANE products have found homes in prestigious locations such as Churchill Downs, Abercrombie & Fitch,
G r e a t Wo l f Lodge, Hollister, Victoria’s Secret, and the Pan A m C e n t r e in Markham, O n t a r i o , Canada. RANE p l a t f o r m s are used by a plethora of DJ greats the likes of Grandmaster F l a s h , K i d Kola, and Paul Oakenfold, and
performer Blake Lewis and audio producer and engineer Bil VornDick. It can be said that RANE keeps “sound company.”
The SMH Inc. connection: Two years ago the RANE engineering team and SMH Inc. came together at the perfect time – while RANE was conceptualizing the DR6 controller.
“Stephen’s excellent advice and support in finding a knowledgeable supplier who could assist on design problems of new molded parts was a key part to the ultimate success of several new designs. His in-depth knowledge of processes unfamiliar to the design team at RANE and timely attention to our needs proved invaluable.”
- Alan Firshen, CAD Designer
“It’s gratifying comments like this that underscore the SMH Inc. mission and how our well vetted suppliers are delivering on our commitment,” s a i d S t e p h e n H a n n e m a n n , President of SMH Inc.
M i s s i o n : T h e SMH mission is to bring the best possible resources and support to N o r t h w e s t manufacturers, aiding in their
quest to create functional products and devices of exceptional beauty and value.
The opportunity to partner with companies like RANE, with their new product development and their resulting success, is what drives the SMH arsenal of superior Northwest vendors. Getting clients to market in a timely fashion is paramount.
For more information about RANE and their great products, visit www.rane.com.
If you or anyone you know is bringing a product to market or is having supplier issues, contact SMH Inc. for support of a higher standard. For information about SMH Inc. services,
visit:
www.smhincllc.com, or call 425.501.7342
‘Your Product Development and Manufacturing Resource’
SMH Inc “The Manufacturer’s Secret Weapon”
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 55 • FEB / MAR 2016
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The Science Museum is the latest venue for a touring exhibition originating with the French organisation for public science communication, Universcience, and Milan’s Museo della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci (MUST). Entitled ‘Leonardo da Vinci: The Mechanics of Genius’, it presents 39 models of the machines Leonardo designed, including flying machines, weapons and tools. In doing so, it presents a side of the archetypal Renaissance man that many people will not be familiar with, and one that engineers in particular will find fascinating.
Today, we think of Leonardo (as he’s invariably known; never call him da Vinci, especially if you’re within earshot of a Renaissance scholar) primarily as an artist. We know he was a polymath, and his anatomical studies are well-known (although even those are more often l inked to their use a s r e s e a r c h for ar t than anything else). What becomes clear from the exhibition is that Leonardo was, possibly above all other things, an engineer. That was how he made his living: the princes who paid his salary might have commissioned the odd fresco from him, but it was his machines they were really after.
Living in 15th century Italy, Leonardo’s world was one of city-states that were constantly at war with each other, and Leonardo spent a lot of his time compiling what we might see as prospectuses to show prospective employers what he could do for them in defending their own citizens and massacring those of their neighbours (you could easily draw parallels with the preoccupations of today’s politicians). An important part of these documents were designs for siege engines and weapons; and it’s clear that these were as much to terrify the enemy as anything else. One of the first objects in the exhibition is a huge crossbow, placed vertically and about three metres high. From Leonardo’s drawings, we can see this is a scale model: he intended the actual thing to be the height of a house, and its purpose was
to fire flaming projectiles into the midst of the enemy. Leonardo’s letters often talk of the damage and great injury his designs could cause, but they also make a point of stressing the panic and terror they would inspire. Clearly Leonardo would have completely understood the deterrent theory of today’s nuclear states. You’d only have to see a house-sized crossbow once before you ran like hell.
Leonardo didn’t build these machines; but what he did do was draw them. He drew everything. “Nobody drew machines like Leonardo; his designs have an incredible vivacity that still speaks to us today,” explained Martin Kemp, emeritus professor of the history of art at Oxford University, one of the world’s leading authorities on Leonardo and a guest at the exhibition viewing. It wasn’t just the way the machines looked on paper that was so revolutionary, Kemp added: it was the thinking and analysis behind them, and the methods
Leonardo invented to depict them.
F o r L e o n a r d o , invention began with observation. Aged 20, his first proper job was as an apprentice in a workshop on the enormous building site for Florence’s c a t h e d r a l , t h e Duomo. We know that he was involved
in the construction of a huge metal sphere that now sits on top of the cathedral’s crowning dome, but he would have been familiar with the machines on the site, such as the cranes that were being used to lift the dressed stones, designed by the artist/architect Brunelleschi. He observed them, and he drew them. “He visualised things, understood things and drew things in three dimensions, so they appear as solid objects,’ Kemp said. “but the point about that is that sometimes important parts of the mechanism would be hidden behind something closer to the observer. So Leonardo drew what he called elementi but we would think of as components: detailed diagrams of how the mechanisms worked and the parts they were made up from. Nobody had done that before.” What is now very familiar to us as an exploded diagram was pioneered by Leonardo.
Prof Martin Kemp pictured being interviewed at the opening of “Leonardo da Vinci: The Mechanics of Genius” exhibition. Prof Kemp is the emeritus
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 57 • FEB / MAR 2016
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One of the things that marked Leonardo out was his curiosity. It’s clear that he sought out mathematicians, talked to them and read their texts, and his machines are based on a rigorous understanding of their underlying principles (or at least as rigorous as the science of the time allowed; Leonardo didn’t know much trigonometry, Kemp noted, because the Ancient Greek texts on the subject weren’t translated into Italian at the time.) He also experimented throughout his life, into phenomena such as the properties of materials and friction, using instruments he designed himself. The exhibition includes models of instruments he used in his investigations of his lifelong obsession with flight, including an anemometer consisting of a flexible flap that the wind would blow against a curved scale to indicate its speed, and a hygrometer, consisting of a balance that weighed a wax sphere against a piece of wadding of equal weight when dry, but which would become heavier as it absorbed moisture from the atmosphere. They are brilliant pieces of instrumentation engineering, and as curator Jim Bennet, an emeritus keeper at the Science Museum who worked on the exhibition pointed out, completely unprecedented.
Bennet worked on the Science Museum’s contribution to the exhibition: a series of small mechanical models produced in 1952 for an exhibition to mark the 500th anniversary of Leonardo’s birth, which was staged at the Royal Academy and was the forerunner of the blockbuster art shows we know at the Academy today (if any of our readers remember this show, we’d love to hear from them). The other models in the exhibition were made for MUST, also in the 1950s; but the British ones, commissioned from a company in Wimbledon called Goacher Model Engineering, came first, Bennett said. He writes about them here. ‘We are claiming some primacy here,’ he said. Much smaller than the Italian models, the Goacher set is labelled ‘Leonardo for a time of austerity’, reflecting post-War Britain’s lack of funds.
The Science Museum’s Keeper Emeritus Jim Bennet, pictured in the “Leonardo da Vinci: The Mechanics of Genius” exhibition.The Science
The distinction we see between engineer and artist simply didn’t exist in Leonardo’s time, Bennet told me; our view of him today is coloured by the fact that the artwork survives whereas the machines didn’t. Never in charge of his own workshop, Leonardo would have known that most of his designs would never be built. There is no physical trace today of the completed engineering works that we do know of from his journals, such as a sluice that formed part of the defences of Venice; and the precious drawings were not known until relatively recently. Bennett thinks that it’s more a Victorian hangover than a modern view: art was seen as much higher status in the 19th century, and engineering had the taint of ‘trade’ about it.
Martin Kemp said that Leonardo saw his role as being ‘a second Nature.’ “He looked at what was around him, understood it very often by drawing it, and then took the principles he had learned and used them to create something new. When he was designing a flying machine, he knew that you couldn’t copy feathers; you had to understand how they worked, how they created lift, and then devise something that did the same thing.” Kemp added that Leonardo knew full well that his ornithopter
– a flying machine with flapping wings operated by a pilot pulling levers – would never fly because of the power-to-weight ratio; after 1500 he switched to designing hang-gliders, but even these incorporate a mechanism to spread the wing-tips to improve their flight characteristics.
Equally, some of the machines were just for show. The famous screw-aerofoil helicopter was a novelty designed as an entertainment (an important part of Leonardo’s role at court); equally, a self-propelled vehicle driven by the energy stored in crossbow-like components wasn’t a weapon, but was intended to carry the figures of gods in an elaborate court masque. Incidentally, this sort of thing was going on all over Europe; England’s own Renaissance prince, Henry VIII, employed Hans Holbein the Younger in a similar role (as well as painting stunning portraits, he designed salt cellars and stage sets). Stuart Nathan, The Engineer Editor
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How Software Can Eat The Energy Industry And Help Save The World
.As we enter the 4th Industrial Revolution, technological innovations — particularly advances in software — are increasingly being used to address some of the world’s most pressing issues. Perhaps nowhere is software’s ability to solve our most difficult challenges more apparent than in energy. Big Data, artificial intelligence, machine learning and the Internet of Things (IoT) are enabling us to transform the electric grid — making it cleaner, more affordable and more reliable.
It is true that software can’t actually generate electricity. But it can allow us to maximize the value of the power we generate through effective use of data. In doing so, we can reduce our dependence on dirty fossil fuels, improve the effectiveness of energy efficiency, renewable energy and
energy storage technologies, and create a more efficient, carbon-free electric grid. Software will turn data into a new source of power. This transformation will allow us to cost-effectively extend the benefits of electricity to the 1.1 billion people in the developing world without access to reliable electricity and accelerate our transition to a fossil-fuel free economy. When it comes to energy, software will not eat the world — it will help save it.
The need to transform our electric grid — reducing greenhouse gasses associated with energy generation while extending energy access to those in the developing world — is urgent. Left unchecked, climate change will cause a massive amount of economic and humanitarian damage. The difference in climate damage costs between low (1.5°C) warming and high (4.5°C) warming scenarios could be as high as $50 trillion, according to Citibank. The World Health Organization expects that, between 2030 and 2050, climate change will cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea and heat stress.
Moreover, though we have made strides in reducing global poverty, we still need to extend access to reliable and affordable electricity if we hope to continue to increase the income and improve the living standards of millions of people living in the developing world. To put it simply, if we want to sustain the economic progress the world has achieved since the dawning of the industrial revolution, and foster a 4th Industrial Revolution, transformation of our electric grid is essential. The potential for
the energy transformation is clear, as GE’s Global Innovation Barometer illustrates, with 61 percent of citizens surveyed saying the industry could benefit greatly from the digital revolution.
There is no doubt that new renewable energy, energy storage and electricity distribution technologies will be needed to enable this transformation. However, software will also play a critical role in making the grid cleaner, more affordable and more reliable.
One area that software can particularly help is in maximizing the efficiency of the grid. The amount of energy we currently waste is stunning — with more than 30 percent of the energy used inside buildings being wasted due to activities such as the lighting and cooling of empty rooms, according to the EPA. We can use software to lower the amount of energy we waste or use inefficiently. Software connected to IoT device sensors and controls
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can unobtrusively turn off or down Internet-connected appliances and devices, dramatically reducing energy use. In the U.S., utilities such as Austin Energy, the City of Palo Alto Utilities and Bonneville Power Administration are using software to implement programs that can curb power demand for air conditioning by 30 percent or more. Customers do not notice any change (except for a lower monthly bill), while they can avoid adding hundreds of megawatts from new power plants.
Software can also help maximize the effectiveness of renewable energy, energy storage and other distributed energy assets. Utilities can now forecast, optimize and control these assets, helping them better balance energy supply and demand. With this flexibility, they can integrate more intermittent renewable energy into their generation portfolios, tapping into other sources of energy if there is a drop in renewable energy generation. Moreover, because the software can anticipate peaks and valleys in renewable energy generation, they can reduce unnecessary energy storage system discharge cycles
— extending the life and value of storage systems. In essence, software converts the grid into its own backup.
Over the past decade, software has demonstrated that it has the power to eat up entire industries — from retail (Amazon) to advertising (Google) to entertainment (Netflix). Now it is time for software to eat the conventional fossil-fuel-based energy industry, and make energy clean, reliable and affordable — helping us not just save trillions of dollars, but millions of lives as well.
In the coming decades we will start to think of data and software as a source of energy.
What do I mean by that? Software won’t generate electrons, but it will let us leverage the electricity we are already generating in a more efficient and productive way.
Instead of building new power plants, we will take advantage of the search engine-like analytics of software-based controls to lower emissions and reduce costs. In other words, data will enable us to use power wisely and proactively.
The situation is dire. Over 1.3 billion people around the world who are still not connected to the grid are clamoring for cheap and reliable electricity. In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised to bring at least one light bulb in every home over the next 5 years. The demand for energy will continue to grow with the rise in living standards around the world. In 1995, only 10 percent of the homes in Mexico had an AC. Now, more than 80 percent do.
Building new power plants to meet all of this new demand would be a financial nightmare and environmental catastrophe. We will need an intelligent use of data to more effectively utilize our existing infrastructure, to lower the cost and environmental impact, and use those savings to bring electricity to more people around the world.
Dr. Amit Narayan is Founder and CEO of AutoGrid, Inc.
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Creating a Strategy That Works
The most farsighted enterprises have mastered five unconventional practices for building and using distinctive capabilities.
by Paul Leinwand and Cesare Mainardi Almost every business today faces major strategic challenges. The path to creating value is seldom clear. In an ongoing global survey of senior executives conducted by Strategy&, PwC’s strategy consulting business, more than half of the 4,400 respondents said they didn’t think they had a winning strategy. In another survey of more than 500 senior executives around the world, nine out of 10 conceded that they were missing major opportunities in the market. In the same survey, about 80 percent of those senior executives said that their overall strategy was not well understood, even within their own company.
These problems are not caused simply by external forces. They are the outcome of the way most companies are managed. In all too many businesses there is a significant and unnecessary gap between strategy and execution: a lack of connection between where the enterprise aims to go and what it can accomplish.
Yet a few companies seem to have this problem solved. They naturally combine strategy and execution in everything they do. These companies seem to make the right choices about what type of value to offer and how to deliver it — and those choices often run contrary to the conventional wisdom of the industry.
For example: A European retailer–manufacturer sells stylish, functional, inexpensive furniture so that people at any income level can more easily improve their lives. Its large retail stores are designed so shoppers can comfortably spend a whole day there, eating in the store’s restaurant and leaving their children in its play area. The enterprise has remarkable capabilities, including an innovative manufacturing process and supply chain; a proficiency in designing attractive furniture that ships in a flat box; and an ability to develop keen insights about the way customers live at home, and to translate those insights into new products. This rapidly growing enterprise, of course, is IKEA. In 2014, IKEA had 361 retail stores in 46 countries, with total annual revenues of €30.1 billion (about US$40 billion).
Another example is a Brazilian purveyor of high-quality, natural personal-care products. Its identity, captured by the Portuguese slogan bem estar bem (“well-being, being well”) celebrates health and quality of life at every age, rather than a forever-young ideal of beauty. The company has built a network of 1.5 million direct sales consultants, who have close relationships with seemingly every woman in Brazil. To give those consultants a reason to visit their customers every few weeks, the company has developed a proficiency in rapid-fire innovation, releasing more than 100 new products every year. It demonstrates respect for nature and local communities by sourcing many raw materials from remote villages in the Amazon rain forest, and by using its business skills to help make those regions economically and environmentally sustainable. You may not have heard of Natura Cosméticos unless you live in Latin America, but it is the largest personal-care products company in that region. It had revenues of 7.4 billion reals (about US$2.6 billion) in 2014.
Another case is a U.S. enterprise known for buying industrial and technological companies, reframing the way its member businesses operate, and managing them for profitability. It has developed its own rigorous day-to-day disciplines for managerial excellence and continuous improvement. The Danaher Corporation, named after the founders’ favorite fishing creek, is recognized among management experts for its remarkable performance and its phenomenal M&A success rate. It had revenues of about US$19.9
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 61 • FEB / MAR 2016
billion in 2014. (See “Danaher’s Instruments of Change,” moderated by George Roth and Art Kleiner, s+b, Spring 2016.)
Several other well-known enterprises, including Apple, Haier, Industria de Diseño Textil (Inditex, known for its Zara brand), Lego, Qualcomm, and Starbucks, have also closed the strategy-to-execution gap. These companies are all idiosyncratic; at first glance, they seem to have little in common, and they are rarely thought of together. And yet, they have all built the kind of differentiating capabilities that give them a major strategic advantage.
In our previous book, The Essential Advantage: How to Win with a Capabilities-Driven Strategy (Harvard Business Review Press, 2011), we described the financial advantage that companies enjoy when they build their business around a clear, coherent identity: a few distinctive capabilities aligned with their value proposition and their lineup of products and services. It’s not enough to simply have good capabilities; every company has them. To sustain success you have to have capabilities that are truly superior, and distinctive enough that others cannot copy them. When you have several such capabilities reinforcing one another, you will be able to both differentiate yourself from and consistently execute better than your competitors.
Distinctive capabilities are not easy to build. They are complex and expensive, with high fixed costs in human capital, tools, and systems. How then do businesses such as IKEA, Natura, and Danaher design and create the capabilities that give them their edge? How do they bring these capabilities to scale and generate results?
To answer these questions, we conducted a study between 2012 and 2014 of a carefully selected group of extraordinary enterprises that were known for their proficiency, for consistently doing things that other businesses couldn’t do. From dozens suggested to us by industry experts, we chose a small group, representing a range of industries and regions, that we
could learn about in depth — either from published materials or from interviews with current and former executives. The 14 we studied are Amazon, Apple, CEMEX, Danaher, Frito-Lay (the snack foods enterprise within PepsiCo), Haier, IKEA, Inditex, the JCI Automotive Systems Group (the seat-making division of Johnson Controls Inc., since renamed the Automotive Experience Group), Lego, Natura, Pfizer (specifically its consumer healthcare business, sold to Johnson & Johnson in 2006), Qualcomm, and Starbucks.
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Contracts: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Marietta, Georgia, is being awarded a not-to-exceed $141,936,871 value firm-fixed-price, undefinitized contract action for the P-3B modernization program for the government of Greece, which will provide an extension of service life by 15,000 flight hours. This contract provides for the reactivation of one P-3B aircraft and the procurement of hardware kits for the upgrade/modernization of four P-3B aircraft to support a structural mid-life upgrade. In addition, this contract provides for phased depot maintenance; a Greece indigenous mission integration and management system; new avionics; and other ancillary hardware and services. Work will be performed Marietta, Georgia (62 percent); Athens, Greece (15 percent); Schimatari, Greece (13 percent); Baltimore, Maryland (9 percent); and Greenville, South Carolina (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in July 2019. Foreign military sales funds in the amount of $26,514,460 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c) (4). The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (N68335-16-C-0125).
Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded an $81,386,343 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for requirements decomposition and development of Block 4 modernization program capabilities in support of the F-35A/B/C aircraft. This contract includes new and upgraded capabilities to provide enhancements and continuous improvements to maintain viability against evolving threats, reduce life cycle costs, and improve operational suitability. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in May 2017. Fiscal 2015 research, development, testing and evaluation (Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force) and non-U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)
participant funds in the amount of $55,705,494 are being obligated on this award, $35,990,124 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchases for the Marine Corps ($4,164,539; 5.12%); Navy ($6,611,354; 8.12%); Air Force ($25,214,231; 30.98%); and non-U.S. DoD participants ($19,715,370; 24.22%). This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting authority (N00019-16-C-0008).
Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded not-to-exceed $47,000,000 for undefinitized delivery order 0026 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-14-G-0020). This order provides for non-recurring effort and integration tasks required to operate a hardware-in-the-loop laboratory used to build, modify, verify and validate, and distribute mission data file sets for the F-35. This contract will deliver modification kits to upgrade the RC West Block 3i Verification Validation Station to the Block 3F, 3F+, and 3F Digital Channelized Receiver/Technique Generator and Tuner Insertion Program configurations, and provide engineering support during the installation and integration of the modification kits, verification and validation test venue support in support of the F-35A aircraft for the governments of Japan and Israel, under the Foreign Military Sales program. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (53 percent); Orlando, Florida (25 percent); Nashua, New Hampshire (18 percent); El Segundo, California (2 percent); and San Diego, California (2 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2021. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $12,000,000 are being obligated on this award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
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Buyer’s Guide & Card GalleryEquipment and Services
10530 E. 59th Street • Indianapolis, IN 46236T: 317/826.4414 • TF: 877/240.2462 • F: 317/823.6822
Jeffrey F. Nawrot Vice President, Business Development
ACCESSORIESAbrasive Systems
Applications Specialities ___ 253-872-0305S.L. Fusco San Leandro ____510-895-9000S.L. Fusco R. Dominguez ___ 310-868-1010S.L. Fusco National City ____619-477-7733Swift Tool Co, Inc. ______ 800-562-0900
Air Cleaning GunsRoyal Products ________631-273-1010
Air CoupliingsBilz USA ___________ 224-563-7233
Auto-Bar Feed SystemsWestern Machine Center ___________
408-955-1000Ballscrews
C & M Precision Spindle, Inc._ 503-691-0955Band Saws/Saw Blades
Bandsaw Tech _________562--419-7675Roentgen USA _________760--900-1110S.L. Fusco San Leandro ____510-895-9000S.L. Fusco R. Dominguez ___ 310-868-1010
S.L. Fusco National City ____ 619-477-7733SawBlade.com _________800--240-2932
Band Saw Replacement PartsBandsaw Tech _________ 562--419-7675
Band Saw RepairBandsaw Tech _________ 562--419-7675
Bar FeedersAutomatics & Machinery Co., Inc 303-990-6190Edge Technologies ______ 562-243-4659
Bar Feeder AccessoriesTrusty-Cook __________ 877-240-2462
Bar Feeder RepairEdge Technologies ______ 562-243-4659
Boring Bars/ToolsSeco Tools Inc. _________ 503-267-4805
BurrsFullerton Tool Company ____ 303-478-3497
Carbide ToolsCutting Tool Control Inc. ____ 206-617-2201Horizon Carbide ________ 602-524-3802
S.L. Fusco San Leandro ____ 510-895-9000S.L. Fusco R. Dominguez ___ 310-868-1010S.L. Fusco National City ____ 619-477-7733Swift Tool Co, Inc. _______ 800-562-0900
Chemicals: UltrasonicStar Metal Fluids _______ 800-367-9966
CoolantApplications Specialities _____253-872-0305Cutting Tool Control Inc. _____ 206-617-2201Star Metal Fluids ________800-367-9966US Shop Tools __________800-243-7701
Coolant SystemsDCM -Tech ____________800-533-5339Star Metal Fluids ________800-367-9966Swift Tool Co, Inc. ________800-562-0900
Countersinks,Fullerton Tool Company _____ 303-478-3497
Cutting Fluids & OilsCastrol ______________800-894-7773Cutting Tool Control Inc. _____ 206-617-2201Hangsterfer’s __________ 316-640-2462Hangsterfer’s __________ 760-580-1357S.L. Fusco San Leandro _____ 510-895-9000S.L. Fusco R. Dominguez ____ 310-868-1010S.L. Fusco National City _____619-477-7733Star Metal Fluids _______ 800-367-9966
Randy PulleyVice President & General ManagerPacific [email protected] Direct425-204-2601 Mobile425-204-2603 Fax
Von Ruden Manufacturing, Inc.Fluid Power / Mechanical / Tool Products
1008 First Street NE - PO Box 699 - Buffalo, MN 55313 USA www.vonruden.com
ISO 9001:2008 Certified
Made in USA
Since 1946
Made in USADriven Tooling for the Machine Tool Industry
Swift Tool Co, Inc. ______ 800-562-0900Cutting Tools
Applications Specialities ___ 253-872-0305Bilz USA ___________ 224-563-7233Cutting Tool Control Inc. ____ 206-617-2201Horizon Carbide _______ 602-524-3802Innovative Tool Sales _____714-780-0730Rosco Precision Machinery __206-818-6813S.L. Fusco San Leandro ____510-895-9000S.L. Fusco R. Dominguez ___ 310-868-1010S.L. Fusco National City ____619-477-7733Seco Tools Inc. _________503-267-4805Swift Tool Co, Inc. ______ 800-562-0900US Shop Tools _________800-243-7701Von Ruden Manufacturing, Inc. 763-682--3122
Cutting Tool HoldersBilz USA ___________ 224-563-7233Innovative Tool Sales _____714-780-0730Seco Tools Inc. _________503-267-4805
Cutting Tool SystemsBilz USA ___________ 224-563-7233Cutting Tool Control Inc. ____ 206-617-2201Innovative Tool Sales _____714-780-0730Seco Tools Inc. _________503-267-4805S.L. Fusco San Leandro ____510-895-9000S.L. Fusco R. Dominguez ___ 310-868-1010
S.L. Fusco National City ____ 619-477-7733Deburring Tools
Royal Products ________ 631-273-1010Drills/Cutters-Magnetic
Bilz USA ____________224-563-7233Innovative Tool Sales _____714-780-0730Seco Tools Inc. _________503-267-4805S.L. Fusco San Leandro ____510-895-9000S.L. Fusco R. Dominguez ___ 310-868-1010S.L. Fusco National City ____ 619-477-7733
Drills/Reamers/TapsBilz USA ____________224-563-7233Seco Tools Inc. _________503-267-4805S.L. Fusco San Leandro ____510-895-9000S.L. Fusco R. Dominguez ___ 310-868-1010S.L. Fusco National City _____619-477-773Swift Tool Co, Inc. _______ 800-562-0900Wohlhaupter _________937-503-4708
Applications Specialities ___ 253-872-0305Bilz USA ___________ 224-563-7233Fullerton Tool Company ___ 303-478-3497Horizon Carbide _______ 602-524-3802S.L. Fusco San Leandro ___ 510-895-9000S.L. Fusco R. Dominguez ___310-868-1010S.L. Fusco National City ___ 619-477-7733Swift Tool Co, Inc. ______ 800-562-0900
Facing and Boring HeadsWohlhaupter ________ 937-503-4708
Lubricants / SystemsCutting Tool Control Inc. ____ 206-617-2201DCM Tech __________ 800-533-5339Hangsterfer’s _________316-640-2462Hangsterfer’s _________760-580-1357S.L. Fusco San Leandro ____510-895-9000S.L. Fusco R. Dominguez ___ 310-868-1010S.L. Fusco National City ____619-477-7733Star Metal Fluids ______ 800-367-9966Swift Tool Co, Inc. ______ 800-562-0900
Machine Tool AcccessoriesMP Industrial ________ 800-759-4282Swift Tool Co, Inc. _______800-562-0900US Shop Tools _________800-243-7701Von Ruden Manufacturing, Inc. 763-682--3122
Machine Tool Cool FiltrationCutting Tool Control Inc. ____ 206-617-2201
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UNITEDP E R F O R M A N C E M E TA LSO’NEAL HIGH PERFORMANCE METALS GROUP
888.282.3292 | www.upmet.com
14941 E. Northam Street | La Mirada, CA 90638
647159_UPM_BCs.indd 2 11/19/12 11:23 AMDCM Tech __________ 800-533-5339S.L. Fusco San Leandro ____510-895-9000S.L. Fusco R. Dominguez ___ 310-868-1010S.L. Fusco National City ____619-477-7733Star Metal Fluids _______800-367-9966
Cutting Tool Control Inc. ____ 206-617-2201King Machine Inc. _______ 509-435-6741OGP _____________ 480-889-9056Rosco Precision Machinery __ 206-818-6813S.L. Fusco San Leandro ____ 510-895-9000S.L. Fusco R. Dominguez ___ 310-868-1010S.L. Fusco National City ____ 619-477-7733Swift Tool Co, Inc. ______ 800-562-0900Verisurf ____________ 714-381-2322
Power ToolsIcon Machine Tool, Inc. WA ___306-434-8844Icon Machine Tool, Inc. OR ___503-887-1003MP Industrial _________ 800-759-4282
PressesBixby Machine Tool Supply __ 509-534-1208
Press Brakes Fahey Machinery Co., Inc. __ 503-620-9031Fab - Line Machinery ______ 206-972-6215Gladwin Machinery _______ 360-448-0951Icon Machine Tool, Inc. WA ___306-434-8844Icon Machine Tool, Inc. OR ___503-887-1003North-South Machinery _____ 253-333-2439
PunchesFahey Machinery Co., Inc. ___ 503-620-903
Gladwin Machinery ______ 360-448-0951Icon Machine Tool, Inc. WA __ 306-434-8844Icon Machine Tool, Inc. OR __ 503-887-1003
Rolling MachinesFahey Machinery Co., Inc. __ 503-620-9031
Shearing MachinesFab - Line Machinery _____ 206-972-6215Fahey Machinery Co., Inc. __ 503-620-9031North-South Machinery ____ 253-333-2439Sign & Graphic Cutting Solutions
Machining: Turning LargeMachinists Inc. __________360-202-7342Valley Machine Shop, Inc. ____ 425-207-5951
MANUFACTURING VALUE ADDED
Contract ManufacturingAATC ___________ 866-792-2814 X 235AEI Fabrication _________480-733-6594Aeroform, Inc. __________ 360-403-1919Albina Co., Inc. _________866-252-4628Alpha Precision Machining, Inc. _ 253-395-7381Bending Solutions, Inc. _____360-651-2443Cascade Systems Technology __503-640-5733Columbia Manufacturing Svcs. _360-735-3763dtiEXACT _____________360-866-1337
Flex-Pro Manufacturing. _____ 623-277-8031G & G Custom Metal Fab ____ 503-931-7069Group Mfg Serv _________ 480-966-3952Larkin Precision Machine ____ 831-438-2700NW Metalcraft Industries ____ 888-280-7080Portland Precision Manufacturing 503-253-6700QUAL-FAB, Inc. ___________206-762-2117Rickard Engineering ______ 866-845-8838Teton Machine _________ 208-642-9344Treske Precision Machining ___ 503-625-2821TVT Die Casting _________ 800-280-2278Western Precision Products, Inc. _ 503-786-8923
Industrial ManufacturingAlbina Co., Inc. _________ 866-252-4628
ASKO Group __________ 206-947-4052EPSI _______________714-519-9423Foresight Finishing ______ 480-772-0387Gold Tech ___________ 480-968-1930Precious Metal Plating Co. ____800-481-6271
Hard Chrome
Arizona Hard Chrome ______602-278-8671ASKO Group __________ 206-947-4052
NAD CAP & Boeing Approved Processes
Precious Metal Plating Co. ____800-481-6271Nickel-Bright
WELDINGCustom Metal Fabrication ___ 503-788-5701Cygnet Stamping & Fab ____ 818-240-7574G & G Custom Metal Fab ___ 503-931-7069Evans Precision ________ 623-582-4776Industrial Machine Svcs ____ 503-240-0878Mountain View Machine ____ 435-755-0500Weiser Engineering ______ 303-280-2778Weld Metal Works _______ 503-788-5701
Welding: Aluminum Medium & Large
G & G Custom Metal Fab ___ 503-931-7069Industrial Machine Svcs ____ 503-240-0878
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maximize productivity and reduce costs with the power of castroL high performance products
IT’S WHAT’S ON THE INSIDE THAT COUNTS …
Inside every Castrol drum is cutting edge technology that is proven to impact process efficiency and operating costs. Offering a wide range of products to meet your application needs, we provide the maximum performance benefits you seek, accompanied by world-class service and technical expertise. Castrol’s line is broad enough to cross all applications, yet refined enough to fulfill the intricate needs of the specialty markets we serve.
THE RIGHT LINE OF PRODUCTS
• Cutting & Grinding
• High Performance Lubricants
• Greases
• Deformation
• Cleaners
• Corrosion Preventatives
• Chain Oils
Discover why only Castrol Industrial has THE TECHNOLOGY INSIDE.
Castrol Industrial North America Inc. l 150 West Warrenville Rd. 603-1E l Naperville, IL 60563 l [email protected] l castrol.com/industrial
the technoLogyinside
S.L. Fusco’s three locations:
2102 Adams Avenue San Leandro, CA 94577 1 510 895 9000Serving Northern California & Northern Nevada
2530 Southport Way, Ste. D National City, CA 91950 1 619 477 7733 Serving Southern California
1966 Via Arado Rancho Dominguez, CA 90220 1 310 868 1010 Serving Southern California
slfusco.com
A2Z MANUFACTURING WEST COAST • 80 • FEB / MAR 2016
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