Shipyard Employees Design Tool for Breaker Maintenance
A tool designed by Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) employees will make servicing ships' breakers more efficient. Breakers prevent overloads and potential electrical fires in shipboard electrical systems. A Navy submarine typically contains 20 to 30 breakers, and an aircraft carrier has approximately 50. In order to service a breaker, a shipyard worker must flip the 540-pound unit repeatedly. The task is arduous, time consuming, and often requires several workers to accomplish the re-positioning in a safe manner. With the new tool, a single worker may maneuver the breaker with ease. The tool was the brainchild of NNSY Second Year Apprentice Adam Fahy. Fahy himself is no stranger to manual labor. In his spare time he enjoys working on cars and engines.
Admiral Explains 3D Printing is Additive Manufacturing
Vice Adm. Phillip Cullom
Chief of Fleet Readiness & Logistics, lead coordinator on the Navy's additive manufacturing efforts, explains for those new to 3D printing why the Navy is interested in this technology, and what it is already contributing. Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s Rapid Prototype Lab is saving the Navy thousands of dollars on the Gerald R. Ford-class of aircraft carriers. Instead of traditional wood or metal mockups of ship alterations, which help to prevent expensive rework, the lab prints much cheaper plastic polymer models – in hours, rather than days or weeks. Now all four Navy shipyards have 3D printers working on similar, and other, ways to benefit the Navy.
