BPMI, Gecko Robotics Partner to Accelerate Aircraft Carrier Component Production
BPMI, a defense prime contractor for the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, has partnered with Gecko Robotics to introduce advanced manufacturing technology that supports the production of high-quality components installed aboard U.S. Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines.
BPMI and its suppliers are working to leverage Gecko’s robotic and AI platforms to reduce inspection time spans on items ranging from simple forgings to complex final component manufacture. Through initial trials, inspection spans for forged components were reduced by up to 90%, significantly improving cost and accelerating schedule performance for the U.S Navy.
Through this advanced manufacturing partnership, Gecko is collaborating with BPMI to build digital twins of critical components, providing intuitive data records with full manufacturing health history for authorized stakeholders to enable life of component support. This approach will optimize maintenance planning and potentially reduce long-term maintenance costs, reducing the likelihood of unplanned repairs needed over a component’s lifetime due to an improved digital thread containing component manufacturing history.
Quality assurance and testing of parts used for the U.S. Navy’s fleet is a crucial, yet time consuming process when using manual methods. Gecko’s introduction to the process with its robots and advanced technology has shown the potential to reduce the inspection time span for critical forged components from several weeks to days. Gecko and BPMI’s new approach to shipbuilding inspections aim to set an industry standard with data-driven approaches to manufacturing.
