While recent advances in high speed machining (HSM) of aluminum materials have successfully achieved significant reductions in cost of aerospace structures, these advances have not been successfully applied to titanium material components. Machining costsare a major cost driver in these components,… More

Machining is a major cost element in aerospace. High-speed machining (HSM) enables cost savings for aluminum components, but has not yet done so for titanium. Our Phase I results demonstrate feasibility of HSM and high-frequency tooth pass (HFTP)technology to overcome inherent titanium barriers and… More

"This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project will investigate and deliver a validated software modeling and analysis capability specifically for the machining of ceramic materials. Industry currently lacks the knowledge and ability to modelmachining and associated material removal… More

This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project will develop and validate a three-dimensional finite element modeling capability to predict machining induced residual stresses. This project will significantly extend the current state-of-the-art that is limited to 2D residual stress analysis… More

MDA suppliers of brittle-material parts, want to improve manufacturing processes, but lack the required material modeling capability. Our Phase II proposal will provide the predictive capability MDA needs to dramatically improve manufacturing ofbrittle-material parts made from ceramics,… More

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop and validate the predictive capability industry needs to dramatically improve machined workpiece quality by controlling machining induced stresses while simultaneously reducing distortion in aerospace and automotive parts.… More

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop and validate the predictive capability industry needs to dramatically improve machined workpiece quality by controlling machining induced stresses while simultaneously reducing distortion in aerospace and automotive parts.… More

IBR manufacturing is an essential part of gas turbine fabrication for modern fighter aircraft, yet remains a significant cost component. Stringent dimensional (distortional) tolerance and surface finish requirements necessitate the need for precision manufacturing. Currently, F-135 and F-119 IBRs… More

High performance aircraft structures have strict requirements regarding weight, strength and fatigue. The unitization of structures provides reduced labor costs, part count and improved quality while achieving desired weight requirements. Since firewalls are not part of the primary structure, they… More

Integral bladed rotors (IBR) manufacturing is an essential part of gas turbine fabrication for modern fighter aircraft. Stringent dimensional tolerance and surface finish requirements necessitate precision manufacturing and consequently, resulting in increased cost. Our Phase II proposal will… More

The overall goal of our Phase II project is to demonstrate innovative, scalable high-performance machining (HPM) processes the Navy needs for thin-web, large-pocket Ti-6Al-4V firewalls and bulkheads. The anticipated benefits of the program are the ability to fabricate unitized structures resulting… More

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project Expedited Fabrication of Conformal Window for Airborne Laser (ABL) aims to demonstrate the feasibility of ductile mode machining (DMM) to dramatically reduce manufacturing cycle times of meter-class lightweight mirrors. DMM will drive… More

Military aircraft utilize advanced materials like loaded core composites for superior strength, weight, fatigue and stealth properties in parts such as ailerons, flaps, runners, leading edges and rudders. While new processes like ultrasonic machining for cutting and shaping of loaded cores are an… More

Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) part programs generated by different CAD/CAM software packages are incompatible, which can lead to significant delay and increased engineering and programming labor cost if programs generated at one facility are used at another facility with a different CAD/CAM… More

The manufacture of meter-class windows and mirrors requires extended fabrication periods, often longer than one year. This is because current fabrication techniques entail multiple stages of grinding, lapping, and polishing to achieve high surface finish and dimensional requirements. Our Phase II… More

Modern airframes require thousands of drilled holes in difficult materials such as graphite-epoxy composites, titanium, or layered metal-composite assemblies. Drill life and hole quality are often limited when drilling composites due to heat buildup. Drilling composite/metallic stackups often… More

Freeform optical surfaces offer advantages over axis-symmetric surfaces in the ability to reduce optical sizes, increase performance and reduce aberrations. However, the description, fabrication and metrology of these surfaces can be difficult and costly, prohibiting their ability to achieve their… More

The overall goal of our Phase I project is to demonstrate the feasibility of innovative high performance machining (HPM) enabled by physics-based modeling the Navy needs to manufacture FlexTech in a mass produced, affordable, high tolerance manner. The anticipated benefits of the program are the… More

Conformal sensor windows offer advantages over axisymmetric surfaces in the ability to reduce drag and weight. Materials of interest include spinel, polycrystal alumina, and ALON. However, the description, fabrication and metrology of these surfaces can be costly, or even impossible. Fabrication of… More

The overall goal of our Phase II project is to demonstrate innovative, scalable high-performance machining (HPM) processes the Navy needs for thin-web, large-pocket aircraft components. The anticipated benefits of the program are the ability to apply physics-based modeling to predict and manage… More

Freeform optical surfaces offer advantages over axisymmetric surfaces in the ability to reduce optical sizes, increase performance and reduce aberrations. However, the description, fabrication and metrology of these surfaces can be difficult and costly, prohibiting their ability to achieve their… More

The use of nickel alloys is pervasive in jet engine components and includes cases and fatigue critical rotating parts in the compressor and turbine sections. Machining nickel alloys represents a singular challenge due to the alloys-Y exceptional high temperature strength characteristics. This is… More

Modern military and commercial airframes are comprised of aluminum, titanium and fiber reinforced composites mated together with rivets inserted in tens of thousands of pre-drilled holes. Drilling in assembly operations is performed on components made from stack-ups of composites, aluminum and… More

Grinding is used to satisfy figure and finish requirements for optics, removing successive layers of material to ensure alleviation of any damage created from the prior operation. Consequently, fabrication times are slow and expensive. The optics manufacturing industry currently lacks… More

This program will demonstrate the feasibility of innovative physics-based modeling of gear hobbing to predict and improve residual stresses and heat treat distortions while reducing production cycle times and costs of transmission gears. TWS will develop a general, validated, physics-based modeling… More

Ceramic transmission sensor windows offer advantages over axisymmetric surfaces in the ability to reduce drag and weight. Materials of interest include spinel, polycrystal alumina, and AlON. However, the description, fabrication and metrology of these surfaces can be costly, or even impossible.… More

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project, Gear Hobbing Predictive Model, will develop and demonstrate innovative physics-based modeling of gear machining processes the Navy needs to predict and improve residual stresses and related distortions, as well as reduce production cycle… More