A Sandia National Laboratories group is changing the way it develops custom electronic connectors for weapons systems. The Rapid Development Connectors program is a five-year project funded by the National Nuclear Security Administration to build a team and lab capable of manufacturing and delivering functional connectors in less than four weeks.
Launched in October 2022, the program has quickly attracted interest from customers. Michael Gallegos, Senior Mechanical Engineer and Connector Specialist at Sandia, emphasized the importance of this project.
“We’re really excited for the potential impact this project can have,” said Gallegos. “We’re constantly expanding our capabilities and the types of work we can take on.”
The Rapid Development Connectors team at Sandia consists of engineers, material scientists, chemists and product designers from various departments. This diversity makes it possible to tackle a wide range of challenges.
“With this lab, we’re expanding our ability to answer a variety of customer requests and calls,” Gallegos said. “It’s a cross-center collaboration, bridging the nuclear deterrence design and materials sciences worlds. Each project gives us an opportunity to innovate and create functional prototypes using our tools and materials in new ways.”
A key advantage of the team is the lab’s location at the University of New Mexico’s Advanced Materials Laboratory, outside Kirtland Air Force Base. This facilitates collaboration with industry partners and universities. The lab has been renovated over the past year and a half and equipped with additive and subtractive manufacturing technologies.
Innovations in the lab include combining 3D printing technology with injection molding processes for low-volume production of parts. The use of additively manufactured molds for injection molding enables rapid production of connectors with multiple design iterations. Other ideas from the lab include hermetic seals made from additively manufactured glass and environmentally friendly materials for lightning protection connectors.
“Working with the Rapid Development Connectors program shortens learning and development cycles, and it is positively impacting our development schedules,” Gabriel Arechederra, who is working on the W93 weapons program, said. “Based on requirements, we can tell Michael and his group what we want. He can then provide development parts to us in just days or weeks.”
The goal of the program is to provide customers with connectors that are the same or very similar to the parts produced by suppliers and ensure that they function as intended.
The positive impact of the program is evident and has led to its inclusion in the budget for new weapons programs once the current NNSA funding ends.
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