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Facility Infrastructure Study for Caseless Ammunition

NDIA Small Arms Conference24 MAY 2011

Christopher A. Perhala, Martin J. Hopkins, Steven C. Lorence, and C. Byron TolbertBattelle505 King Avenue, Columbus, OH 43201

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Acknowledgement

Work supported byJSSAP, Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey

throughArmy Research Office – Scientific Services Program (ARO/SSP)

under USG contract W911NF-07-D-0001

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Project Scope

• Develop Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) cost estimate for Caseless (CL) ammunition production

• CL has only two common components w/current (brass-cased) ammo: bullet & primer mixture

• Focus on new or unique infrastructure needed– Facilities– Equipment

• Consider two production rates:– 400 million rounds per year (sustainment)– 1 billion rounds per year (surge)

• Production concept not detailed – only defined sufficient to support ROM estimate

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Caseless Ammunition Technology

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Site Selection Trade Study

Location 3Location 2

Component D011

RetrofitFacility

New Facility(TBD)

Component F012.1

3.2.1

RetrofitFacility

New Facility(TBD)

Component A024.1

RetrofitFacility New Facility

Component C034.2

CommercialVendor New Facility

Component F026

Cartridge Load,Assemble, Pack

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Component A033.1

RetrofitFacility New Facility

Component A013.2

New Facility(location TBD)

Component G012

CommercialVendor New Facility

Component F015

Component F037

Component F032.3

3.2.3

Component F022.2

3.2.2

Component C013

Component C024

CommercialVendor New Facility

CommercialVendor New Facility

CommercialVendor New Facility

CommercialVendor New Facility

New LAP Facility(location TBD)

Component D01

Component F01

Component A02

Component C03

Component F02

Component A03

Component A01Component G01

Component F01

Component F03

Component F03

Component F02

Component C01

Component C02

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Capital Costing Approach

Existing Facility Site Assessment

New Facility Site Assessment

Start CommerciallyAvailable?

No Capital Cost

No

Yes

Yes

No

DefineProcess

DefineEquipment List

Apply Facility CostScaling Factors

Capital CostEstimate

Yes

ProcessExists? No

Facility Exists? No

SufficientCapacity?

Yes

At MultipleFacilities?

YesEstimate Shipping

Costs

Site SpecificAdjustments

Retrofit Costs Only

At MultipleFacilities?

Yes

NoRetrofitFeasible?

Yes

DefineEquipment List

Apply Facility CostScaling Factors

No No

OutsourceFabricationPossible?

No

Yes

Cost Knownfor SimilarFacility?

Yes

No

Real EstateAvailable? No

Yes

SME PoolAvaialble? No

YesFeasible to

Acquire SMEPool?

No

Yes

Site SpecificAdjustments

Generic SiteCapital Estimate

Disqualify SiteEstimate ShippingCosts

Estimate SMEPool Startup

Site Specific CostAdjustments

Site SelectionProcess

Estimate ToolingCost

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CL Production Network Concept

Bullet1

Component G012.1

3.2.1

Component C044.1

Component C014.2

Component E016

CartridgeAssemble & Pack

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Component B013.1

Component A023.2

Component A012

Component D015

Link7

Component F022.3

3.2.3

Component F012.2

3.2.2

Component A023

Component C034

Production Network Diagram

Ammo Magazine9

FACILITY #4FACILITY #2 FACILITY #3FACILITY #1

Component C024.2

Retrofit or New Existing

Component A023.2

Component A012

Retrofit or NewExistingExisting

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Molding Concepts

Injection Molding•Binder and propellant in separate feed lines•Propellant and binder mixed during injection•May employ de-airing manifold (high-speed,

filling without air pockets)

Liquid Injection Molding•Propellant mixed with binder precursors in

separate pre-mixes•Premixes in separate feed lines•Premixes mixed prior to injection

•May employ de-airing manifold (high-speed, filling without air pockets)

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Mold Assembly Concept

Injector Manifold•Static mixers paired to balance load on

mandrels•May employ de-airing manifold (high-speed,

filling without air pockets)

Two-Piece Mandrels•Form entire internal cavity without pinch points•Lower Mandrel used to eject Cartridge Bodies

Link Groove Inserts•Form Link Groove without pinch points

•Automatic engage/disengage via pins in top plate

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Molding Line ConceptInjection Machine

•Propellant mix injected into mold

•Slight pressure applied ensures complete fill

Cure•Propellant in mold for

several fill cycles until cured enough for subsequent

handling

Unlatch & Lift•Mold top removed

Eject•Gripper plate lowered onto mold

•Cartridges ejected•Gripper plate engages OD of Bodies

•Cartridges transferred to remainder of production lineClean

•Mold is cleaned to remove residual propellant pieces

Spray Release•Mold release applied as required

- ensures clean separation of propellant from mold

Visual Inspection•Machine vision inspection of mold

•If evidence of residue mold flagged for maintenance

Close & Latch•Mold lid from previous cycle placed on lower mold

•Pins on mold lid push Link Groove Inserts into place

Pressure Inspection•Manifold applies air pressure test for vent blockages

•If blockage then mold flagged for maintenance

Maintenance Swap•Molds flagged for maintenance are swapped out with spares to avoid downtime; serviced off-line

Spare Staging

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Summary

• Developed Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) cost estimates for Caseless (CL) ammunition production for two production rates– 400 million rounds per year (sustainment)– 1 billion rounds per year (surge)

• Focused on new or unique infrastructure needed– Facilities– Equipment– Trained personnel

• Concepts for production tooling and a new kind of production line were defined to a level sufficient to support ROM estimate

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Contact Information

Christopher A Perhala, PEPrincipal Research Engineer

Battelle505 King Avenue

Columbus, OH 43201

perhalac@battelle.org614-424-7789