confidentialcopyright northwest uav propulsion systems inc and northwest rapid manufacturing llc...

Confidential Copyright Northwest UAV Propulsion Systems Inc and Northwest Rapid Manufacturing LLC

Growing an Industry, Layer-by-LayerAlex Dick - Vice President SLS Operations

The story of Northwest UAV Propulsions Systemsand Northwest Rapid Manufacturing

May 18, 2010

April 29, 2010 13:00 - Insitu Inc. announced today that its ScanEagle Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) recently exceeded 300,000 combat flight hours, making it a leader in Group 2, the small

tactical class of UAS.


Brief Points:

•Introduction

•NWUAV company history including capabilities

•The prototype market – NWUAV experience

•Forming NWRapid and taking control of the process chain

•Future growth opportunities and applications


About Alex:

•Mechanical Engineering degree from Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

•5 years at EOS as an application engineer where he was the plastics technology expert providing training and technical support

•After meeting Chris Harris, President and Owner of Northwest UAV, Alex saw great potential in his vision

•Leading SLS effort for last year in Oregon to help develop applications for the UAV market and beyond


About NWUAV and Chris:

•Company founded in 2002 by Chris Harris who has 25 years in aviation

•Previously Chris was VP of Maintenance and Engineering/Special Projects at Evergreen International Airlines

•Projects included Boeing’s LCF, Supertanker, and NASA SOFIA

•From 1st protos to producing over 4,500 turnkey propulsion systems, 1 person in a garage to 25+ people in about 2 years


Recent NWUAV Acheivements:

•9 total MEMS patents acquired from HP (05/2009) and PicoJet. Also licensed patents for variable pitch propeller technology from Vari-Prop (08/2009)

•Recent AS9100 certification (07/2009)

•Fully implemented multi-company ERP System (03/2009), passed Boeing cost & pricing data audit (09/2009) and Quality Audit (02/2010)


NWUAV’s Investment in Capabilites:

•About $2 million invested in capital equipment including altitude chamber, engine dyno and run room, flow bench, Mori Seiki mill, P390, P730, etc.

•HP Proliant Server System including Virtualization Platform with SonicWALL and offsite backup tape storage

•Software capabilities include Solidworks 2010, Altium Designer 6.0, Magics 14.0, Netfabb 4.5, and MasterCam


NWUAV’s Potential:

•In 2009, 2x growth rate over 2008 with $1 million working capital line of credit to facilitate funding of inventory when necessary

•Occupies 5 buildings (approx. 15,000 sq ft) encompassing engineering, production, inventory, and administrative functions

•High flexibility, low overhead, no sales tax


http://www.variprop.com/index.html


The Prototype Market – NWUAV experience:

•Start work in garage, had to outsource all prototypes

•Varying quality and lead times – late and delaminating/glued

•Also volatile pricing, material availability, etc. – “out of control” process

•More critical as quantities and quality expectations increase

•Bring in house - focus on application for highest quality


Forming NWRapid Manufacturing:

•Split out from NWUAV as a separate company effective 12/2008

•Woman owned small business

•Occupies 2 additional buildings comprising approximately 4000 sq ft for production and development

•Lay foundation to bring technology in house, growing parts production business


Taking Control of the Process Chain:

•Purchase EOS P390 to use with PA2201 (nylon 12)

•Set parameters and control variables to make strong thin walls

•Works for 1 year – 6 thin wall geometries – thousands of parts

•P390 machine near capacity level – running 24/7

•Approach to focused to produce broad range of geometries


Growing NWRapid Manufacturing:

•Hire Alex Dick to take SLS operation to next level

•Purchase P730 to increase production capacity

•Use P390 to investigate other materials and applications

•Further optimization of processes and parameters

•Grow the business in core market and beyond


NWRapid Machinery:

•P730 and P390 for plastic laser sintering

•Mori Seiki for machined Aluminum


NWRapid Commitment:

•Committed to quality improvement

•Revamp process for determining material parameters

•Unfilled PA12 (PA2201) process more reliable and versatile

•New offerings including lighter weight, increased stiffness, investment castable, and flexible options


Why NWRapid’s SLS parts:

•Prototype and production with one material/process – smooth transitions

•Dense parts with properties of base material not glue or sealant

•Glue or sealant as well as dying and/or painting okay when not Band-Aid

•Threading, inserts, metal coating – other value add post processes

•Support development, volume production – solid know-how and experience


NWRapid’s Future Growth:

•Continue expanding portfolio - new materials and new applications

•UAV components include production ducting, shrouds, inlets, structures, flex joints, fuel tanks, engine heads and cylinders and prototypes too.

•High quality, low cost parts work good in other markets too, already working in consumer, medical/dental, military, and general prototyping

•Stay small and flexible with strong core know-how to grow new markets

•Grow partnership with NWUAV and grow new partnerships as well


Questions?

Contact us for more information:503-464-6845 or 503-437-0680

[email protected]

Also check out our websites:www.nwuav.com and www.nwrapidmfg.com

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.nwuav.com/

http://www.nwrapidmfg.com/

confidentialcopyright northwest uav propulsion systems inc and northwest rapid manufacturing llc...

Documents

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turnkey propulsion systems

uav market

nwrapid manufacturing

mastercam slide

highest quality slide

machined aluminum slide

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