Chairman: Mr. Brench Boden
Air Force Research Lab
AFRL/RXMS
Wright-Patterson AFB, 45433
Phone: 937.904.4360

The Advanced Manufacturing Enterprise Subpanel is developing concepts that support highly connected and collaborative enterprises for defense-essential manufacturing activities.  Abstracts are solicited which focus on one of the below technology areas.  Topics of selected interest include:

Moving Manufacturing Left

Modeling and simulation tools are needed supporting rapid and accurate systems engineering discipline with specific focus on producibility and manufacturing enterprise considerations:  trade study and design decision methodologies that allow rapid trade-offs to be performed during early conceptual and preliminary design activities; system integration, assembly, and test analyses that predict production rate, yield, and cycle time performance characteristics as a function of key system architecture and test parameters; electrical, mechanical, and assembly yield models that allow the statistical prediction of manufacturing yield targets as a function of key design, process, and test method attributes; enterprise level supply chain design and analysis methods that incorporate quality loss mechanisms and allow “what if” scenario analyses to pinpoint and understand global risks; quantitative DFM analyses including complexity characterization that are non-rule based and characterize the cost and yield impact of deviating from established guidelines; should cost modeling and risk impact analyses that enable design to cost target feasibility to be analyzed at each level in the system hierarchy including probabilistic uncertainty assessments.

Enhanced Interoperability

Technologies that enable the archival and use of authoritative product data repositories across all phases of a products life cycle and throughout all supply chain tiers are not readily available. The vast majority of data exchange requirements are similar across services, but any program may encounter special circumstances. Multiple representations and views of the data needs to be supported in order to ensure the ability to reuse and repurpose product data by diverse communities including design, manufacturing, supply chain, modeling and simulation. It is imperative that the technology developed to satisfy these requirements be broad based but capable of being tailored to the applicable need.  The Subpanel is also interested in enterprise cost data for interoperability problems, including engineering changes. 

Improved 3D Technical Data Packages

Interoperability with current modeling and simulation tools to include CAD and CAM;  developing a validated and approved military standards for 3D product definitions; demonstrations with 3D-TDPs to ensure interoperability with processes, tools and equipment reliant on 3D data; and development and implementation of improved 3D Product Data.                   

Tools & Methods for Intelligent Manufacturing

Model and data integration activities will need to consider supplier and customer data concerns (such as database structure, retrieval and archival file formats, etc.) and equipment investments/upgrades to digitize the information streams from existing processes.  The quantification required to feed the digital thread will mandate a transition away from pass/fail reporting and towards the seamless integration between the digital results of production and design representations.            

Supply Network Integration and Management

Integrate all companies/entities across a supply chain so as to enable real time collaboration and coordination in product design, test and manufacturing; scheduling; and sourcing.  Require easy, but secure, information exchange of business information, technical and product data, and the extension of business processes across boundaries.  Scope includes industry supply chains AND DoD (DLA) supply.  Risk analysis, supply chain design, asset/process visibility, and advanced SCM practices are also of interest.