Original Date: 11/03/1996
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

The Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant machine tool maintenance program is a comprehensive program that services production machines capable of producing parts with tolerances as low as 50 millionths and down to 5 millionths using diamond turning. Consequently, the personnel needed to maintain this accurate machinery must be highly competent. The maintenance personnel at Y-12 have over 500 hours of training in the installation, electrical, and mechanical aspects of the production machines as well as vendor supplied training.

To achieve the accuracies required for these highly complex machine tools, initial training time invested in the maintenance personnel has provided the long term benefits. Not only does Y-12 Plant personnel maintain the capability of the machines, but they also investigate ways to enhance the machine capability including the use of air bearing spindles, installation of a jackshaft spindle assembly, use of automatic ball toolsetters to aid in the setup of machines, and a hydraulic chip breaking process. These enhancements were developed by Y-12 engineers to increase accuracies and to prolong the life of the machine. The Y-12 Plant at Oak Ridge has developed a comprehensive maintenance program that prolongs machine life, a critical consideration during periods of budget constraints where modernization and capital expenditures are limited.

For more information see the Point of Contact for this survey.