WEBVTT 00:00.296 --> 00:03.640 - [Narrator] The Air Force Technology Transfer Program 00:03.640 --> 00:05.480 helps move important new technologies 00:05.480 --> 00:08.670 from Air Force research centers into the private sector 00:08.670 --> 00:10.600 where they can benefit the U.S. Military 00:10.600 --> 00:12.270 and American economy. 00:12.270 --> 00:14.063 This is the story of one of them. 00:17.850 --> 00:19.740 The mission of the Training Device Design 00:19.740 --> 00:22.530 and Engineering Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base 00:22.530 --> 00:24.900 is to build training and educational devices 00:24.900 --> 00:27.370 such as exact scale models of satellites 00:27.370 --> 00:29.170 for the space and missile community. 00:30.540 --> 00:32.460 - We're a full fabrication shop, 00:32.460 --> 00:35.670 with full design and engineering capabilities. 00:35.670 --> 00:40.350 It's a small five man shop that can do almost anything. 00:40.350 --> 00:42.310 - [Narrator] In the early 2000s are part of 00:42.310 --> 00:44.720 an Air Force operational risk assessment, 00:44.720 --> 00:46.880 Dell Barritt examined the risks involved 00:46.880 --> 00:49.940 in using oxyacetylene carts for welding. 00:49.940 --> 00:52.403 - The key issues was that the high pressure gas 00:52.403 --> 00:56.490 only being held into the cart by a single chain, 00:56.490 --> 00:58.080 and if it fell out of the cart, 00:58.080 --> 01:00.560 then you've got a high-speed gas 01:00.560 --> 01:02.590 escaping from the bottle 01:02.590 --> 01:04.900 and you have a missile going through your shop. 01:04.900 --> 01:06.920 - [Narrator] So Barritt and his team of engineers 01:06.920 --> 01:08.750 set about redesigning and building 01:08.750 --> 01:12.680 a user safe and practical oxyacetylene cart. 01:12.680 --> 01:16.883 - We have mechanically fastened the tanks into the cart. 01:17.740 --> 01:20.290 So you could literally tip this upside down 01:20.290 --> 01:22.890 and the bottles cannot fall out. 01:22.890 --> 01:26.310 We removed the regulators and put them up front. 01:26.310 --> 01:27.980 We added a firewall in between, 01:27.980 --> 01:29.680 because you have a flammable gas 01:29.680 --> 01:32.380 and a high pressure oxygen tank. 01:32.380 --> 01:34.290 There's 2,000 psi in there. 01:34.290 --> 01:37.120 - [Narrator] In addition, they added a retractable hose, 01:37.120 --> 01:39.890 a place to keep tools, store bottle caps, 01:39.890 --> 01:41.920 and added a fire extinguisher. 01:41.920 --> 01:46.280 The whole thing is on four wheels with locking casters. 01:46.280 --> 01:49.120 They're design won a Best Practice aware. 01:49.120 --> 01:51.460 Then Barritt set about getting it patented. 01:51.460 --> 01:53.320 - They sent me to a patent attorney 01:53.320 --> 01:55.600 at Kirkland Air Force Base in New Mexico. 01:55.600 --> 01:59.290 And then he provide the AFI, or the written guidance, 01:59.290 --> 02:02.767 on how this is done, and that started the ball rolling. 02:02.767 --> 02:04.460 - [Narrator] With a patent in place 02:04.460 --> 02:08.320 and with help from TechLink, a DoD partnership intermediary, 02:08.320 --> 02:10.073 a small company in rural Montana, 02:10.073 --> 02:12.580 Spika Design and Manufacturing, 02:12.580 --> 02:14.860 licensed the cart for manufacture and sale 02:14.860 --> 02:18.656 in the commercial marketplace, naming it the Gas Guardian. 02:18.656 --> 02:21.179 - It fit our product line. 02:21.179 --> 02:25.280 Our primary wheelhouse is elevated work platforms, 02:25.280 --> 02:29.770 but we also offer a number of ancillary products 02:29.770 --> 02:31.740 for aviation maintenance 02:31.740 --> 02:33.804 and this is one of those things 02:33.804 --> 02:36.670 that kinda fits in with that. 02:36.670 --> 02:38.800 - [Narrator] It also fits well with the employee skill set 02:38.800 --> 02:42.130 needed to undertake the custom manufacturing required. 02:42.130 --> 02:47.130 - Basically we're set up for custom product in our shop. 02:47.240 --> 02:50.240 A lot of our people are rural America, 02:50.240 --> 02:51.740 growin' up on farms. 02:51.740 --> 02:54.876 A lot of the experiences that you learn on the farm 02:54.876 --> 02:57.387 are in manufacturing. 02:57.387 --> 03:00.718 - We're up to about 60 employees now, 03:00.718 --> 03:04.600 which is getting to be a bit of an economic driver 03:04.600 --> 03:07.150 in a community of 6,500 people. 03:07.150 --> 03:10.510 We're paying a wage that you can support a family. 03:10.510 --> 03:12.620 You can be buying a home. 03:12.620 --> 03:16.022 - [Narrator] 75% of Spika sales have been to the military, 03:16.022 --> 03:18.225 but the company has sold Gas Guardian carts 03:18.225 --> 03:19.860 to aerospace companies 03:19.860 --> 03:22.770 and into the broader commercial market as well. 03:22.770 --> 03:25.441 - We've got a bakery, a big company, 03:25.441 --> 03:26.780 it's probably one of the biggest bakeries 03:26.780 --> 03:28.858 in the United States 03:28.858 --> 03:30.820 that's bought a number of 'em. 03:30.820 --> 03:32.620 - Let's see if she fires. 03:32.620 --> 03:34.780 - [Narrator] Through the use of technology transfer, 03:34.780 --> 03:37.860 the Gas Guardian created the TDDEC team 03:37.860 --> 03:39.740 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, 03:39.740 --> 03:43.660 has set new standard for safety in oxyacetylene welding. 03:43.660 --> 03:45.613 That success is inspiring further efforts 03:45.613 --> 03:48.700 to develop and transfer useful technologies. 03:48.700 --> 03:49.920 - By the nature of our work, 03:49.920 --> 03:54.523 we're innovating and designing everyday. 03:55.810 --> 03:58.380 So there's lots of stuff we come up with 03:58.380 --> 04:01.630 that could be shared and be useful to other people. 04:01.630 --> 04:03.680 - [Narrator] Air Force technology transfer, 04:03.680 --> 04:05.730 improving safety for military personnel 04:05.730 --> 04:08.420 and in the civilian workplace. 04:08.420 --> 04:10.110 (upbeat music) 04:10.110 --> 04:11.280 For more information, 04:11.280 --> 04:14.330 contact the Air Force Technology Transfer program. 04:14.330 --> 04:16.997 (upbeat music)