News

Blairsville, Pa. — May 4, 2018. The National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) proudly announces it will celebrate 15 successful years of delivering collaborative manufacturing innovations at its annual SUMMIT event, to be held May 9 – 10, 2018, at the Chestnut Ridge Golf Resort and Conference Center in Blairsville, Pa.

SUMMIT is NCDMM’s premier annual event for encouraging collaboration among government, industry, and academia to advance manufacturing technologies in support of the warfighter.

“For 15 years, NCDMM has leveraged its collaborative model to contribute to real, positive change throughout the defense industry, specifically for the warfighter,” said NCDMM President and Executive Director Ralph Resnick. “While I’m extraordinarily proud of our accomplishments to date, I am also very excited by the prospect of our future impact and contributions. The U.S. manufacturing industry alone is responsible for roughly three-quarters of all private-sector research and development (R&D) efforts. That’s a tremendous figure. It also means that the U.S. manufacturing industry is responsible for more innovations than any other sector. As we kick off our SUMMIT 2018 event, I look forward to NCDMM continuing to deliver advanced, collaborative manufacturing solutions that keep the defense industry at the forefront of innovation.”

New this year to SUMMIT 2018 is the addition of four project areas—or ‘pods’. Each pod will focus on a specific project currently managed by NCDMM. Within the pods, NCDMM will showcase its project partners, project artifacts, and video presentations, featuring the challenges and objectives of each specific project along with NCDMM’s approach and achievements. NCDMM program managers and project partners will be on hand to engage with SUMMIT attendees. Additionally, the SUMMIT 2018 keynote speakers’ presentations will directly align to the four project areas.

Opening remarks from Michael D. Packer, Director of Manufacturing for Advanced Production Programs at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works^® and NCDMM Chairman of the Board and Ralph R. Resnick, NCDMM President and Executive Director and America Makes Founding Director, will kick off SUMMIT 2018. Presentations by the keynote speakers will immediately follow.

The keynote speakers for SUMMIT 2018 are:

• Colonel Howard K. Marotto, II, Additive Manufacturing/3D Printing Lead, Marine Corps and Deputy Director of Headquarters, Marine Corps, Installation and Logistics, Next Generation Logistics (NextLog)
• Slade Gardner, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer, Hackrod, Inc. and Michael “Mouse” McCoy, Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder & Creative Director, Hackrod, Inc.
• Jason Kerestes, A5 Project Manager & Robotics Engineer, The Boeing Company; and Inventor, Entrepreneur and TV Personality
• Thomas M. Fischer, Director, Engineering and Technical Management, US Air Force Sustainment Center, Robins Air Force Base
• Dennis Butcher, Government Program Manager, America Makes; Air Force Research Laboratory, Manufacturing & Industrial Technologies Division, and Ben Bouffard, Additive Manufacturing (AM) Lead, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, Test and Evaluation; Additive Manufacturing Lead, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division

The four NCDMM project areas showcased at SUMMIT 2018 are:

• Multi-Mission Launcher (MML) – The MML Project provides an array of manufacturing engineering support, including the diagnosing, correcting, and implementing engineering solutions for the design verification of materials, component, and assemblies in preparation for the Engineering Manufacturing and Development (EMD) phase of development of the MML air-defense asset.
• Advanced Automation for Agile Aerospace Applications (A5) – The A5 Project seeks to create a foundational open-source software framework for adaptive robotic solutions in aerospace manufacturing and sustainment. The goal of A5 is to move away from traditional automation solutions that are tied directly to a specific component or aircraft toward a future state in which automation solutions adapt to part variations by using models that are combined with real-time sensor data to drive the automation process.
• Maturation of Advanced Manufacturing for Low-Cost Sustainment (MAMLS) – The MAMLS Project is a three-phase project aimed at improving efficiency of the factory and/or AF Air Logistics Complexes for rapid part replacement for legacy and other aircraft. Specifically, the goal of MAMLS project is to enhance and improve U.S. Air Force sustainment operations through the exploration, development, demonstration, and transition of advanced manufacturing technologies, including additive manufacturing, reverse engineering & model generation, digital analysis and simulation, and others.
• America Makes, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute – Managed by NCDMM, America Makes is the national accelerator for additive manufacturing (AM) with more than 200 member organizations and the nation’s leading and collaborative partner in AM technology research, discovery, creation, and innovation. As a public-private partnership, America Makes convenes leaders from industry, academia, and government; coordinates AM technical and workforce information and data; and catalyzes high-value, high-difficulty and high-impact research and development projects with the goal of increasing our nation’s global manufacturing and economic competitiveness.

Following the day’s presentations, there will be a reception for attendees to continue networking and build mutually beneficial partnerships.

To wrap up SUMMIT 2018, NCDMM will once again hold its annual SUMMIT Golf Outing, on Thurs., May 10^th, for golfers to enjoy a fun-filled day of golf and a relaxed atmosphere for networking. Proceeds from the outing will benefit the Troops First Foundation, which provides meaningful assistance to the men and women of our military wounded while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The foundation spends time at hospitals visiting the wounded and their families, building relationships, and gaining trust to assist with their many stages of recovery.

Golfers will play the Tom’s Run Golf Course at Chestnut Ridge Golf Resort & Conference Center. Tom’s Run was named one of the Best Golf Courses in Pennsylvania by Golf Digest and has earned a four and a half star rating. With its multiple tees and bent grass greens and fairways, Tom’s Run offers a truly memorable experience for golfers of all skill levels.

The NCDMM also gratefully acknowledges the support of the following SUMMIT 2018 and Golf Outing sponsors:

Diamond: Lockheed Martin

Platinum: Indiana County Center for Economic Operations

Gold: American Additive Manufacturing, LLC; AMT—The Association For Manufacturing Technology; Consortium Management Group, Inc. (CMG); Siemens; University of Pittsburgh – Swanson School of Engineering

Silver: Babst & Calland Attorneys at Law; M-7 Technologies; NCSIMUL Solutions by SPRING Technologies; Strangpresse; Simufact Engineering

Golf Outing Sponsors: University of Pittsburgh – Swanson School of Engineering; 1st SUMMIT Bank; The Lanterman Group; R.R. Donnelly; Smail Auto Group; Schwoeppe Machine & Tool

Join NCDMM at SUMMIT 2018. There’s still time to register! For more information about SUMMIT 2018, visit www.ncdmmsummit.org.

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About NCDMM

NCDMM delivers optimized manufacturing solutions that enhance the quality, affordability, maintainability, and rapid deployment of existing and yet-to-be developed defense systems. This is accomplished through collaboration with government, industry, and academic organizations to promote the implementation of best practices to key stakeholders through the development and delivery of disciplined training, advanced technologies, and methodologies. NCDMM also manages the national accelerator for additive manufacturing (AM) and 3DP printing (3DP), America Makes—the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute. For additional information, visit NCDMM at ncdmm.org.