Space Age Technology

Houston, you have a problem,” or so the message could have read that alerted NASA to a design flaw in an air cleaner bearing assembly for the international space station.

NASA had contracted with City College to make a model of the bearing in question. NASA wanted to find out ahead of time if the design of the expensive titanium part would work. Luckily for everyone—future occupants of the space station and U.S. taxpayers—the rapid prototyper found the flaw quickly and inexpensively.

Almost 20 centuries after its invention in China, humble paper aided the space program at the City College Center for Applied Competitive Technologies (CACT), where students, small businesses, large corporations—and even NASA—are taking advantage of the cutting-edge technology.

The latest addition to the CACT’s nationally recognized programs in manufacturing automation and computer-assisted machining is a rapid prototyping machine, which is used by start-up and emerging technology companies, as well as established manufacturers, engaged in new product development.

The machine can make models of new parts or products quickly and inexpensively to identify any flaws in the design or to determine if the part or product can be manufactured at an acceptable cost.

The rapid prototyping machine, known as an LOM (laminated object manufacturing) in the industry, was donated by BF Goodrich Aerospace in Chula Vista and quickly put to use.
Prototypes are made of thousands of layers of paper, depending upon the size of the part or product, and weigh up to 700 pounds. The layers are cut individually by a laser then bonded together, all in a computerized process that produces a geometrically accurate dimensional model.

Other prototypes produced on the machine at City College include medical devices, aircraft parts, paintbrush handles and golf-club heads.

In addition to assisting companies, the prototyping machine is an important resource for students, says

J. David Alpert, CACT manufacturing technologies manager. “Engineering students can use the machine to verify their designs, and we are developing coursework to train technicians in this skill area as part of the college’s machine technology program.”

Alpert says rapid prototyping is one part of a much bigger picture. City College is involved in assisting companies and training students in what is referred to as enterprise resource planning, which includes virtual manufacturing.
Virtual manufacturing uses information technology applications over the Internet to communicate engineering design codes for the production of products anywhere in the world.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is involved in developing the standardized transmission formats for this new technology, and the CACT’s virtual enterprise manager, Edward Tackett, gave a presentation on virtual manufacturing at the NIST annual Modernization Forum, demonstrating the CACT’s leading role in efforts to prepare local manufacturers and students for the emerging world of virtual manufacturing.

Charles Willis operates the City College rapid prototyping machines, which are used to make models of parts or products quickly and cheaply to identify flaws in design or to determine the cost feasibility of manufacturing.

This bearing assembly model was made at City College for NASA and the international space station. The paper prototype identified a flaw in the bearing designed by NASA. Since the finished part for the space station will be made of titanium, identifying flaws on the prototype made of paper dramatically reduced costs.