Fleet Readiness Center Southeast (FRCSE) artisans are striving to build essential 20mm gun insert blast diffusers used on the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft well ahead of their production schedule to meet the deployment needs of U.S. warfighters.
The FRCSE Manufacturing Division began the $305,000 project in early March to create 200 insert blast diffusers, which deflect and disperse high temperature and pressure gasses from the muzzle blast of the 20mm M61 Vulcan cannon away from the aircraft’s windshield.
“We were asked if we could manufacture this product because the original equipment manufacturer was having difficulty meeting the quotas of fleet requirements,” said Industrial Manufacturing and Processes Integrated Product Team Lead Angello Evans. “After reviewing the project requirements with our computer numerical control (CNC) department and determining the availability of stock material, we engaged our additive manufacturing (AM) experts to create a model of the part.”
The AM team used the manufacturer’s original blueprints to build a computer-aided design and build a model of the insert blast diffuser utilizing a 3D software program. Engineers then created a three-dimensional shaped mold of the part used to determine exact specifications of the diffuser.
FRCSE CNC Programmer Norman Gay took the lead on the design of the project. “My job was to create the tooling procedures and write the code the computer reads so the manufacturing equipment can cut the part,” said Gay. “It took about 10 hours to develop the process and a couple test runs with some tweaking to ensure the tools would be efficient throughout the entire process.”
The manufacturing process begins with a 4- by 4- by 2-inch solid piece of metal. “The metal is secured in a vise and put into the CNC machine,” said Machinist Robert Morris, an FRCSE contractor with Tyonek Manufacturing Group Inc. “The machine is calibrated to specific measurements to cut the piece into the correct shape which takes about 4 hours. We are running the machine for 16 hours a day to ensure the project continues to stay on track.”
Once the machine process is finished, Morris removes the part, cuts off any excess metal, mills and sands the piece, and uses a tap to make screw holes for installation. Batches of 10 pieces are packaged and transferred to the FRCSE Engine Weld Shop where certified welders use a specific alloy to strengthen the part and reduce erosion.
Equipment cleaners at the FRCSE Engine Clean and Finish Shop remove grease residue from the parts before they move on to the FRCSE CNC/Tool and Die Shop where machinists measure the size, orientation and location features of the part.
A material engineering technician at the FRCSE Materials Engineering Laboratory inspects each insert blast diffuser to ensure there are no cracks and the welds are properly fusioned to the part.
“With the inspections completed and the parts certified, they are then ready to go to preservation, packaging, packing and marking, where they are packaged and shipped to New Cumberland, Pa. and entered into the Naval Supply System for use in the fleet,” said June Tillett, manufacturing program manager for the military depot.
FRCSE artisans have completed 111 parts so far at an average of three per day. “This project is going extremely well and our production rate is well ahead of schedule,” said Evans. “We started producing these parts in June and by August had shipped out 81 insert blast diffusers.”
“This has been a great team effort,” he continued. “I have one of the best teams around and they do great under pressure. If the warfighter needs something immediately, we assemble our team, do a program objective memorandum and ensure we have what we need for the job. It is amazing that with all the different processes and team members we have here, when something is hot they immediately step up to the plate and get the job done.”
Evans stresses the quality of the FRCSE Manufacturing Division’s products are top-notch. “All of our products go through numerous inspections,” he stated. “So when they leave here, they are good products and ready to be used in the fleet.”
For more Naval Air Systems Command news go to: www.navair.navy.mil .