ATC Wins 2010 Defense Manufacturing Excellence Award

Nov. 30, 2010, Las Vegas, NV,. The Defense Manufacturing Excellence Award for the year 2010 was presented to Advanced Tooling Corporation and their project partners in recognition of significant contributions to the Defense Industry in support of manufacturing. The award was presented by the Aerospace Industries Association.

ATC conducted this innovative R&D project working with the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS), Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD), and Naval Fleet Readiness Center (FRC) Southwest to reduce the cost and environmental impact of the electroplating process.

The project team created a completely unique approach to a technological process that had otherwise gone largely unchanged for nearly a century. The project’s No-Mask Conforming Anodes resulted in amazing reductions in process time and $990,000 in immediate savings from the two most recent pilots. The process all but eliminates toxic hazardous waste resulting from masking materials found in previous methods. Reusable, sustainable, and highly efficient, No-Mask Conforming Anodes promises to revolutionize the world of electroplating.

The team estimates that if this technology were deployed across the DoD, a savings of over $50,000,000 could result over the next three years alone, with an overall process time improvement of 35-50%, all translating into improved readiness for the warfighter and reliability of platforms. Limited deployment has already generated an additional $7,280,000 in savings.

ATC Wins DoD Great Ideas Competition

"No-Mask Electroplating" Project Could Save the DoD Millions

Fort Worth, TX – November 15, 2011. Advanced Tooling Corporation's "No-Mask Electroplating" Project was awarded first place in the "Great Ideas Competition" at SAE’s 2011 DoD Maintenance Symposium and Exhibition in Fort Worth, Texas. The annual symposium brings together thousands of government and industry representatives to exchange ideas to improve maintenance practices and procedures.

Modernization of metal electroplating with no-mask conforming anodes is an innovative ATC R&D project, conducted through the DoD's Commercial Technologies for Maintenance Activities (CTMA) program and managed by the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS). The project sought to address issues around electroplating such as the extensive time it takes to mask parts, inaccuracies, inefficiencies and working with plating baths which are highly toxic. ATC collaborated with NCMS, government, and industry to find a single, powerful solution to eliminate masking labor, achieve faster plating times, and improve uniformity of deposits.

Randy Taylor and George Cushnie receive the DoD's 2011 Great Ideas first place award presented by John Johns, Assistance Secretary of Defense.

"The results of this project are nothing less than astonishing," said Bill Chenevert, NCMS Program Manager for the project, "we took this 100 year old process and gave it a technologically advanced overhaul saving money, time and the environment."

The project resulted in a:

• 95% reduction in pre-plating part preparation
• 45% reduction in plating time
• 50% increase in plating tank capacity, improving overall throughput
• $2,220,000 in immediate annual savings from the pilot parts alone

Collaborative participants on this award winning project included the Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD) and the Fleet Readiness Center (FRC) Southwest. The team estimates that if No-Mask Conforming Anodes were deployed across the Department of Defense (DoD) over $50 Million in savings could potentially be realized with overall process improvement times of 35-50%.

The positive impact on the environment is also substantial. No-mask conforming anodes are fully reusable. The technology completely eliminates the mountains of tape, wax and other maskants – all of which must be disposed of as hazardous waste, where even brief exposure could lead to serious health complications.

About NCMS:
The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences, the largest cross industry collaborative Research & Development consortium in North America, is dedicated to driving innovation in commercial, defense, robotics and environmentally sustainable manufacturing. NCMS has over 25 years of experience in the formation and management of complex, multi-partner collaborative R&D programs, and is backed by corporate members representing virtually every manufacturing sector. For more information on NCMS, visit http://www.ncms.org/

About CTMA:
The lifesaving Commercial Technologies for Maintenance Activities (CTMA) program is a Department of Defense supported NCMS initiative that ensures American troops and their equipment are ready to face any situation, with the most up-to-date and best-maintained platforms and tools on earth.