Wednesday, August 21, 2024
From Austal USAMOBILE, Alabama – Austal USA has damaged the floor of a study center expansion at Austal USA Advanced Technologies (AT) facilities in Charlottesville, Virginia. With the addition of 10,000 feet, the now 25,000-foot facility houses apparatus for Industry 4. 0 application progress and will allow the equipment’s functions to grow particularly over the next 12 months.
This expansion is mandatory for the company’s development role in the U. S. Navy’s additive production program. Austal USA Advanced Technologies is leading the Navy’s efforts to revolutionize its origin chain by implementing additive production for castings, forgings, and accessories. Leading a team of industry partners, Austal USA Advanced Technologies operates the Navy’s Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence (AM CoE) in Danville, Virginia, the flagship of the U. S. Navy. The U. S. Department of Homeland Security is a U. S. company for the production of component additives for shipbuilding and repair. Austal USA Advanced Technologies is also leading efforts to implement other Industry 4. 0 principles to advance shipbuilding practices. This includes piloting extended/augmented truth equipment for workforce education and improving and strengthening shipyard automation.
The expansion of Austal USA’s presence in Charlottesville comes as the Navy’s AM CoE at Danville reached a major milestone by printing the 100th component of the Navy’s surface and submarine fleet. This milestone is well on its way to creating a build-for-printing capability in the commercial submarine base and supply chain of the Navy as a whole. This capability primarily relates to the new structure of the Columbia and Virginia elegant submarines, as well as the maintenance of the Virginia and Ohio elegant submarines.
“The expansion of our Advanced Technology Research Center demonstrates Austal USA’s popularity for the importance of the U. S. Navy’s submarine program. “”We are committed to the U. S. for our nation’s maritime defense,” said Austal USA President Michelle Kruger. “We are not yet a major player in the additive production function We are also construction modules for the Virginia and Columbia-class submarines at our new construction facility in Mobile, Alabama, which is a testament to our highly talented and professional workforce.
The 100th component released is a copper-nickel angle valve (PL114) manufactured by an EOS M400 laser powder bed fusion additive production printer at the Danville AM CoE. Puget Sound Naval Shipyard requested that the component be installed on the USS Pennsylvania (SSBN-735), an Ohio-class guided-missile submarine commissioned in 1989.
The consortium of companies operating additive brands at this facility began printing the first production parts at the site in April 2023. Production data files for additives produced at Danville AM CoE will be available to suppliers in the commercial submarine base as a production recommendation. when looking for an option to cast or forge those pieces. A plan is underway to install the first published parts at Danville AM CoE.
While the installation of the first hundred parts released is complete or underway, Danville AM CoE becomes a significant contributor to the hundred piece challenge presented through PEO’s SSBN Executive Director, Matt Sermon. In April 2024, at the Sea-to-space conference, Sermon encouraged shipbuilders and commercial submarine base suppliers to source and install one hundred AM-published parts on Navy vessels by the end of the calfinishar year 2024.
In addition to its role as an on-site heat treatment manager, Austal USA Advanced Technologies leads the production flow and integrates the engineering, additive production, machining and post-processing, and inspection and quality testing functions of its AM partners. The team ensures that the rigorous needs of its Navy consumers are met while also offering installable parts that demonstrate the ability of new production processes to reduce lead times for many historically cast or forged parts.