Metals comprise almost three-fourths of turbine engine components and two-thirds of the weight of a typical airframe, so reducing costs and improving performance of metals and their alloys has a major impact on a wide array of defense systems. With both cost and performance in mind, RX teamed with a large cross-section of the aerospace metals supply chain and established a technology investment agreement called the Metals Affordability Initiative (MAI). This unique team of industrial competitors works with RX to achieve the common goals of improving performance of metallic components, lowering materials costs, and maturing and transitioning innovative computational and manufacturing methods.
The collaborative nature of the MAI has enabled an impressive list of technological successes. The industrial partners have a financial stake in the technology development programs and each company actively engages as part of the unified consortium technical oversight committee that works with the Air Force program manager to assess all projects and guide the government towards efforts with the greatest potential payoffs. Each project tackled by the MAI team requires focused technical plans, defined implementation targets and milestones, and realistic and supportable business cases. The shared risk stimulates projects that are timely, feasible, and supported by the entire metals value stream.
To date, the accomplishments of the MAI have resulted in more than 50 technologies being transferred into Air Force and other DoD systems. These technology insertions have impacted the C-17, C-40, C-130, E-2, F-15, F-16, F/A-18, F-22, F-35, KC-135, P-8, V-22, Global Hawk and Apache aircraft, micro satellite, small diameter bomb, Mars reconnaissance orbiter, Orion spacecraft and future combat systems.
Some of the efforts under the MAI include a project to reduce the cost and lead time for space and aerospace components through the use of electron beam melting free form fabrication. This resulted in cost and schedule reductions of up to 50 percent, a 20 percent material yield improvement, along with weight savings and performance enhancements. Another project evaluated candidate materials and optimized the metal injection molding process for each material, reducing component fabrication costs. One project developed friction stir welding procedures for advanced aluminum alloys, reducing lead time and costs for larger aluminum components. An effort to reduce production costs via finite element model prediction of 3-D machining distortions allowed more aggressive machining and elimination of straightening processes, thereby reducing costs. A project to establish digital based radiography as an approved method for final part acceptance of aerospace castings will result in faster cycle times and improved acquisition costs. An MAI project is developing a novel process to manufacture sand castings using a rapid prototyping process to fabricate the tooling, and is demonstrating the ability to produce complex part geometry with improved cost and lead time for low-rate production.
Due to the expert management and the successful collaboration of the MAI, 39 independent technologies were transitioned directly to the warfighter. The MAI is a revolutionary approach to management, technology and business practices and will continue to benefit both industry and the DoD.
PAYOFF
This initiative has challenged conventional thinking and resulted in a savings of more than $500 million. The technologies developed have been transferred to 22 aerospace systems. Through this effort, the Air Force reaps the technical benefits of experienced industrial specialists and experts, while exposing technology investments to a wide private sector audience.
