Tech Transition Mantra: Affordable, Reliable, & Timely
If you can’t make “it” affordably, reliably, and in a timely manner, then you don’t have “it.” Rob Carter might have this mantra on his tombstone someday (hopefully a long time from now). Rob learned this repeatedly over the course of his career, and he notes, “Now that I am nearing the “greybeard” portion of my career (thanks to Andy Davis for repeatedly pointing that out), I can only wish to pass this on to those coming along after me.”
Rob started his career working for the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) as a materials engineer. This work was in early applied materials engineering – a great topic for a freshly graduated PhD, as the team explored whether a ceramic gun barrel could work and work better than a traditional metal barrel. Over the course of the program, Rob was able to prove that you can design a barrel to survive and significantly outperform traditional barrels. However, the program team was not able to show how to produce them, as they were not able to make anything above subscale prototypes.
This was Rob’s first lesson in technology transition: new technologies will not transition to applications without first addressing manufacturability risks (also known as manufacturing readiness). This lesson led Rob into the world of manufacturing science and technology. He wanted to see if addressing manufacturing considerations in the earliest parts of technology development programs would increase the chance of transition. It was in this context that Rob first started working with additive manufacturing – cold spray and directed energy deposition (DED) – in 2006. The research was focused on bore surface materials for future-generation gun tubes. This work is still going on today as the AM technologies are now maturing.
Shortly after the gun barrel programs, Rob began working on advanced materials and manufacturing technologies for next-generation armor technologies. It was in this area that led him to work with the Army Manufacturing Technology (ManTech) program. The ManTech programs were leading advanced manufacturing for combat vehicle protection – structural materials, armor, and underbody protection. These programs are unique in that they were a partnership between the government and industry to advance the technology and manufacturing readiness of critical technologies. This is where Rob learned another valuable lesson in the transition of technology – cost is king. Noting that there were impressive technologies that were expensive, his team worked to drive down that cost. This led to an exercise in defining cost, the total cost – not just in acquisition cost – how expensive is it to displace other ensconced manufacturing processes? How expensive is it to train a workforce in new technologies? How expensive is it for a non-traditional manufacturer to enter the defense industrial base (and this was before the added cost and confusion around CMMC compliance)?
Over the next few years, his journey evolved into coordinating the advanced manufacturing efforts at ARL where he served as a principal member of the newly formed Army’s Additive Manufacturing Community of Practice, one of the five Army representatives for the Department of Defense (DoD) AM Roadmap, and as Chief of the Materials Manufacturing Technology branch. Rob developed strategies for ARL’s advanced manufacturing research area, the Army’s additive manufacturing adoption, and the DoD’s roadmap for AM maturation. He gained significant experience with leading large government programs and initiatives, shaping and managing technology transition between organizations, and the complexity of government funding.
In 2017, after 16 years at ARL, Rob left government service to join Stryker Orthopaedics as Director of Advanced Materials and Process Engineering. Medical device manufacturing showed what large-scale AM production (with Stryker producing over 1 million components for knee replacements via AM since 2013) looks like in a highly regulated environment for critical applications. The medical space is interesting since it focuses on understanding the customer’s needs in ways not as evident in the defense sector. The medical device design engineer must include both the patient's and surgeon’s needs. They are expected to be in the operating room and know the procedure almost as well as the surgeon. New designs need to prove better outcomes for a patient while also showing better ability for the surgeon to conduct the procedure without adding any complication. This approach resonated with Rob, looking back at his experiences navigating the relationship between industry and the government.
In 2019, Rob joined TBGA where he continues to drive the adoption of manufacturing technologies through careful consideration of technology and manufacturing readiness and a keen emphasis on relationships. His experience navigating government programs set him up perfectly to support TBGA programs for advanced manufacturing and the DoD, such as DoD Cold Spray Roadmap, AMNOW in support of an Army AM supply chain, workforce development for manufacturing skills, and addressing the industrial readiness for additive manufacturing for submarine components. Rob’s experience at the interface between government and industrial capability allows him to better understand customers’ needs to achieve the best impact.
With lessons learned, Rob is now, and for years to come, focused on transitioning technologies to applications and showing people how to make things affordably, reliably, and in a timely fashion.