By Jim Jenkins
Aging Aircraft Public Affairs

The Advanced Laser Data Acquisition Center (ALDAC) is the Reverse Engineering Center of Excellence for the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR).

The majority of problem parts that have surfaced recently are primarily fabricated mechanical parts that involve Reverse Engineering (RE). However, the concept of reverse engineering is considered in a broader spectrum to include the reverse/re-engineering of mechanical and electrical assemblies as well. This is especially true when considering reverse engineering within the Aging Aircraft Integrated Product Team (AAIPT).

Reverse Engineering is defined somewhat in the name. Normal production starts with a specific design intent or conception. The design is organized into engineering drawings for fabrication, material specifics, and manufacturing specifications. The drawings are supplied to approved production centers in order to produce the design and assure quality for acceptance. However, many components are functioning without the original designs available, and eventually those parts need to be replaced or need to be improved upon. Reverse Engineering supports that process by providing the manufacturing and design engineering of working backwards. RE secures an existing asset, captures all data that can be learned about the part, and produces contemporary engineering drawings with solid models for producing parts. This is a general description that does not include the efforts in material analysis, First Article Tests, rapid prototyping, and the triage by Subject Matter Experts (SME).

History of Reverse Engineering at NAVAIR

The AAIPT was established within NAVAIR’s Research and Engineering Division, Systems Engineering Department (Code 4.1) to set up methodology to identify life limiting components in operational systems that had not yet materialized, and develop solutions to mitigate sparing shortages in these systems in their out years of usable life. As the AAIPT matured and established itself as a solution driven organization within NAVAIR, the AAIPT expanded into the pressing issue of “how do I obtain parts that I need today which are difficult to find or stock and have exorbitant cost or lead times?” Some of the causes are:
• The original vendor no longer is in business
• The Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) is unable or unwilling to make the part at the limited quantity required
• The OEM cannot meet schedule requirements
• Manufacturing documentation is proprietary or does not exist
• Purchase cost is unacceptable to the procuring agency
• The item was never provisioned as a spare part

The AAIPT was looking for an organization that could provide a rapid response to organizations that needed backlogged spare parts, such as the Inventory Control Points, Defense Supply Centers, and the Naval Aviation Depots. Within the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division at Patuxent River, such a fledgling group existed in Code 1.1. It was working under NAVAIRINST 4200.25D, Management of Critical Application Items, Including Critical Safety Items and the associated Critical Item Management Desktop Guide. The Rapid Procurement Group would solicit the supply agencies to identify backlogged parts that it could assist in procuring. This group identified capable vendors, prepared procurement proposals for solicitation and response to procure the part, selected the most qualified vendor and established a procurement contract for the part which included building a First Article Test (FAT) component to verify the manufacturing process met all safety requirements for the part.

In parallel to the NAWCAD effort, NAVAIR Code 5.4.4 (now AIR-5.2.8) was establishing an RE capability, the Advanced Laser Data Acquisition Center (ALDAC), to support the rapid prototype mission to provide needed parts for aircraft undergoing testing at Patuxent River. The ALDAC quickly grew into providing First Article Testing for the Defense Centers for Safety Critical Items and organic RE services to the fleet.

The rapid spares acquisition group and ALDAC became informally linked in an effort to support each others missions. The AAIPT, knowing it needed these capabilities, pulled these two groups into the AAIPT giving them NAVAIR recognition and support.

Advanced Laser Data Acquisition Center

The ALDAC has become the Reverse Engineering Center of Excellence at NAVAIR. The ALDAC uses various types of laser scanning and data collection devices to make electronic three dimensional models of components that are then imported into computer aided design (CAD) software, producing the design essential to a Technical Data Package (TDP). Once the TDP has been produced, a Rapid Prototype Machine can produce prototypes of the parts. The CAD model is incorporated into software and shows the fusion deposition machine where to build the plastic to make the components. The prototype components are made with Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS plastic), which is the same type plastic used to make telephones, football helmets and a variety of other everyday household items. The plastic prototypes are then taken to the aircraft and actually fitted to it, confirming the data acquisition (Form, Fit, and Function).

"Having a facility than can perform reverse engineering is critical to the Naval Aviation Enterprise’s goal of reducing cost while preserving mission readiness,” said Bob Ernst, AAIPT director. “Recent studies have shown that the costs of our consumable items are increasing by 12 percent every year. As important as the rising costs are, more so is the disruption to our supply chain caused by having to find and qualify new vendors for these 20 or 30 year old parts. Often times we can find companies who are willing to build the parts, but the drawing package and associated technical data is inadequate. ALDAC is a critical resource that allows us to complete that 20 year old paper drawing and create a certified data package that allows our defense industry, many of which are small business, to support our Warfighters in a quick and efficient manner."

AAIPT FastTrack Program

When the NAWCAD Rapid Procurement Group and ALDAC came under the AAIPT it was renamed the FastTrack Program. FastTrack’s charter permits it to work on multi-service projects in addition to Inventory Control Points, Defense Supply Centers, and the Naval Aviation Depots. The newly integrated team is a self supporting entity that supports the customer from requirements definition through delivery of products; is able to sustain itself and its support team. FastTrack solicits agencies to assist in identifying problem parts required to meet the readiness or supply requirements of DoD and specific Government agencies. FastTrack works closely with the NAVAIR Basic Design Engineer (BDE), the Fleet Support Team (FST), and the Cognizant Field Activity, usually within one of the NADEPs. When a Critical Safety Item/Critical Application Item has been tasked to FastTrack, a team of specialists is pulled together to make sure all safety requirements are addressed and that the item undergoes all required testing to verify its safety requirements and flight worthiness.

ALDAC Capability and Experience

The ALDAC is a relatively new addition to the NAVAIR team. With the vision of Thomas Wilson, (AVMI Associate/AIR-5.2) the ALDAC was founded upon the need of providing a quick response organic effort. Dr. Bob Polanowski was given the opportunity of standing up this effort, and since ALDAC’s inception in 2003 the facility has become NAVAIR’s Center of Excellence for Reverse Engineering.

“The ALDAC Team can replicate any mechanical or structural item on the aircraft,” said Dr. Polanowski, ALDAC Manager and Team Lead. “Our group has even scanned instrumentation panels for the C-2.”

Information for simple shapes can be collected using a coordinate measure machine point probe where the data is used to confirm or create a part. Laser devices are used when there are more challenging contours, shapes and tolerances. The laser arm is used to measure six to eight foot sections, whereas the laser tracker, a new item in the ALDAC team integration, uses a tracking ball to follow along a part to collect the data of bigger items.

The laser tracker is a portable, 3-D measurement system, which uses eye-safe laser technology to effectively and accurately measure both relatively large and small components. The system measures 3-D coordinates with its laser by following a mirrored spherical tracking ball, or retro, with the position of the retro being reported real-time to a laptop computer. The Laser Tracker system can measure objects up to 230-feet long from a range of 115 feet, with an accuracy of within 25 microns (.0002 inches).

Actual scanning time varies depending on the device used and the item being scanned, but can range from one to 24 business hours. Either device can successfully acquire the proper data for reverse engineering much quicker than manual measuring devices.

One recent success story for the ALDAC is the Reverse Engineering effort for the C-2/E-2 Center Wing Hinge. The original vendor that produced the part no longer supplied the components, and recently supplied components to the North Island Depot were failing. Additionally, the Class “A” assets suffered large amounts of fatigue and corrosion. A Class “A” asset was delivered to the ALDAC facility. The item was scanned and a solid model was provided to the depot. The resulting TDP allowed the C-2 community to make improvements to the hinge as well as compete the production of future components.

Another success story for the ALDAC is when it recently teamed with the Geomatics and Metrology survey team of the Atlantic Test Ranges’ (ATR) Electro Optical Tracking Systems Section (EOTSS). Using two different coordinate measuring machines, they were able to quickly and accurately collect the 3-D data necessary to model the entire nose and tail surfaces of a P-3C aircraft. The ALDAC team integrated the data into a Parametrics Technology Pro-Engineer, or Pro-E, computer aided design model to allow the upgrades of certain aircraft components for NAVAIR’s Aging Aircraft IPT.

Hundreds of thousands of 3-D surface coordinates -- a point cloud -- were collected on the P-3C project using the laser tracker and a laser arm, another type of CMM that can measure within a six-foot radius. The laser tracker was used to gather the macro 3-D data while the arm was used to gather micro 3-D data such as small surface protrusions or bolt holes. The entire mapping, or data collection, effort took only two days.

The ALDAC team is made up of three sub-teams. The “A” team works in the Building 2186 lab and collects the data for components that are small enough to fit inside of the building. Dr. Polanowski said that the team could scan components so small they can fit in a hand or scan components as big as an H-60 cockpit. The on-site laser scanning equipment is portable and coordinates data scans with the use of a laptop computer. The “B” team takes the portable laser tracker for the larger volume scanning of aircraft. The B team captures the CAD data, electronically delivers the data back to the ALDAC center where it’s incorporated into a CAD package, 3D models, and eventually and technical data package is produced. The “C” team is made up of contractors working offsite at various locations who collect the data with state of the art equipment and send it to the ALDAC center for processing. With the C team, Dr. Polanowski is now using data collection techniques involving cameras – Photogrammetry. Photogrammetry is the technique of measuring objects, 2D or 3D, from photographs. Using triangulation, common points are identified on each image. A line of sight can be constructed from the camera location to the point on the object. The intersection of these rays determines the three-dimensional location of that point.

“That is much more efficient,” Dr. Polanowski said. “What was once cumbersome data collection is reduced to taking photographs with special equipment. You can triangulate pictures of large aircraft, and do either a section of aircraft, the entire aircraft, or the inside of an aircraft. I predict in the not too distant future that Global Positioning System devices will be used to collect the measurement data of aircraft.”

The ALDAC team recently finished modifying components for the H-60 medical evacuation helicopters that were essential to converting the H-60 into an Air Ambulance. Some of the components modified the operation of the H-60 while others accommodated the combat wounded. In a letter of appreciation, Program Executive Officer, AIR ASW, Assault & Special Mission Programs (PMA-299), thanked the ALDAC and the AIR-5.2.8 team for their “tireless efforts and uncompromising dedication during the manufacturing and production of a vital new Air Ambulance capability. Your planning, skilled drafting and machining, technical rigor, and timely execution directly contributed to readying the aircraft and Fleet squadrons for an urgent combat deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.”

“In just eight short months, the Air Ambulance Manufacturing and Production Team supported rapid prototyping, design, production and manufacturing of critical Air Ambulance Systems. The MH-60S and HH-60H Litter Management Systems required machining and finishing components to tight tolerances from ‘design-on-the-fly’ drawings, under a rapid turn-around schedule. In response to a correction of deficiencies request, the manufacturing team turned draft drawings into finished parts in under seven days, and completed production on four MH-60S systems in three weeks, achieving a 100 percent parts acceptance rate. The team also supported a reverse engineering effort for the engine inlet barrier filter system integration for both series aircraft, designing high strength support structures, and producing high quality products in time for critical schedule-driven test events. Your organic design, production and manufacturing performance have been truly spectacular.”

As in the case of the C-2 instrumentation panel upgrade and the H-60 medical evacuation helicopter conversion, the ALDAC sometimes performs work for the test and evaluation community while working in support of the Aging Aircraft Integrated Product Team by using reverse engineering practices to help solve various obsolescence issues with the Navy’s legacy aircraft fleet.

When insufficient documentation exists to manufacture a part, FastTrack integrates ALDAC to create a solid model through reverse engineering using its laser technology and creating a prototype that is used to assure proper fit into the next higher assembly.

“I am integrated with the Aging Aircraft IPT with the FastTrack Program,” Dr. Polanowski said. “The future will see the utilization of the FastTrack contract. Bill Riseling is the program manager of the FastTrack Program. The FastTrack Contract is a multi-service contract that will provide for $450 million of Warfighter support. We will support NAVAIR, but also, because it’s a ‘purple’ color (a joint effort), FastTrack can provide services for all of the Department of Defense – i.e. Air Force, Coast Guard, and Army. The Army is actively using the FastTrack program for efforts in Iraq. We are anticipating a rather healthy amount of usage through this contract to get parts to the fleet or to the various services.”

The ALDAC also actively supports the Defense Supply Center with first article tests and part verification tests to make sure the parts are produced according to the technical data package.

FastTrack Capability and Experience

While working for the Naval Air Warfare Center Indianapolis (Naval Avionics Center), Riseling was assigned as the coordinator for depot repair of avionic components installed on the Aries EP-3E aircraft. This program, known as the Sustainment Engineering and Repair of Repairable Program, later became the Depot Source of Repair (DSOR) at NAWC Indianapolis. Shortly after Riseling transferred to NAWC Patuxent River (at the closure of NAWC Indianapolis), he re-established the Sustainment Engineering Team to manufacture hard to obtain spare parts for Naval Aviation programs.

Prior to being brought into the AAIPT, the FastTrack team was involved in the RE and manufacture of an aft Clamshell Door for the CH-46 helicopter under an order from Naval Inventory Control Point –Philadelphia. Many manufacturing efforts have been performed for the Defense Supply Centers in Philadelphia, Richmond, and Columbus Ohio.

The FastTrack Team has and is continuing to support the US Army Communications and Electronics Command (CECOM) in all aspects of developing parts identical to existing fielded parts or creating Form-Fit-Function parts for key ground satellite communication systems used extensively in supporting the Operation Iraqi Freedom war efforts.

The FastTrack Program is awarding a product and services contract to support the expanding workload base and to offer greater capability to government customers through an expanded vendor/manufacturer cadre. This contract will be accessible by any DoD or specific government agency requiring material support across the acquisition spectrum.

(Dr. Bob Polanowski contributed to this article)

CAPTION:
Tommy “Colonel” Newton, ALDAC technician, demonstrates the laser scanning of an aircraft fitting with the real-time CAD model being produced on the computer in the background.
Photo by Jim Jenkins