Vol. 52, No. 3        February 11, 2000

Manufacturing and production

Center 9100 successfully completed qualification testing of the MC4380 neutron generator on the first WR (War Reserve) lot. Internal schedules had slipped due to technical difficulties at the various stages of development and manufacturing. There was doubt that a 10/1/99 delivery could be achieved. Center 9100 expertise and responsiveness in developing environmental testing fixtures, testing and diagnostic techniques, and detailed process procedures enabled the production program to save several weeks in the qualification schedule. Through detailed measurements of the dynamic response of the generator, design engineers and computer modelers were able to validate the hostile shock envelope used in the qualification of the MC4380. (9100) (NWSBU)

The multidisciplinary encapsulation team has worked toward the common goals of improving encapsulation processing and encapsulant processibility. The team, using modeling and flow visualization, demonstrated the superiority of the side pressure-driven mold filling versus the top gravity fill that had been used for the MC4380 neutron generator. Production began using side fill based on this work. The cure schedule for the MC4380 was also shortened from two days to less than one, with no increase in particle settling or cure stress. (9100, 1400, 1800, 14400) (NWSBU)

An optimization model and a simulation model of the neutron generator production operations were developed during FY99. Neutron generator production capacity analyses were performed using each model. Examination of the current shop floor configuration indicates that equipment capacity exists for delivering today's neutron generator requirements without additional equipment. The model also verified that the planned equipment purchases and new building planned for rapid reactivation (tripling production rates) would meet future capacity demands. (14400, 6200) (NWSBU)

A team was formed to move the Product Realization Enterprise's (PRE) policies and procedures from a stand-alone system in production to the corporate Product Data Management (PDM) system. The team successfully met the needs of its customers by having a seamless migration with no loss of data and no downtime; the transition to the new system was transparent to the user. Modifications to the existing Web site allowed for log-in to PDM without a user password, providing easier access to the PRE's policies and procedures. (2900, 14400) (NWSBU)

Division 14000 had two competing manufacturing systems in place, Oracle and the Production And Certification System (PACS). It was necessary to adapt Oracle to take over the functionality needed to retire PACS because these redundant databases were prone to data accuracy problems and were costly to maintain. The primary effort was completed 5/99, with several refinements made to formatting and reporting of product data that took place through 9/99. The team consisted of people from almost every department in 14000, as well as people from divisions 4000 and 10000. (NWSBU)

Last modified: February 28, 2000

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