Y-12 Blog
Machinist Apprentice Michael Lovelady operates a lathe in Building 9201-1 graphite shop.
Michael Lovelady has always been a tinkerer. So, after a stint in the Army National Guard and 10 years as a Y-12 security police officer, he jumped at the opportunity to participate in the Y-12 Apprentice Program. "It was a chance to get back to working with my hands,” he said. “I really enjoy designing and making things.”
Lovelady knew almost nothing about machining when he applied for the program in 2012 but has quickly learned the trade. After more than three years of coursework, an associate’s degree from Pellissippi State Community College and four years of on the job training with journey machinists, Lovelady and nine other apprentices will complete the program this August.
“I’d really like to thank CNS and the Machinist Union for giving me this chance. This program has been a wonderful opportunity to learn new skills and grow as an employee,” Lovelady said. “I’m able to join many different skills together and the end result is a beautiful product.”
The products Lovelady makes include not only the parts Y-12 needs to meet its mission but also unique tools designed to solve problems he encounters. For example, part of his job with Fabrication Operations is to machine graphite casting molds. To accurately machine these cylindrical parts, machinists must manually set the cutting tool to the exact center of the rough part. While any number of commercially available levelers can be used to find the center of the part’s outer diameter, none work for the inner diameter, leaving that up to manual measurements and calculations — or, as Lovelady saw it, opportunities for error.
“I wondered if we could get a leveler that would work for the inner diameters of our parts but realized there weren’t any products designed for that,” Lovelady said. “So I got to looking at it a bit and came up with an idea for a new leveler.”
But he didn’t just come up with the idea. After consulting with some fellow machinists, Lovelady drew a rough sketch, modeled the sketch in SolidWorks design software, converted the model to a design drawing, manually plotted the program onto a machine and then machined the prototype himself.
“It’s a relatively simple Y shaped device with a sight glass leveling vial,” Lovelady said of his invention. “The two points of the Y contact the part’s contours, allowing the tool to slide along the outer or inner diameter until the sight glass bubble is centered.”
This simple tool not only eliminates guesswork, calculations and opportunities for errors but also increases productivity by reducing the time spent establishing tool height or switching between leveling tools. Lovelady shared his innovation with CNS’s Technology Transfer organization, which researched the market and determined that the unique design and capabilities of Lovelady’s device made it a great candidate for a patent. They submitted an application to the United States Patent and Trademark Office in September of 2015 and hope to hear more before the end of the year.
“This is an awesome accomplishment. I love seeing our employees thinking differently and finding innovative ways to get the job done and then using their skills and commitment to make it happen,” said Susan Baker, Fabrication Operations Production manager. “Mike embodies the principle of continuous improvement and the mindset we should apply daily to our work.”
Indeed, he’s still tinkering.
“We’ve been using the leveler for more than a year, but I’m still thinking of improvements,” Lovelady said. “We could reduce the distance between the contact points so it can be used on smaller parts, or fabricate it out of different materials.”
As he continues to machine new parts and chats with other employees, Lovelady sees numerous opportunities to design and fabricate solutions to issues around the plant. “That’s the fun part, designing new stuff,” he said. “I hate when people say we can’t do something. I always wonder, ‘Well, why not?’”
CNS Supply Chain Manager Skip Skelton addresses Blount Partnership members at New Hope Center.
Members of the Blount Partnership Chamber of Commerce toured the Y-12 National Security Complex. For most, it was their first time on the site.
“What a great opportunity for our Chamber VIP members to learn about and see the Y-12 property,” said Tammi Ford, vice president of the Blount Partnership.
The tour, which was attended by 27 business men and women, was sponsored by CNS and the Blount Partnership. As part of their visit, the members also received information on how they might do business at Y-12.
CNS Vice President for Operations Support Darrell Graddy told the VIPs about the enduring importance of Y-12’s national security mission and how local business can help and profit.
“The opportunities for small business are enormous,” Graddy said to the group.
The VIPs also heard from CNS Director of Supply Chain Management Skip Skelton and Uranium Processing Facility Acquisition Services Manager Rich Brown. Skelton talked about how to do business with CNS and Y-12; and Brown discussed the business opportunities surrounding the $6.5-billion UPF project.
“We were enlightened on the history, the future plans of the site and the opportunities available for small business,” said Ford. “It was a great relationship building event and our hope is to do an expanded tour in the future.”
Director of Assembly/Disassembly Operations Abe Mathews (left) gives the USS Tennessee sailors a behind the scenes look at Y-12.
When the USS Tennessee patrols the world’s oceans, stealthily submerged to depths unknown, the Ohio Class ballistic missile submarine is capable of carrying a payload of Trident II missiles tipped with W76 or W88 warheads.
The crewmembers — and the nation — have come to accept the steadfast reliability of those warheads that are produced as a result of work at Y-12, Pantex and elsewhere across the Nuclear Security Enterprise, but during a recent visit to Oak Ridge, five USS Tennessee sailors got a first hand look at exactly what goes into ensuring the safety, security and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear arsenal.
“It gave us an appreciation of the infrastructure that is there to enable this capability for us to go out and perform our mission,” said the USS Tennessee’s Commanding Officer Chas McLenithan.
It was the first trip to Y-12 for McLenithan and four others.
While in Knoxville for Navy Week, they made a special visit to Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12, touring a production facility and the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility. Joining McLenithan was Lt. Colin Williams, the submarine’s assistant weapons officer, as well as Master Chief Stacy R. Hammann, First Class Petty Officer Bryan Lynch and Second Class Petty Officer Merlin Hyland.
During the tour, they were briefed on assembly and disassembly operations at Y-12 and saw where the nation’s highly enriched uranium is stored. With the importance of the nuclear deterrent as significant as it was decades ago, they emerged with a message that reinforced the credibility of U.S. nuclear arsenal.
“It definitely gave me a newfound appreciation for this part of the mission,” Williams said. “You do the same processes day in and day out, but you see all these patriotic people doing their job and doing it well. Everyone was very energetic and so enthused about what they did, explaining their processes to us as the end user. It was a great experience to talk to them and to say you guys make a great product. We know we can always count on them.”
Williams added, “What we saw was pretty amazing stuff, stuff you don’t get to see in your everyday job. Us being the end user, it definitely stood out in my mind.”
Their submarine may bear the name Tennessee, but what was tucked in the hills of Oak Ridge was still a revelation.
“The amount of generations that have built up the capability they have there, the initial developers and the maintainers now, and the technical ability that goes into that and is still invested in keeping us able to do our mission was a real eye opener,” McLenithan said.
Pantex’s Darla Fish greets an Ascension Academy student as teams check in for the National Science Bowl® at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center in Maryland.
Our nation’s capital recently played host to the country’s future science and technology leaders during the U.S. Department of Energy’s 26th National Science Bowl®.
The 116 regional winning teams and their coaches, hailing from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, assembled at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center for an action-packed five days of science activities, sightseeing and competition.
Three of the teams — Amarillo High School and Ascension Academy (middle school) from Texas and Cedar Springs Home School (high school) from Tennessee — won regional competitions sponsored by Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC.
Learn more on the Pantex website.
The RoHAWKtics robotics team at Hardin Valley Academy, sponsored by Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC, achieved a top 50 ranking at the FIRST® Robotics Championship in St. Louis.
Our nation’s capital recently played host to the country’s future science and technology leaders during the U.S. Department of Energy’s 26th National Science Bowl®.
The 116 regional winning teams and their coaches, hailing from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, assembled at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center for an action-packed five days of science activities, sightseeing and competition.
Three of the teams — Amarillo High School and Ascension Academy (middle school) from Texas and Cedar Springs Home School (high school) from Tennessee — won regional competitions sponsored by Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC.
Learn more on the Pantex website.