NMC Project to Improve Producibility of CVN Weapons and Stores Elevator Doors

Manufacturing issues such as weld distortion can have a serious impact on production schedule and cost in ship construction. The Navy Metalworking Center (NMC) is conducting a ManTech project to address weld distortion and fit-up issues associated with the new lighter-weight design of the CVN weapons and stores elevator doors.

The Integrated Project Team (IPT) is developing and assessing improvements in several categories, including: evaluating alternate materials and construction processes; optimizing current manufacturing processes; and implementing design for manufacturing and assembly recommendations. The IPT will develop improved door configurations, conduct limited subscale trials and fabricate a full-scale prototype. This project leverages improvements identified in a previous NMC Rapid Response project (R2448) and Navy Joining Center project (S2198).

The projected benefits include improvements in cost, schedule and quality. Over five years, the estimated cost savings of improving the producibility and first-time quality of the weapons and stores elevator doors is $5.5 million.

NMC will provide the results of prototype fabrication, lessons learned, sketches and drawing markups, which Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) will translate into work packages to support prototype manufacturing. Implementation is expected in 2014 at NNS in the construction of CVN 79. The producibility methods and improvements can also be applied to hatches, other doors and hull closures, and other applications or platforms.

In addition to NNS and NMC, IPT members include PEO Aircraft Carriers; NAVSEA; Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division; and EWI.