Photo By Branden Bourque | The Inside Machine Shop’s Cold Spray team at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard pose for a...... read more read more
The Inside Machine Shop’s Cold Spray team at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard recently made repairs to a defective component found during maintenance and overhaul of USS North Dakota (SSN 784). Using the cold spray method, these repairs were made in record time, and with significant cost savings. Efforts like this ensure the shipyard moves with urgency and purpose towards delivering critical assets to the Navy’s warfighters.
Once the deficiency was identified and traditional repair methods were determined to be unsatisfactory, Mechanical Engineer Dan Fraser and the Cold Spray Team were given the difficult task of figuring out how to repair the component using the cold spray process.
Historically, such repairs have required PNSY to outsource the work to develop and complete component repairs. These options impact schedule, with additional weeks of processing time, or replacement costs of approximately $1 million.
Dissatisfied with the available options, the Cold Spray team decided to repair the defective component themselves. After conducting the necessary qualification testing they were able to make repairs in less than four days for approximately $15,000 - a massive cost savings for PNSY.
“Being part of the Cold Spray Team has been an exciting and rewarding experience,” said Cold Spray Machinist Howard C. Scully III. “Helping develop and implement this modern repair method has completely changed how we handle critical fixes, making repairs faster and more efficient. Seeing our first cold-sprayed part approved for shipboard use is a huge milestone for the team and the shipyard. I’m proud to have contributed to this achievement and look forward to more innovations with cold spray technology in the future,” said Scully.
Fraser and the Cold Spray Team were determined to beat the production time, and they did so successfully with a groundbreaking process that out-performs what was traditionally used for this application. “The need for this repair was ASAP, and the time to develop and perform a cold spray repair was comparable to traditional repair techniques, but significantly more durable,” said Fraser. “The repaired component will be installed shipboard, marking this the first shipboard component where a cold spray repair was developed in-house without using an outside vendor. Shop 31 rose to the challenge of accepting work using a new process with a very tight deadline and succeeded. The exceptional teamwork between the shops, project team, and support codes, including Quality Assurance, Sheetmetal shop, and Mechanical Engineering, were significant factors which drove this repair to success.”
The Inside Machine Shop’s Cold Spray team excelled by putting forward their “Get Real Get Better” mindset, demonstrating continuous learning and improvement in completing this repair. Their efforts resulted in an innovative solution that is more durable than other methods and establishes a new standard in production time. The team’s timely repair directly contributes to the overall mission of growing the force by getting platforms in and out of maintenance on time and back to the Fleet ready for the intensity of combat.
| Date Taken: | 01.03.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 01.03.2025 13:50 |
| Story ID: | 488673 |
| Location: | KITTERY, MAINE, US |
| Web Views: | 122 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Cold Spray Team In-house Repair goes Shipboard, by Alana Demo, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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