Planning a manufacturing class for coworkers

[C-Bag]

generally speaking, respect and empathy were never the order of the day. More like disdain and impatience.

I was very guilty of that until I actually had an engineer dedicated to the same project until we got it ironed out. Neither could do it without the other. It was a totally novel approach to this company and this particular project that had been going on and off for almost 15yrs! They had this idea everybody should be able to do everything. That is an ideal that just flys in the face of human nature IMHO. All men might be created equal, just some are more equal than others with different skills and proclivities.

 

[Sparweb]

Hey, thanks for the interesting responses and ideas, everyone!

I have a pretty strong background in both fabrication and design/engineering, but as some of you have said, we all have our specialties. A jack of all trades is master of none, of course. So I'm only working on my guys in the engineering department, which is all I really am able to influence right now. Maybe after this session works (if it works) more good projects will come that also foster working together better.

I personally have cultivated a respectful relationship with my Manufacturing department, something I don't think my predecessors have done. This course will (hopefully) have the side benefit of having engineering and manufacturing people working together for a while. Those relationships should make it easier for people to check in with each other, rather than always asking me, or letting problems build up and simmer (which is what happens now).

I think that a final assembly of their parts is essential. It changes the final result from "Steve says it's good or bad" to "it really does/doesn't fit together", which is more powerful statement than any that I can make.

I don't want to "set them up to fail". I have ruled out ideas like giving them bad drawings. Too much frustration; that can't be overcome before skills or judgement have been developed. This is supposed to be a confidence-building task, not a sarcastic punishment. After this session, I'll be able to speak to them about alignment of holes, fits and tolerances etc., in a much more realistic fashion. It's all wasted if they have never held a power drill, now!

I agree with those of you who pointed out that simple tasks will take much longer than they should, so don't get ambitious.
I can allow up to 4 hours each, starting with a safety briefing and tool orientation.
I'm only thinking of parts about 6" long, 1/8" rivets, and bolts 1/4" to 3/8" diameter.

My thoughts today go like this:
Day 1: Cut an aluminum extruded channel to length. Square the cut end, break sharp edges, fillet the corners, drill 3 mounting holes.
Day 2: Cut an aluminum sheet into a square. Locate and drill 3 holes. Locate 2 bend lines. Bend 90 degree twice to make a "C".
Day 3: Turn a bushing on the lathe. Face the end. Bore the inside. Turn the outside. Part off. Re-chuck and face the end. Deburr.
Day 4: (still mulling it over... maybe a shoulder bolt? Maybe a part to press-fit the bushing into?)
Day 5: Assemble these parts. The sheet-metal and extrusion are riveted together. A bolt goes through the bushing (inside the channel flanges).

I hope to introduce measurement tools along the way: Scale, square, Protractor, Caliper, Micrometer

Tools to use:
Day 1: Hacksaw, file, deburrer, punch, drill press
Day 2: Shear, file, deburrer, punch, drill press, brake
Day 3: HSS toolbits, Center drill, Tailstock chuck, reamer, parting tool
Day 4...
Day 5: Clamps, Rivet Klecos, match-drilling by hand, bucking rivets, bolts

 

[jwmay]

I just wanted to express my appreciation for this effort. I believe it's a very good idea, and your thoughtful measure of the situation is commendable. I think there is a ton of value lost in the gap between engineering and manufacturing . Anything to get us in the room together with a shared goal, and on equal footing is a worthy start. There is plenty that engineers deal with, that us on the floor don't see. I was always interested to hear their frustrations with planning/accounting/budgeting and seemingly never ending meetings.

 

[C-Bag]

Hey, thanks for the interesting responses and ideas, everyone!

I have a pretty strong background in both fabrication and design/engineering, but as some of you have said, we all have our specialties. A jack of all trades is master of none, of course. So I'm only working on my guys in the engineering department, which is all I really am able to influence right now. Maybe after this session works (if it works) more good projects will come that also foster working together better.

I personally have cultivated a respectful relationship with my Manufacturing department, something I don't think my predecessors have done. This course will (hopefully) have the side benefit of having engineering and manufacturing people working together for a while. Those relationships should make it easier for people to check in with each other, rather than always asking me, or letting problems build up and simmer (which is what happens now).

I think that a final assembly of their parts is essential. It changes the final result from "Steve says it's good or bad" to "it really does/doesn't fit together", which is more powerful statement than any that I can make.

I don't want to "set them up to fail". I have ruled out ideas like giving them bad drawings. Too much frustration; that can't be overcome before skills or judgement have been developed. This is supposed to be a confidence-building task, not a sarcastic punishment. After this session, I'll be able to speak to them about alignment of holes, fits and tolerances etc., in a much more realistic fashion. It's all wasted if they have never held a power drill, now!

I agree with those of you who pointed out that simple tasks will take much longer than they should, so don't get ambitious.
I can allow up to 4 hours each, starting with a safety briefing and tool orientation.
I'm only thinking of parts about 6" long, 1/8" rivets, and bolts 1/4" to 3/8" diameter.

My thoughts today go like this:
Day 1: Cut an aluminum extruded channel to length. Square the cut end, break sharp edges, fillet the corners, drill 3 mounting holes.
Day 2: Cut an aluminum sheet into a square. Locate and drill 3 holes. Locate 2 bend lines. Bend 90 degree twice to make a "C".
Day 3: Turn a bushing on the lathe. Face the end. Bore the inside. Turn the outside. Part off. Re-chuck and face the end. Deburr.
Day 4: (still mulling it over... maybe a shoulder bolt? Maybe a part to press-fit the bushing into?)
Day 5: Assemble these parts. The sheet-metal and extrusion are riveted together. A bolt goes through the bushing (inside the channel flanges).

I hope to introduce measurement tools along the way: Scale, square, Protractor, Caliper, Micrometer

Tools to use:
Day 1: Hacksaw, file, deburrer, punch, drill press
Day 2: Shear, file, deburrer, punch, drill press, brake
Day 3: HSS toolbits, Center drill, Tailstock chuck, reamer, parting tool
Day 4...
Day 5: Clamps, Rivet Klecos, match-drilling by hand, bucking rivets, bolts

Thanks for giving us a peak at the backstory. Like jwmay said the divide between the office, engineering and the floor and even the different depts is overwhelming and gets worse as the size of the company gets larger. As if that was not enough the company I worked for was foreign owned so there was this cultural divide. It was amazing we got anything done.

I was told when I first started there that it was common for the engineers from the parent co. to go down and build their designs. Somehow I don’t know how that could be true as we regularly got stuff in that we could look at and know it wasn’t going to work. My boss would phone home and they assured him it had been in use there and worked. In every single instance it came back to bite us because it broke and that is a huge hit to our reputation and to moral. A huge hit on the customer as it casts big $$ when the plant goes down because of one silly machine where they had decided to ignore simple physics.

I thought our moral and cohesion was bad until I talked to the head electronics tech described going to the parent co and the whole place sounded like chaos with people getting in each other’s face and screaming at each other. Everybody storming around all stressed out. To them if you were not wound up like that 24/7 your not getting anything done.

I envy you working for a company that cares enough to try and give your engineers practical experience. We live in a world now i just can’t even fathom. I was reading the intro for a new member the other day where his passion was teaching young people to fix stuff. If I remember he was saying the majority of the people he worked with had never even used a screwdriver, WTH?

 

[matthewsx]

How does your idea fly with management?

I'd say some simple cross training should do the job, and maybe even get some product built.

My daughter is an engineer and the day she called me (as an intern) to tell me she had to use a drill press at work, and knew how, I was a proud papa.

If you want instructions for a shop class check with your local trade schools, might even get some potential new workers in the deal.

John

 

[Sparweb]

If I remember he was saying the majority of the people he worked with had never even used a screwdriver, WTH?

Yup, seen that too. An intern a few years back. Good at math, very disciplined, but couldn't recognize a Philips head. Righty-tighty was a new phrase to him.
But you gotta do something about it, right?

I do indeed have support from my boss. He did a lot of work in the shop himself (back in his day) so he appreciates what I'm trying to do. This is also the product of years of work building trust both ways (up, down and across the company hierarchy). I can have a budget for materials and some books, plus overhead time from our shop manager to do the REAL teaching. I know I'm still a punter in most ways of the shop. I can get it done but not the best way, so getting my counterpart in manufacturing on-side is a big help. His boss is next; the last sign-off to make this happen.

About the books, I've got a few shop manuals for things like sheet metal and welding - but they're obviously old and out of print. I'd like to start a library of reference books for the others in the department to use. Look it up, guys, instead of asking me all the time! Machinery's Handbook is already an obvious first choice. Any other suggestions there?

 

[KyleG]

This is a really good idea. You mentioned bucking rivets. Are you in the aerospace industry?

 

[mmcmdl]

I spent 13+ years working with AAI in their top secret lab along with 29 other " top of their game " machinists and mechanics . We made and developed many weapons systems platforms , drones , large and small guns and ammunition , remotely controlled pilotless boats etc . Just a slew of cool stuff . The majority of our engineers were old school . They knew their jobs very well , but , they did NOT know how to design their dreams into working machines and assemblies because of their lack of knowledge of machine tools and their capabilities . Over the years , our shop was called the top secret lab , electro mechanical lab , ordnance lab , composites lab etc and changed with whatever large contracts we were working on . The machinists worked hand in hand with the engineers and visa versa . No-one else in the entire company could come thru our doors without a RED TS DOD badge . AAI is now owned by Textron and still manufactures most of the things we ( our group ) of machinists developed over the years .

So what happened to change things . Back in 98-99 , the Gubmint introduced Unigraphics into the mix . There was already many CAD programs available to us at the time , Unigraphics added the CAM to the CAD and the fun began . Our entire lab , as well as engineering and all DOD manufacturing was switched over to Unigraphics . It was pretty neat to use the solid modeling aspect of the system , but most older folks found it hard to use vs. the older school " smart cam , Gibbs , Master Cam etc . The day my boss ( old German toolmaker ) retired , the walls were ripped down from the lab and the place was torn apart . There was alot of jealous people in the company that did not have the access to use our shop with little to no overhead . Within 1 year , our group , the ENTIRE GROUP including myself ( other than 1 person ) , left thru retirement or other reasons and moved on . These newer , younger engineers looked down upon the machinists who helped put this company on the map . The company went into some hard times with many of the top engineers leaving also and eventually the company was bought out by Textron . Winn Barr , the original owner and engineer that started the company was always the machinists best friend , lived in our shop , and supported us to the end .

The other " Top shops " in the area met with similar circumstances . Martin Marietta had their Advanced Manufacturing Technology ( AMT ) Lab which my buddy managed . Hopkins had their Applied Physics Lab ( APL ) and Aberdeen Proving Ground had their testing site of course , but none of these are even close to what they used to be . I got out of being a " full time " machinist in 99 and have never looked back . I think I would be struggling to make a fairly decent living these days pushing a button on a CNC mill or lathe .

Companies can have a part manufactured anywhere in the world these days with a touch of a computer screen , and they will if a $ is involved . What they can't do ( unless very well off ) is pack up and move the entire plant to an off shore site . If they did , good on them . The only thing constant in the world , in the shop these days is change . Be ready for it and accept it as it happens . It affects both the engineers and hands on machinists alike .

The OP was from up in Canada . I spent over a month up in St. Catherines Can. going to Unigraphics classes at a shut down GM plant . The plant was shuttered due to engines shipped from Mexico that were defective .

 

[C-Bag]

The bane of my existence since the 80’s was management MBA’s. Bosses who had no clue or appreciation for people who worked with their hands and made stuff. I always felt like we were seen as interchangeable bots that any time we tried to inject reality into their magic thinking we were booted and replaced with the nearest incompetent yes man. As those scenarios developed I bailed and felt like one of those movies where the world is collapsing behind the protagonist as he’s running for his life. I was never able to stay anywhere for very long and the longest I ever worked anywhere was 5yrs.

 

[Sparweb]

I am indeed in aerospace. Today I'm doing long-term support to aging fleets of aircraft designed/built in the 1980's and '90's, which entails avionics upgrades, conversion from passenger to cargo mission, and the occasional repair and "special" equipment like medevac stretchers and so on. The first 10+ years of my career was in a prototyping shop where I could design something in the morning and cut it out of bar stock in the afternoon, then bolt into a helicopter the next day. In some ways those days are gone but mostly because people allowed themselves to forget.

Yes bucking rivets is pretty important in our shop, and I'm definitely talking about engineers who've never held the pneumatic gun. They are placing symbols on drawings like pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey.

Thank you for story @mmcmdl. I have similar experiences but not at such a large scale. Here in Calgary, this isn't a "hub of aviation" - far from it. Most folks know that Calgary is much more of a "hub of oil & gas" which limits us in a lot of ways. Who we can expect from local universities and trade schools, salary differentials between industry sectors, for example. We don't even try to attract talent from other parts of the country; none of them would move to the West to work on airplanes here. The point of your story is definitely well understood, but mostly by "old-school" guys like me, and seems not by university educators, or the students/graduates themselves.

Back to the course.
Have you got any books, tech manuals or other kinds of "how-to" materials that might serve to get my students started?
Giving them books is going to be a familiar way to introduce them to the machines before they see them in person.