Brenham, Texas – REM Surface Engineering has been awarded Phase IIE research funding through the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and a project-specific cost-share with National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM), which will directly benefit the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) – NASA SBIR: $213,955 / NCDMM: $168,035. NCDMM is committed to driving innovation throughout the defense manufacturing industry. This award continues a key research partnership with NASA and their work with advanced materials and additive manufacturing. This Phase IIE award will provide funding for the adaptation and further development of REM’s Phase II prototype, which enables the post-process surface finishing of additively manufactured nickel-based superalloys with emphasis on the scalability of the large-scale processing scale. The current objective is the ability to finish rocket nozzle-like components up to 60” in diameter and 72” in length. This Phase IIE award comes as an extension and scope increase on the Phase II effort funding for REM Surface Engineering’s proposal, “Post-Process Optimizing of Additive-Manufactured Nickel-Based Superalloys.”
“Small businesses play an important role in our science and exploration endeavors,” said Jim Reuter, acting associate administrator of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. “NASA’s diverse community of partners, including small businesses across the country, helps us achieve our mission and cultivate the U.S. economy. Their innovations will help America land the first woman and the next man on the Moon in 2024, establish a sustainable presence on the lunar surface a few years later, and pursue exciting opportunities for going to Mars and beyond.”
“We are very pleased to collaborate with REM Surface Engineering on this effort,” said Brandon Ribic, technology director at America Makes. “We understand finishing methods and surface engineering technologies are vital to the successful transition of AM products. These processes and technologies play a key role in thermal management, aerodynamic performance, and product durability for certain AM products.”
“This Phase IIE Contract is the first of hopefully many examples of REM’s groundbreaking technologies being put to use by NASA and other agencies to facilitate the production and implementation of additively manufactured propulsion components,” says Vice President of Strategy Nathan Michaud. “REM is proud to know that our work is helping facilitate mission success and safety as the Artemis mission advances closer to Lunar orbit and the Lunar surface.”
REM CEO Justin Michaud shares, “The ongoing success of REM’s Research and Development Team in our SBIR Partnership with NASA is nothing short of astounding. I am incredibly proud to see every challenge they have overcome in pursuit of providing advanced solutions and scaling technologies for NASA’s advanced propulsion programs. These new developments and demands have driven REM to build a self-funded facility expansion to accommodate the equipment prototype designing/testing supported by this Phase 2 Extended Contract as we prepare to receive and optimize some of the largest additively manufactured rocket propulsion components NASA has ever produced. Further, I am excited to provide this developed and to-be-developed technology to support the actualization of the Air Force’s hypersonic and other propulsion goals.”
About REM Surface Engineering
REM Surface Engineering, the inventor of the ISF® Process, the Rapid ISF® Process, the Extreme ISF® Process, and the REM® Process, is a global leader in providing surface engineering solutions. The REM’s isotropic superfinishing technologies are value-adding and performance-enhancing improvements to conventional machining operations such as grinding and lapping. Founded in 1965 in Southington, CT by Robert Michaud, REM Surface Engineering is a family-owned company that has proudly been serving our partners and customers for over 50 years. REM Surface Engineering operates four locations in Brenham, TX, Southington, CT, Merrillville, IN, and St. Neots, UK that provide products and services globally. For more information, please visit www.remchem.com.
Media Contact: Christina Michaud
About America Makes
America Makes is the nation’s leading public-private partnership for additive manufacturing (AM) technology and education. America Makes members from industry, academia, government, workforce and economic development organizations, work together to accelerate the adoption of AM and the nation’s global manufacturing competitiveness. Founded in 2012 as the Department of Defense’s national manufacturing innovation institute for AM and first of the Manufacturing USA network, America Makes is based in Youngstown, Ohio and managed by the not-for-profit National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM). Visit americamakes.us to learn more.