CCAM Gets Busy in Aerospace

The Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM; Prince George County, VA) has announced that Aerojet Rocketdyne, Inc. (Sacramento, CA), the missile propulsion and launch system manufacturer, is expanding its membership role in the collaborative research center.

“This is an exciting next step in our ongoing partnership with CCAM,” said Warren Boley, the president of Aerojet Rocketdyne. “We have had great success in advanced manufacturing techniques and their application to our aerospace and defense product lines. This expanded partnership will afford us an even greater opportunity to innovate and evolve our advanced manufacturing capabilities.”

CCAM is based at a state-of-the-art facility in Prince George County that is equipped with computational and engineering research labs, high bay production space and commercial scale equipment, and specialized equipment and tooling for research in surface engineering, manufacturing systems, additive manufacturing, machining technologies, composite materials processing, and welding and joining.

Based on affiliation level, CCAM member companies may collaborate on generic research and conduct proprietary research to innovate manufacturing practices, resulting in new techniques and processes.

Aerojet Rocketdyne became a CCAM Tier 2 member in 2011 with non-exclusive royalty-free license to use Intellectual Property from CCAM generated collaborative research. As an Organizing Industry Member, the manufacturer now will perform proprietary research at the CCAM facility and retain IP ownership of the developments.

Speaking about this announcement, Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe said, “The Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing is a world-class research facility that is transforming the future of advanced manufacturing. This announcement that Aerojet Rocketdyne will expand its CCAM membership is a tremendous example of the mutual benefit attained by leveraging the talent and resources within CCAM and Virginia’s top universities. Aerojet Rocketdyne is a valued asset to Virginia, and we look forward to the company’s results and success to come as an Organizing Industry Member of CCAM.”

Joseph F. Moody, the CCAM president and executive director, said, “Aerojet Rocketdyne has gained appreciable benefit from CCAM membership and now is expanding its role to become an Organizing Industry Member. We are pleased that Aerojet Rocketdyne will derive even greater benefit from CCAM collaboration and manufacturing breakthroughs.”

With nearly 20 member companies, NASA Langley Research Center and Virginia’s leading universities, CCAM bridges the gap between research and commercialization, accelerating new developments to market.

In related news, CCAM also announced that Airbus S.A. (Blagnac, France) – the aeronautics leader – has joined CCAM’s industry, academic and government consortium dedicated to manufacturing breakthroughs and advancements in applied research.

CCAM, Airbus and Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe used the occasion of the Farnborough International Airshow 2014 to announce the new membership during a celebratory signing event.

“Airbus was founded on innovation – we operate daily knowing that using and developing leading edge technology is a requirement in our business, and CCAM is founded on that mindset,” said Charles Champion, the executive vice president of engineering for Airbus. “This union is a natural one. Tapping the intellects of the greatest researchers in the industry benefits everyone involved from the developers to the end users.”

Speaking about this’s announcement, McAuliffe said, “CCAM is a world-class asset that brings together Virginia’s leading manufacturing companies and top educational institutions to expedite research and turn ideas into real-world technologies and solutions. The addition of a major player like Airbus is a great testament to the pivotal role CCAM plays as a centerpiece of Virginia’s efforts to promote R&D and technology commercialization, and contribute to a growing Virginia economy. We are thrilled that, as an Organizing Industry Member of CCAM, Airbus will partner with its fellow industry, government and university members and share best practices, experience and expertise to further strengthen advanced manufacturing in Virginia.”

For more than 40 years Airbus has manufactured single-aisle and widebody commercial aircraft, military airlifters, cargo transports and business aircraft that increasingly offer greater fuel efficiency, performance and reliability.

Moody commented, “Airbus is a global leader in advanced manufacturing and a pioneer in applying forward-thinking innovation. As a CCAM Organizing Industry Member, Airbus will bring decades of expertise in engineering technologies and manufacturing systems to the research conducted at CCAM.”

CCAM industry and government members include Canon Virginia Inc., Chromalloy, Newport News Shipbuilding, Rolls-Royce, Sandvik Coromant, Siemens, Oerlikon Metco, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Blaser Swisslube, Hermle Machine Co., Mitutoyo, Paradigm Precision, Buehler, Cool Clean Technologies, GF AgieCharmilles, Mechdyne, National Instruments, Spatial Integrated Systems, Airbus and NASA Langley Research Center. Academic partners are the University of Virginia, Virginia State University, Virginia Tech and Old Dominion University.

www.ccam-va.com