Combat Propulsion Systems, located in Muskegon,
Michigan, is an industry leader in the design, development, manufacture,
assembly and test of military engines, transmissions, suspensions and turret
drive systems. The large group and facility gives Combat Propulsion Systems
the unique ability to control the entire engineering to production release
cycle assuring that a quality product is delivered to the customer on schedule.
FACILITY
Located 45 miles west of Grand Rapids, Combat
Propulsion Systems consists of approximately 170 acres with 886,090 square
feet of manufacturing area and 100,200 square feet of office space. In
addition, there are 177.3 acres of vacant property.
CAPACITY
Combat Propulsion Systems is the only engine
manufacturer within the L-3 Communications family. Currently the AVDS-1790
Diesel Engine is manufactured at this facility with the manning and manufacturing
plans based on 100 engines per year.
QUALITY
The facility has been registered by KPMG since March 1998
to the ISO 9001-2000 standard, and most recently with ISO 14001-1996 and
OHSAS 18001-1999. Muskegon maintained on-site calibration capability with
the calibration system compliant with the current ISO standard.
MANUFACTURING
The main plant consists in part of: abrasive blasting machines,
20,000 square foot heat treat facility with 19 furnaces, a 16,000 square
foot welding area, 4 paint booths (one of which is an automotive type drive-through
booth), and 62,000 square feet of assembly areas for transmission and engine
manufacturing. Machining of tank components consists of 100,000 square
feet with numerous machining centers. There is also 70,000 square feet
of test cell area.
ENGINEERING CAPABILITIES
Engineering tools and facilities include: Pro/E CAD workstations, simulation
software, prototype machine shop, prototype assembly area, testing facilities
for engine, transmission and suspension units, including full power engine
dynamometer and power pack testing. A vehicle build area and test track
are available for supporting programs requiring vehicle integration or
testing.
TEST FACILITY
There are two test tracks located on 93 acres
within the 170 acre manufacturing site. The North Track is 3.5 miles long
and has a sand surface, hilly terrain and a mud pit. The South Track is
1.5 miles long and has a sand surface with flat terrain. Test facilities
in the main plant consist of one cold temperature chamber, one shock and
vibration test are and one electronics lab as well as four production and
three experimental 1500hp diesel engine test cells, one Mud Test test cell,
two power pack ground hop cells, one chromatograph, two tensile/compression
testers and five large magna flux and turret drive lab build areas.
