Defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) has been able to reduce production costs of its F-35 combat aircraft with help from the Orlando office of Rogers, Minn.-based North Star Imaging and its powerful scanner that makes post-production evaluation more efficient and therefore less costly.
The large-scale, 9-million-electron-volts 3D/4D X-ray CT scanning system developed by North Star Imaging is designed to scan larger and denser jet components — including steel pieces 12 inches thick — than other existing scanners. The system, which launched in late July, can scan parts up to 44 inches by 70 inches in size.
“Just like a surgeon uses a 3D CT scan to detect cancer cells within the human body, our Nondestructive Evaluation Lab engineers rely on the power of 3D/4D X-ray CT technology to find discontinuities within parts,” said Vice President Florence Tindle of Lockheed Martin’s Orlando-based Missile and Fire Control engineering division.
Previously, 2D images of parts were part of the evaluation process, “but what we're able to do with 3D X-ray imaging is give them so much more clarity of detail,” said Brett Muehlhauser, research and development technical fellow at NSI. “Whether it's for aerospace or defense or automotive or medical devices, the scanning system drives safety-critical parts to a higher level because we can look at internal integrity of the product as well as all of the geometry and measurements.”
Muehlhauser said Lockheed has some lower-power North Star equipment in house, but to access the new 9-million-electron-volt scanner, the company brings parts to North Star’s Orlando facility.
For Lockheed Martin, efforts began in 2014, when the Department of Defense announced the F-35 Blueprint for Affordability for Production program. The program incentivizes the company to fine-tune production processes that curb the F-35’s big price tag. The goal at that time: top off the cost per jet at $85 million.
Bringing down costs has involved continual analysis and change at every stage of F-35 production, and this is not the first time harnessing powerful scans has yielded positive results for Lockheed Martin. Because the program is so new, it's too soon to estimate the total amount of reduced costs thanks to the technology.
Scanning also helped engineers shave off time in a development process where new ways of combining alloys improved the casting process for the F-35 EOTS Azimuth Gimbal Housing, bringing the cost per unit down by $25,000.
The company also has used scanning to improve products unrelated to the F-35, like the Javelin shoulder-fired anti-armor system. By using CT X-ray technology, the mechanical engineering team developed a new composite fabrication technique that reduced post-machining cost of the Javelin’s launch tube structure.
Muehlhauser said the 3D/4D X-ray CT scanning system can benefit the region’s additive manufacturing sector, too. X-ray and CT scanning has already played a key role in 3D printing, and the new scanner can further accelerate the development of the additive manufacturing processes, he added.
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