Spring 2005, Vol. 2, Issue 1

Modernizing manufacturing

A Manufacturing technician operates the new Moore jig borer, a multiaxis machine that will permit him to perform operations without making fixturing or setup changes. Click image for larger view.

Modernizing manufacturing can involve buying equipment to provide new capabilities or resurrecting and refurbishing existing machines to preserve a unique capability.

Two C-frame mills, specially designed decades ago for work at Y‑12, went back into service after complete renovation of relay circuits and electronic hardware. Being unique, procuring replacements was not an option. With the essential iron castings intact, retrofitting made sense.

Y‑12 engineers designed an electronic control system to put the machines back to work, making them more accurate, easier to use, faster and safer. The electronics package includes motors, drive units, scales that feed back to the computer and controllers and laser measurement systems to detect mechanical inaccuracies to 0.000001 in. (3,000 times thinner than a sheet of paper). High-speed computers then use that information to compensate movements, achieving an accuracy of 0.000020 in.

Other improvements to the mills are the addition of passive nuclear criticality controls and equipment protection and worker protection devices like guardrails.

"The extraordinary effort by a lot of people paid off," says Mitch Stockdale of Engineering. The mills are "state of the art, better than when they were new and as good as anything now on the market."

The new Moore and SIP jig borers are multi-axis machines that permit several operations without changing the fixturing. These ultra-high accuracy machines have enabled Y‑12 to make a significant improvement to a difficult machining operation.

Effective refurbishment of older machines combined with new, agile machine tools will create a more responsive, cost-effective and smaller manufacturing facility.

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