Carderock and the Pike District Partnership Launch Inaugural Industry Day

Carderock and the Pike District Partnership Launch Inaugural Industry Day

By NSWC Carderock Division

Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division, and the Pike District Partnership marked a new chapter in their collaboration with the successful inaugural 3D Scanning Industry Day Event (SIDE) in August.

Held at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Rockville, Maryland, on Aug. 22, SIDE is the first in a series of planned events facilitated by the Navy's Capital Tech Bridge, aimed at strengthening ties between the Navy and the dynamic businesses and organizations within Montgomery County and the broader DC metro region.

This first event follows a July announcement of a Partnership intermediary Agreement between Carderock and the Pike District Partnership, focused on expanding access to Navy resources and opportunities for local businesses.

For this particular event, engineers at Carderock expressed a need for more options in 3D scanning technology, and SIDE provided a platform for industry leaders, innovators and stakeholders to network, exchange ideas and delve into the transformative potential of this technology.

"3D scanning is taking real things in the physical world and converting that into digital formats," Michael Raphael of Direct Dimensions, a Maryland-based 3D scanning company, said. Raphael was one of the featured speakers at the event.

Raphael said the very first scan they actually did was of Carderock's Rear Adm. George Melville bust, which was falling apart, back in 1997. He said scanning didn't really exist yet, so they cobbled together a laser scanner, a portable arm device and some software to create a 3D digital file of the bust, and then printed the bust for Carderock.

"3D printing is pretty commonplace now, but how do you get stuff into the computer to be printed in the first place? The idea of scanning is all about fixing that problem," Raphael said.

Dr. Cynthia Waters, Carderock's Principal for Advanced Manufacturing and Materials and also a panel member at the event said she hopes to grow collaborations across stakeholders, potentially bringing industry's innovations to the many varied applications in the Marine Corps and the Navy. Other experienced leaders on the panel included Neal Orringer, President of the Applied Science and Technology Research Organization of America, and Elissa Trueman, Chief Technology Officer for Naval Surface Warfare Centers headquarters. The panelists highlighted the far-reaching benefits of 3D scanning for both local businesses and the Navy.

For the Pike District Partnership and Montgomery County, increased economic development is one of their goals. With about 50 companies, both from within Montgomery County and from across the country, attending the event to learn what the Navy's needs are in 3D scanning technology, the Pike District Partnership hope is that they may decide to make Montgomery County their home, thereby increasing the economic base of the county. But they also connect with the idea of partnerships that will help the Navy and Marine Corps mission.

"We want to be able to add value and bring different partners, academia and industries together with the Navy so they can talk about the challenges they're having to hopefully identify potential solutions for the Sailors and Marines," Matthew Hermann, Chairman of the Pike District Partnership Board of Directors and one of the speakers at the event, said. Other speakers included Bill Tompkins, President and CEO of Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation, Lauren "Tink" Hanyok, Carderock's Capital Tech Bridge director, and Ryan Fisher, an engineer from Carderock's Additive Manufacturing division.

For the Navy and Marine Corps side of the house, the ability to see the 3D scanning technology at work provided opportunities to interact with industry and develop relationships that will hopefully mean getting the technology they need.

"The barrier to entry is going to get less and less," Matthew Audette, program analyst at Marine Corps Systems Command, said of 3D Scanning, adding that the cost of the hardware has come down a bit, but it still requires a discreet skillset to operate a scanner. "The conversations that events like this facilitate is excellent. We can very quickly collect a lot of information from all these industry folks and determine what is most important for us. We can ask, 'what does industry want to hear from the government to help us solve our problems?'"

Hermann said that while this is the inaugural event for 3D Scanning, it is also inaugural in terms of the Pike District Partnership's support of Carderock, and they are hoping to have regular events in the future, including ones specific to small businesses.

This successful inaugural event sets the stage for continued collaboration between Carderock, the Pike District Partnership, and the Montgomery County business community. By fostering innovation and technological advancement, the Navy's Capital Tech Bridge aims to strengthen this partnership to drive progress that benefits both the Navy and the region.

Eugene Cornelius, executive director of the Pike District Partnership who sponsored the event said these events allowed them to introduce this industry and lines of business to Montgomery County, specifically the Pike District area.

"We like that Montgomery County is positioning itself in tech and life science, and what we accomplished today was remarkable," Cornelius said.

The Navy's Capital Tech Bridge encompasses a vibrant innovation ecosystem for the Navy and Marine Corps, partnering with naval warfare centers and national labs to solve complex problems for Sailors and Marines.

For more information on the Capital Tech Bridge or upcoming events by the Capital Tech Bridge, please contact Lauren "Tink" Hanyok at [email protected].