CAST-IT Success Story
The Problem “AFW Foundry, Inc. serves many diverse markets and strives to provide all of our customers with the best value for their project needs. As a sand casting supplier to the US military, we are partnering with the AMC and the DSCC to ensure that our castings satisfy the exacting standards for military applications.”
Robert F. Gerstmeier
President, AFW Foundry, Inc.
The Mine Countermeasure (MCM) ships are designed to find, classify, and destroy moored and bottom mines. The ships are powered by four Waukesha diesel engines. These engines are turbocharged with the Turbocharger Tube connecting the turbo to the shut-off valve. The MCM Avenger-class ships were developed in the early 1980’s and are of vital importance to the state-of-the-art mine countermeasure force with 14 fully capable vessels in the US fleet. Given the mission of these ships, continual readiness is important. The Turbocharger Tube is coded as a critical item, and also sees procurement requests to support Foreign Military Sales (FMS) mine sweepers. The Maritime Weapon Systems Group at Defense Supply Center Columbus (DSCC) identified that the OEM for the part declared the item obsolete; therefore, a new source with capable manufacturing techniques was required. DSCC requested the AMC review the Tech Data Package (TDP) for manufacturability, provide sources, and provide a should-cost.
The Solution
AMC’s team of engineers reviewed the TDP; identifying issues with Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) along with a use of an old material specification. This information was utilized by DSCC to compile a design deviation to communicate potential challenges in procuring the part. The CAST-IT™ team leveraged previous experience with Cummins Engines, and work on similar size and function parts to build a robust list of potential sources to ensure DSCC would obtain best value (cost, lead-time, and quality). The team accessed the part performance and usage requirements and deemed it best manufactured using SLA’s, a form of short run tooling, and provided rough costs for this. NAVSEA Mechanicsburg, the ESA for the part, recommended AFW Foundry given their experience with manufacturing Waukesha parts, since the original foundry for the parts could not be identified. The AMC visited AFW to ensure their manufacturing capability and review their quality systems. AFW had little previous government work experience and had never served as a prime to a contract. The AMC partnered with the DSCC’s Value Engineering and Maritime groups to assist AFW in processing the order to ensure the DLA would successfully procure the parts. Establishing foundries as the prime contractor is beneficial as they provide the initial form of the part, and can ensure material and quality requirements are met. Challenges with being a first time prime vendor were identified and worked through. Enabling DSCC to acquire critical parts to support the warfighters’ mission.