WEST BETHESDA, Md. –
Sometimes the best ideas come from within. At least this is the concept behind the Marine Corps Innovation Challenge, which empowers Marines and Sailors to come up with fresh ideas to increase safety and efficiency for their unit or mission.
Three of the winners of this past year's challenge have been given the opportunity to visit Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division in West Bethesda, Maryland, to work alongside Carderock scientists and engineers in the Manufacturing Knowledge and Education (MAKE) Lab. Using their time in the lab, Innovation Challenge winners are able to prototype their ideas using the MAKE Lab's 3-D printers and additional resources. Carderock's Additive Manufacturing Project Office, along with the Corrosion and Coatings Engineering Branch, have partnered to provide support for the competition.
With this support, the winners will move forward with field testing at their respective units and finally present their innovations to senior leaders with the goal of implementing their solutions across the Marine Corps.
2nd Lt. Ben Lacount, currently stationed at the Marine Corps Air Ground Command Center in California, was the first winner to visit the MAKE Lab to prototype his idea for an expended rounds counter in December. The counter is a device designed to be attached to the Picatinny rail, specifically for the M16 rifle.
"You're supposed to keep track mentally of how many shots you have taken, but if you're in a firefight that might not be one of your priorities," Lacount said. "Having a counter there to display instantly and accurately to provide you with that number can be of great benefit for the operator."
Lacount worked with Bryan Kessel, an engineer from Carderock's Additive Manufacturing Project Office, to create the inertial mass design.
"Bryan designed it for the left side, which is great because on the left side there's not really anything to worry about other than the firearm's magazine ejector," Lacount said. "We have it on a low profile so that it should be able to fit underneath the scope or anything on the top of the Picatinny rail. There's nothing the operator should be focused on [the] left side of the weapon. Even if you're left-handed and you'll be focusing more on the right side of the weapon, you can adapt the counter because -- using the Picatinny rail system -- we can add a swivel and allow the counter to adapt to either side. It is the same concept with scopes, which is based on user preference."
Lacount said the counter is designed to react to the recoil of the rifle upon being fired, giving the operator an accurate 1-1 ratio no matter what direction the weapon is fired.
Innovating firearms is not the only concept which benefits the warfighter. Staff Sgt. Daniel Diep visited Carderock's MAKE Lab Jan. 23-Feb. 10 to work on a prototype of a rather practical device -- a cable cap.
"We have a piece of artillery known as the M777 Howitzer, and it has a component on it called the Chief of Section Display (CSD) used for aiming navigation," Diep said. "There's a cable on there that runs from the M777 to the CSD, and this cable tends to get damaged a lot because the cap is not properly replaced. The way the cap is designed, it's a female head encased around a male head, so there's pins inside of this female head and when it gets dropped to the deck it will collect sand and debris. When you try to put the cap back on it'll get pancaked, the pins will get damaged, or they'll take the cable itself and stick it in the CSD and it'll get damaged that way, as well."
Diep, who is currently working on a master's degree in computer engineering from the University of Maryland, said he has tried to repair the cables in the past, but it is a daunting task which requires a week of work per cable. According to Diep, the cables are usually thrown out because it is not cost effective to repair them. Diep estimated it costs the Marine Corps $3,000 per cable. The-newly designed cap to protect the cables would cost about $10, which would greatly remedy the financial burden.
"Ultimately we're trying to maximize the Marine Corps' dollars. The less money we have to use on parts for cables and things like that, we can use it on other things like gear and food and something that actually benefits the warfighter," Diep said.
The third winner of the challenge, Capt. Kyle McCarley, will be visiting Carderock in May to work on a prototype for a modification to field backpacks; enabling the warfighter to easily carry Bangalores, explosive charges used by combat engineers to clear obstacles in the field.