FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Brentwood, TN, May 15, 2025 – The US Navy’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program awarded VEXTEC a Phase I contract to modernize predictive lifing capabilities for components that are subjected to corrosive environments. Currently, the US Navy spends $3-$4 billion/year on corrosion mitigation activities, with a significant portion spent on the premature replacement or repair of components. Predictive technologies that incorporate better understanding of how corrosion mechanisms influence fatigue performance can be utilized to safely gain additional operation life from these components.

In this 6-month Phase I program, VEXTEC will investigate how its commercially available computational software VPS-MICRO^® can be linked to corrosion modeling schemes (pits, surface cracks, and near-surface cracks) for metallic alloys that are of interest to the Navy, and that an integrated cumulative damage growth simulation software tool is feasible for further development in a potential Phase II program. VEXTEC will collaborate with Dr. James Burns, a recognized expert in corrosion fatigue testing and modeling, to understand corrosion’s role in creating surface roughness conditions.

About VEXTEC:

VEXTEC Corporation is the home of VPS-MICRO, a unique microstructural fatigue durability prediction software based on ICME (Integrated Computational Materials Engineering). This technology fills a gap in the existing capabilities provided by CAD/CAM, FEA, statistical modeling, and physical material and component testing, by effectively integrating them into a single computational processing framework. Since 2000, VEXTEC has provided predictive analytics prognostics and life extension capabilities for hundreds of different products. VEXTEC’s clients include leading multinationals in the aerospace, automotive, electronics, energy, heavy industry and medical device manufacturing sectors, as well as many federal government agencies. VEXTEC has seven US patents related to its technology. For more information on VEXTEC and VPS-MICRO software, visit: http://vextec.com.

AFRL and its primary collaborators (ARCTOS, The Barnes Global Advisors) have identified the main challenges in Q&C being:

1. effective/efficient non-destructive inspection techniques;
2. how to handle as-printed surfaces and articulate their debit to performance; and
3. lack of harmony in current Q&C approaches (multiple standards including AWS D20.1, NASA-STD-6033, AMS 7032, AMS 7003, EZ-SB-19-01).

The group has determined that adopting validated defect- and microstructure-inclusive modeling is the path forward to reduce the testing burden. They will explore the benefits of available modeling tools by comparing a “full testing” example to a “reduced testing” example that includes modeling, and demonstrating equivalent confidence between the two approaches. The proposed “reduced testing” example would take advantage of specimen-level testing (which is less expensive and time-consuming) to collect microstructure and defect data to inform the models. These models would then be used to predict equivalent initial damage size (EIDS) distributions and performance for a fully sized and geometrically complex part. Limited physical testing of parts would be used to validate the model-assisted analyses.

VEXTEC’s approach of model-assisted AM qualification aligns seamlessly with AFRL’s objective. Our VPS-MICRO® Software integrates materials science principles with standard structural engineering tools such as finite element analysis to model fatigue performance at the microstructural level, where damage actually occurs. Our tool has been used by both the Department of Defense as well as the private sector to predict the risk of cyclic fatigue failure of AM parts based on location-specific microstructure, defects, residual stress and surface roughness. Last month, VEXTEC was invited to participate in a QUASAR Program Update at AFRL offices in Dayton, Ohio. VEXTEC’s digital tools were highlighted as a means to integrate AM as-printed surface features.

AFRL QUASAR Program

VEXTEC looks forward to continuing our long-standing collaboration efforts with AFRL, and advocating for materials-based computational tools that lower barriers to AM adoption in the aerospace industry.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Brentwood, TN (September 4, 2024) – VEXTEC Corporation was selected by Bechtel Plant Machinery, Inc. (BPMI) to provide its VPS-MICRO Software for virtual testing and prediction of fatigue performance of metallic components, supporting the U.S. Navy. Software training for BPMI personnel has recently been completed, and BPMI’s initial focus will be to use the software to better understand component fatigue related to U.S. Navy mechanical components.

VPS-MICRO gives engineering teams and technical directors quantitative information to make quick decisions on component fatigue reliability and durability, by supplementing physical testing and providing increased confidence in accelerated qualification of parts. The software is compatible with nearly any material processing condition for metallic structural components: forging, casting, weldments, additive manufacturing (AM), surface treatments, etc. Clients have used the software to accelerate the push of AM into standard production and to identify causes of component fatigue failure.

VPS-MICRO, developed with the help of the U.S. government’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, addresses a gap in the existing capabilities of computer-aided design (CAD), finite element analysis (FEA) and physical material testing. VEXTEC’s technology effectively integrates these disciplines with probabilistic modeling into a single computational framework that accounts for material and processing variabilities.

“We are pleased BPMI has purchased a subscription of VPS-MICRO to add to its engineering toolbox,” said Bob Tryon, CEO and President of VEXTEC. “The virtual testing capabilities of our software can augment physical testing, reducing costly iterative testing loops and other resource burdens related to certification protocols. We are committed to fully supporting BPMI in its implementation and use of VPS-MICRO.”

About VEXTEC
Since 2000, VEXTEC Corporation has provided predictive analytics prognostics and life extension capabilities for hundreds of applications and products. VEXTEC’s clients include leading multinationals in the aerospace, automotive, electronics, heavy industry and medical device manufacturing sectors, as well as many federal government agencies. VEXTEC has seven U.S. patents related to its software technology. For more information on VEXTEC and VPS-MICRO software, visit vextec.com.

About Bechtel Plant Machinery, Inc.
Bechtel Plant Machinery, Inc. (BPMI) provides the U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program high quality nuclear power plant components for submarines and aircraft carriers. For more information, visit www.bpmionline.com.

VEXTEC is honored to present at this year’s ASTM International Conference on Advanced Manufacturing (ICAM 2023), held October 30 – November 3 2023 in Washington D.C. VEXTEC’s CTO Dr. Bob Tryon is speaking on “Computational Fatigue Models to Assist in Risk-Based Certification of Additively Manufactured Metallic Parts” on November 1 at 4:00pm ET.

The presentation focuses on physics-based models to provide predictive analytics for certification in Additive Manufacturing (AM). The models integrate computational material engineering to simulate the costliest aspects of AM certification testing, reducing test repeats and significantly lowering the cost of certification. Statistical distributions of properties including microstructure, voids and surface roughness are used in the modeling, as well as structural finite element analysis and Monte Carlo techniques to simulate fatigue of a large population of components with complex loading. Simulated fatigue results are compared to laboratory fatigue testing data, and a standard work protocol is created for AM replacement of an aircraft engine throttle linkage component, and AM repair of foreign object damage to an aircraft engine airfoil.

More information on ASTM ICAM 2023: https://amcoe.org/event/icam2023/

More information on VEXTEC’s VPS-MICRO® commercial software for AM fatigue performance prediction: https://vextec.com/additive-manufacturing/

VEXTEC is honored to be part of this year’s JANNAF Liquid Propulsion Subcommittee (LPS) Advanced Materials Panel (AMP) Additive Manufacturing for Propulsion Applications Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM) in Huntsville, AL. VEXTEC (supported by Aerojet Rocketdyne) presented results from a recent SBIR program that developed an additive manufacturing certification framework for Air Force applications, with the objective of accelerating the qualification and adoption process for new additive manufactured materials, augmenting the traditional verification process with a model-informed software tool called VPS-MICRO^®.   The purpose of the JANNAF (Joint Army, Navy, NASA Air Force) is to promote and facilitate exchange of technical and programmatic information among the Military Departments, Defense Agencies,

NASA, U.S. industry and academia; to establish standards; to effect coordination and avoid unnecessary duplication of basic research, applied research, advanced technology development, advanced component development and prototypes, and system development and demonstration programs in the areas of missile, gun, and space propulsion and energetics; to accomplish problem solving in areas of joint interest; and to support collaboration to maintain and strengthen the domestic rocket propulsion industrial base.

The VEXTEC developed software, VPS-MICRO, is an Integrated Computational Material Engineering (ICME) based tool that predicts the risk of cyclic fatigue failure of an additive manufactured metal part based on the location specific microstructure, defects, residual stress and surface roughness. Using the software eliminates unsuccessful design options early in the design processes. Also, the software greatly reduces the test cost and time needed to determine the statistical confidence in the certified lifetime instead of having to acquire a large population of fatigue tests needed to do the same.

For critical applications such as aerospace, naval, automotive and energy, performance continually drives the need to innovate. And whether it’s designing new components or sustaining legacy platforms, the engineering innovation “push” must be balanced against the “pull” of safe and reliable operation. This is where qualification standards and certification processes come into play. They help ensure new designs, material sources, and processing techniques produce consistently performing parts that meet minimum requirements.

The push/pull contrast is most evident in the “testing” phase of any certification process. The amount of physical testing involved in bringing a new product to market, qualifying a new manufacturing technique, or approving a new vendor can be immense. But it is done in order to mitigate the risk of the “new”. In particular – the world of additive manufacturing (AM) has been prone to extensive testing, because of the variability currently seen in the many manufacturing processes under the AM umbrella. The reality of all of this testing means long lead times and high development costs, with valuable resources taken up by going down blind alleys leading nowhere.

VEXTEC’s VPS-MICRO® software is a predictive tool based on Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME). Our analytical software simulates metal fatigue at the microstructural level, and accounts for the material and processing variabilities seen in any type of manufacturing – including AM. With VPS-MICRO, you create and run virtual Design of Experiments (DOE) to hone in on appropriate material conditions that give high confidence for passing physical tests. Without changing the parameters of the certification process, the software efficiently simulates what will happen when a metallic component is tested in fatigue. This allows you to direct the physical testing to only acquire the data you need and nothing more, saving valuable time and money in the process.

The U.S. Department of Defense is investing big in AM, and has recently enlisted VEXTEC’s help to provide VPS-MICRO for Air Force use in this initiative. The U.S. Navy has also recently contracted with VEXTEC to expand the capabilities of our Corrosion Cracking Maintenance Prediction Software (CCMPS). This software aids in the condition-based testing and maintenance of stress corrosion cracking onboard naval vessels, with the goal of extending their service life by as much as a decade.

Find out how VEXTEC’s commercial VPS-MICRO software can help in your paradigm – to be able to test smarter, certify faster, and build better products. Click below to schedule an introductory call with our team today!

Brentwood, TN, October 10, 2022 – The United States Air Force Rapid Sustainment Office (USAF RSO) has signed-on for a yearlong Phase III program with VEXTEC Corporation. The Phase III program will deploy VEXTEC’s VPS-MICRO computational predictive software to USAF engineering teams at the forefront of metal additive manufacturing (AM) for critical sustainment activities.

VEXTEC’s successful SBIR Phase II AM program with RSO, born out of an open call Pitch Day solicitation, catalyzed USAF interest in predicting risk of fatigue failure of AM metal parts. A demonstration project at the close of Phase II was coordinated between VEXTEC and Air Force Life Cycle Management Center – Propulsion Directorate (AFLCMC/LP) at Tinker Air Force Base. VPS-MICRO was able to provide quantitative predictive capabilities, that gave engineers and managers actionable information before any AM parts were even built.

“The Air Force wants to develop more digital tools to be able to take full advantage of the potential AM can provide,” stated Dr. Bob Tryon, VEXTEC Chief Technology Officer. “This Phase III program is structured such that, not only will VPS-MICRO be delivered to engineers who specialize in risk assessment, but standard work protocols will effectively integrate this technology into the teams’ workflows at Tinker. This will give the Air Force additional resource support to additively manufacture their own metal parts.”

The ultimate goal of the Phase III is to highlight how digital predictive tools can complement existing testing schemes, to accelerate risk prediction and alternative material qualification for new and legacy components that utilize AM.

About VEXTEC:

VEXTEC Corporation is the home of VPS-MICRO®, a unique microstructural fatigue durability prediction software based on ICME (Integrated Computational Materials Engineering). This technology fills a gap in the existing capabilities provided by CAD/CAM, FEA, statistical modeling, and physical material and component testing, by effectively integrating them into a single computational processing framework. Since 2000, VEXTEC has provided predictive analytics prognostics and life extension capabilities for hundreds of different products. VEXTEC’s clients include leading multinationals in the aerospace, automotive, electronics, energy, heavy industry and medical device manufacturing sectors, as well as many federal government agencies. VEXTEC has seven US patents related to its technology. For more information on VEXTEC and VPS-MICRO software, visit: http://vextec.com.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Brentwood, TN, October 10, 2022 – VEXTEC Corporation was awarded a sole source contract from the U.S. Navy to expand its Corrosion Cracking Maintenance Prediction Software (CCMPS). CCMPS is used by the Navy to predict the future maintenance needs for aluminum (5000 series) ship structures.

The U.S. Navy is tasked with extending the lifetime of certain naval vessels by 5-10 years at full mission capability, however, they have been challenged by stress corrosion cracking of their aluminum ship structures which impacts maintenance schedules. That’s where CCMPS comes into play. The Navy uses CCMPS to simulate inspection schedules of their aluminum fleet resulting in a “Time-to-Repair” prediction. This software capability gives the Navy a way to turn actual data in to actionable data which they can use to improve maintenance planning schedules.

Under this contract, VEXTEC will add new capabilities and technology to the software enabling the Navy to continue using CCMPS for years to come. “In the current CCMPS scheme, each ship location of the fleet is simulated individually and the next doesn’t begin until the prior has finished,” said, Dr. Animesh Dey, VEXTEC’s Chief Product Development Officer, “VEXTEC will be implementing a multi-threading method in the software; this will allow multiple locations to be simulated in tandem and compiled at the end once all ship locations of the digital fleet have completed the simulation.” These upgrades will reduce the overall time it takes to run a model benefiting the Navy’s condition-based maintenance needs which is essential to their overall mission.

About VEXTEC:

VEXTEC Corporation works with both federal & commercial clients across many industries to provide fatigue prediction software based on ICME (Integrated Computational Materials Engineering) to predict product durability. This unique software, VPS-MICRO, fills a gap in the existing capabilities provided by CAD/CAM, FEA, statistical modeling, and physical material and component testing by effectively integrating them into a single computational processing framework. VEXTEC has seven US patents related to its technology. For more information on VEXTEC and VPS-MICRO software, visit: http://vextec.com.

Though AM technologies are varied in their materials and methods, they can be generally described as computer-controlled processes which create three dimensional parts on a layer-by-layer basis. AM’s benefits include the ability to make parts with innovative designs that are lighter and perform more efficiently than parts manufactured by traditional methods like forging, milling, welding and casting. The cost of AM is decreasing continuously, in inverse proportion to its increasing technological maturation. As such, the DOD has been using AM to produce spare parts for aircraft and weapon systems, tools, R&D, and medical supplies like face shields to meet the recent needs of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here, we will be taking a look at the specific goals that the DOD has for AM – specifically, metal AM – and what we at VEXTEC are doing to help the DOD achieve each of these goals. You can jump to a specific section by using the links below.

DOD Overview
Qualification and Certification
The Role of Modeling and Simulation
Integrating in the DOD AM Digital Thread
Summary

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DOD Overview

Over the past decade, individual branches of the military, the Defense Logistics Agency, and field commands have been employing AM to varying degrees. But the recent push within the DOD has been on alignment of broad AM activities at the highest levels to facilitate information exchange, develop best practices, and advance the technology forward. To meet this goal, the DOD published the Department of Defense Additive Manufacturing Strategy document in January 2021. This strategy document sets a common vision for AM and details five strategic goals for implementing the technology:

1. Integrate AM into DOD and the defense industrial base.
2. Align AM activities across DOD and external partners.
3. Advance and promote agile use of AM.
4. Expand proficiency in AM: learn, practice and share knowledge.
5. Secure the AM workflow.

To complement the strategy document, DOD Instruction 5000.93 was published in June 2021. Entitled “Use of Additive Manufacturing in the DOD”, the instruction establishes overall AM policy, roles and responsibilities across the DOD, and provides overarching AM guidance. To further enhance the strategy, military services and the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Manufacturing Technology (ManTech) program are collaborating with others in the DOD to develop specific AM plans and detailed technical guidance. The Joint Additive Manufacturing Working Group (JAMWG) comprises representatives of the military services as well as other AM-critical defense agencies within the U.S. Government. An AM Guidebook is slated to be released in 2022, which will be a product of a DOD-formed joint steering committee that has convened this year.

So, what does this all mean for companies interested in AM technology? As the largest buyer of goods and services in the world, the DOD has enormous influence when it comes to the advancement of new technologies. The fact that AM has been targeted by the DOD as a necessary tool to meet current and future needs helps ensure the viability of AM for decades to come. But the devil is always in the details. Overarching guidance documents and broad goals cannot — by themselves — build a certified flight-critical component that will be used in sustainment activities for an aging B-52 bomber fleet, for example. Innovative applications of AM and its supporting technologies will need to be developed in order to meet these ambitious goals.

The DOD is aware that they will not be able to “go it alone” when it comes to AM; they will need the help of industry as well as academia. The America Makes consortium, established in 2012 by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM), represents one of the more prominent cross-disciplinary collaborative engagements. VEXTEC, provider of AM performance prediction software VPS-MICRO®, is a proud Silver Member of America Makes. As VEXTEC has been collaborating with DOD agencies for many years, it was a natural fit to continue this effort within America Makes. Our software and technical services have helped, and continue to help, the DOD adopt and advance AM technology.

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Qualification and Certification

One of the main purposes for the Department of Defense (DOD) to issue their strategy document is to address their primary need for “rapid and standardized approaches for qualification of materials and process, and certification of AM parts.”

It is well-known that one of the biggest potential benefits of AM is the ability to rapidly prototype/build necessary items, and the U.S. Military sees this as having a streamlining effect on their supply chain. In an ideal world, raw printing materials (e.g., feedstock powder for metal AM) can be shipped more economically than completed parts to forward operating locations (termed “field” or “afloat” depending on if they are by land or by sea). Computer Aided Design (CAD) files of necessary parts can be securely transmitted to the proper AM machines, and technicians can assist on the ground as the parts are built. The strategy document provides current examples of the Marine Corps field-printing sensor housings to secure a perimeter gap around a base; the Army printing a low-cost cap to protect a “million-dollar lens” on a tank; the Air Force replacing obsolete parts on the C-5 aircraft at 5% of the original cost.

However, it is not enough to simply be able to rapidly produce “one-off” replacement parts or nonstructural components; these alone cannot justify full investment in AM by the Military Services. The technology needs to be robust enough, and consistent enough, to build structurally-critical components at a repeatable and reliable rate for increased confidence and minimized risk. Field repair units, their designers and technicians, need to know that the AM parts they are replacing in their equipment are functionally equivalent or superior to the legacy/obsolete parts they are removing. If they are not, they need to know the quantified risk that is involved in the replacement. In either case, this is where rapid and standardized approaches for qualification and certification are necessary tools. This is distilled in the DOD strategy document’s Goal 3 – Advance and Promote Agile Use of AM:

3.1 Develop and share new approaches to certification and qualification
3.2 Advance technology to inform design
3.3 Support forward deployment and application of AM in the field

The DOD instruction document assigns the responsibility of facilitating “consistency in AM qualification and certification methodologies across the Military” to the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, the USD(R&E). Also, the Secretaries of the Military Departments and Directors of the Defense Agencies and DOD Field Activities with AM requirements are tasked with providing “oversight to ensure that AM parts comply with organization-level processes and that cognizant authorities complete the appropriate level of qualification, certification, and risk evaluation” and directing “use of consistent qualification and certification criteria and methodologies ensuring that approval authorities take a disciplined risk management approach that provides rapid and competent support to speed up AM efforts across the DOD.” These assignments of responsibilities, and the flow-down of tasks to subordinate levels in the Military, will assist in the adoption of AM.

The strategy document also recognizes that, to achieve the Goal 3, “qualification and certification is a key gap and [an] opportunity for collaboration” between the DOD and the broader AM community. To facilitate this collaboration, the DOD has pledged to engage in technical interchanges with industry and academia with the objective of increasing knowledge.

VEXTEC’s predictive performance software VPS-MICRO aids the current certification process, by allowing engineers the ability to use AM materials and process data to virtually test AM parts. Commercially-available AM machines and in-process monitoring methods can deliver data about what is happening layer-by-layer to create a 3D model of local material properties. VPS-MICRO integrates this data with structural modeling (CAD/Finite Element Analysis [FEA]), simulating what would happen if the component was tested in fatigue. Physical testing would only occur after simulations show there is high confidence that the component would pass this testing. This reduces the number of redesigns and repeat tests, which are one of the largest drains on time, equipment, and man-hour resources during the qualification and certification process.

VEXTEC has been working with the U.S. Air Force and its Rapid Sustainment office (RSO) to develop AM qualification and certification methods with VPS-MICRO as a core element. The fruits of these collaborations have led to delivery and training of VPS-MICRO to engineers at the propulsion sustainment group at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, OK, who are looking to select critical aircraft components for AM replacement.

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The Role of Modeling & Simulation

The DOD has prioritized the implementation of advanced technologies in the deployment of additive manufacturing. These technologies include artificial intelligence, machine learning, and a particular emphasis on modeling and simulation. According to the strategy document, “the Services are currently evaluating Modeling and Simulation (M&S) tools to increase confidence that [printed] structurally-significant metallic parts are reliable and cost effective.” This speaks to the gap that needs to be overcome in the adoption of metal AM by the DOD. Prior uses of metal AM have been limited in scope (rapid prototyping, “one-off” nonstructural components, tooling, etc.). As the military shifts its focus to the ability to print structurally-significant parts, an effective toolset must be developed that leverages M&S capabilities.

VEXTEC’s commercially-available VPS-MICRO simulation software is based in Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME). The software predicts fatigue performance of a component by simulating the cumulative fatigue damage accumulation process across multiple length scales (crack nucleation, small flaw fracture mechanics, and linear elastic fracture mechanics), using mechanistic fatigue damage models. These models use process-structure-property relationships to create input distributions of material parameters. For example: a laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) process to build a certain component geometry with Ti-6Al-4V metal powder will yield certain microstructural characteristics (grains, lack-of-fusion welds, voids, etc.). These characteristics, along with other material parameters, are modeled by VEXTEC as statistical distributions that are then sampled from during component fatigue simulation.

VPS-MICRO is a standalone, Windows-based predictive software. However, it can easily link to other standard M&S tools that design engineers frequently utilize. Finite element analysis (FEA) packages such as ANSYS and Simulia/Abaqus create structural modeling and simulation results for a given component geometry. In fact, VEXTEC maintains developer partnerships with these and other M&S suppliers to ensure interoperability. The high-fidelity distribution of surface area and internal stresses from these structural models can be imported into VPS-MICRO. Specific AM processing characteristics can be modeled in VPS-MICRO as well, including:

• Surface roughness (AM as-built surfaces)
• Residual stress (effects of post-build heat treatment – or lack thereof)
• AM surface layer property differentiation

Integrating all of these modeling capabilities into VPS-MICRO has allowed the software to become a powerful tool for simulated testing of AM components. Rather than the time-consuming process of building/testing of every conceivable AM machine parameter combination, VEXTEC can shorten the design loop by directing engineers to specific component geometry/process/material options that are most likely to pass qualification testing. The following figure provides a snapshot of how VPS-MICRO uses material and structural modeling to simulate fatigue damage in AM components.

The DOD, as part of its AM strategy, recognizes that employing modeling & simulation techniques “will improve development and production of new [AM] capabilities more effectively.” VEXTEC’s VPS-MICRO simulation software has successfully demonstrated its value in recent AM-specific Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) programs with DOD agencies.

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Integrating in the DOD AM Digital Thread

The management of additive manufacturing technologies, data, and other digital information is another important pillar of the DOD AM strategy. The collection and security of all information relating to AM is called the digital thread, and it is a top-of-mind concern for all government and industrial partners involved in AM.

The modern nature of additive manufacturing (using computer files to build components) makes the end-to-end process much different from conventional manufacturing techniques. For example, it is much more laborious to implement casting and forging manufacturing processes, since they involve many more physical steps as opposed to AM. The development of an AM digital thread must have the overarching goal for the resulting system to be simultaneously interoperable as well as secure. To quote the strategy document, “The digital thread…enables the Warfighter by giving tactical units secure access to approved data; a way to share innovative solutions; and the ability to submit ideas back to engineering centers and life cycle managers.” Securing and sustaining the AM digital workflow is a key long-term step for the DOD Services as well as the Office of Secretary of Defense (OSD).

VEXTEC has built VPS-MICRO with these goals in mind. The computational workflow of the software, shown below, uses all-digital data inputs (finite element analysis [FEA] files; material characterization and testing data; component surface residual stress and roughness measurements; etc.) and provides simulation outputs digitally as well.

Among its many customizable features, the software features:

• Permissions-based material modeling parameter access: only approved users in the client’s userbase can modify AM material model input data.
• License key flexibility: VEXTEC can issue node-locked licenses in sensitive areas (software would only work on particular machines – they do not have to be networked together), or floating server-level licenses that can be checked-out (by approved members of the client’s userbase).

VPS-MICRO’s interoperability is demonstrated on both the software’s inputs and outputs. On the input side, tailored plug-in scripts are used to collect FEA stress and geometry information from structural models in ANSYS, Abaqus, Nastran and other commercially-available packages; and Microsoft Excel can be used to assist the material model development process (tabular input of mechanical testing data and other input parameters). VPS-MICRO’s simulation outputs can be exported back to Excel for further post-processing and analysis. These features help support DOD’s goal to “promote sharing of AM part life and performance data with original equipment manufacturers to support lifecycle analysis to further improve reliability and sustainability.”

A critical component of the AM digital thread for DOD is the Technical Data Package (TDP), which represents the sum total of “information that define the physical and functional characteristics of a configuration item and its subordinate assemblies, subassemblies, and parts.” A portion of a given item’s TDP is the engineering design data. The more this data can be digitized and secured, the easier it is to maintain, share, sustain, and modify the item if necessary. For AM to be successful to the DOD, its engineering design datasets, workflows, and software must be sufficiently integrated so that designers at a repair depot can effectively transmit build instructions to a forward base that has the proper machines, raw material feedstock, and trained technicians, and there is confidence that reliable parts can be manufactured in the field. VPS-MICRO software has been developed to become a part of this digital thread ecosystem.

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Summary

The Department of Defense has developed an aggressive strategy for integrating metal additive manufacturing into its present and its future. Using modeling and simulation technologies to serve critical AM qualification and certification operations, all within a secure environment, is a bold but achievable goal. We at VEXTEC look forward to continuing our partnership with the DOD, through our VPS-MICRO software and services, to fully capture the potential of metal AM and to make it a truly integrated and validated technology for the Military Services.

The award came on the heels of VEXTEC’s successful completion of a SBIR Phase II program which continued to mature our VPS-MICRO predictive durability software. The TEO Pitch Day award has been put to good use, as we have been expanding our software’s capabilities to meet AM Qualification and Certification needs for the Air Force and global OEMs.

Read the article as originally published on the Department of Defense Media Center’s website:

https://www.dvidshub.net/news/395814/vextec-uses-pitch-day-launch-into-additive-manufacturing-world