Metals Affordability Initiative: Technology Transition Through Collaboration Published July 28, 2010 By Heyward Burnett Materials and Manufacturing WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- The AFRL-managed Metals Affordability Initiative (MAI)--a consortium dedicated to leveraging consolidated government/industry resources to reduce metallic aircraft component costs and accelerate component implementation--has thus far sparked the successful transfer of 50 technologies into 22 aerospace systems across the Air Force and Department of Defense, with 39 independent technologies transitioned directly to the warfighter. These key technology insertions have impacted the C-17, C-40, C-130, E-2, F-15, F-16, F/A-18, F-22, F-35, KC-135, P-8, V-22, Global Hawk, and Apache aircraft. They have likewise influenced the micro satellite, small-diameter bomb, Mars reconnaissance orbiter, and Orion spacecraft, as well as a variety of future combat systems. Bringing together competing companies that share the common goal of decreasing costs and time to market, the consortium comprises 16 original equipment manufacturers, component manufacturers, and metals producers--each of which is an important contributor in the aerospace supply chain and has achieved a tremendous record of technology transfer and cost-reduction impact. Given that metals constitute nearly three-fourths of turbine engine components and two-thirds of a typical airframe's weight, their cost and performance have a significant effect on a wide array of defense systems. Since the MAI's 1999 inception, the government/industry consortium has worked to reduce the costs and improve the performance of metals and alloys, challenging conventional thinking and generating overall savings totaling more than $500 million. Through this teaming of AFRL with representative aerospace metals and component suppliers--a large cross section including mills, forge and casting shops, airframe and systems integrators, and engine manufacturers--the military has not only reaped the technical benefits of experienced industrial specialists and experts, but meanwhile exposed a broad private-sector audience to a host of promising technology investment opportunities. The collaborative nature of the MAI has enabled an impressive list of technological successes, with government and industrial partners sharing a financial stake in technology development and actively engaging in unified technical oversight. Accordingly, each project tackled requires a focused technical plan, defined implementation targets and milestones, and a realistic and supportable business case. The shared risk--and reward--stimulates projects that are timely, feasible, and supported by the entire metals value stream. Efforts under the MAI umbrella are many and varied. Among the cost/performance milestones achieved for projects completed so far are electron beam melting free-form fabrication; optimization of metal injection molding processes; development of friction stir-welding procedures for larger aluminum alloy components; use of finite-element modeling for predicting three-dimensional machining distortions; and approval of digitally based radiography as a method for final part acceptance of aerospace castings. A newer project targeting sand castings manufacture via rapid-prototype tooling fabrication is demonstrating the capacity to produce complex parts geometry with improved cost and lead time for low-rate production. A revolutionary approach to management, technology development, and business practices, the MAI will continue to benefit government and industry interests alike.