Machinist full of money-saving ideas

  • Published
  • By Jeanne Grimes
  • Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (AFPN) --  Findings ways for the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center to save money is turning into a lucrative sideline for one maintenance directorate machinist here.

Timothy Case has earned two $10,000 awards from the IDEA program since December for submissions that amount to annual savings of more than $134,624 at the center.

Case made his first submission in October after noticing that nearly three-fourths of the turbine housings from T-38 Talon aircraft that came in to be reworked ended up in the scrap heap. Aircraft accessories branch workers were scrapping the housings because the inside diameter could no longer meet the tolerances on the part’s specifications.

Every time the housing was machined, that critical inside diameter became larger, Case explained, adding that his suggestion -- a cut-to-fit sleeve -- increases the tolerance on the part.

The housings cost $598.25 each. During the last fiscal year, 113 of 155 of those parts sent here to be reworked were condemned instead. Case said he looked for a solution after seeing “about 30” of the housings be condemned.

He came up with a cut-to-fit sleeve which can be machined from aluminum stock. The precision process takes about two days to complete, using new state-of-the-art automated machines.

The machinist said the sleeve is press fit into the part with a scant .007-inch clearance. The fit is so tight that the fan housing must be heated and the sleeve chilled before they can be assembled. The metals of both parts bond as the temperature stabilizes.

Case submitted his second award-winning idea one month after receiving $10,000 for the turbine housing proposal.

That suggestion deals with repairs to the 51494A turbine.

Case noticed that when mechanics repaired the turbine, two separate lead bushings were installed -- one in the sump housing and the other in a support. Physically, the bushings differed only in that the one installed on the sump housing was predrilled and had an oil-channel groove, while the other was plain. The supplier charged $543.22 per pre-machined bushing, whereas the plain bushing cost only $29.95.

The machinist’s suggestion was to switch entirely to the cheaper plain bushing and cut the oil-channel groove and drill it in-house -- which requires about 30 minutes to an hour. With shop labor being charged at a rate of $95 per hour, the savings to the center are between $418.27 and $465.77 per bushing.

First year savings have been projected at $67,022.67.

Case, who has been at Tinker for about five years, admitted he was surprised by the size of the awards.

“I didn’t figure it would be that much,” he said.

He has no particular plans for the windfall, nor is he likely to sit back and relax with two winning ideas to his credit.

Case continues to submit more suggestions to the IDEA program. To date, one idea has paid him $100, one has been rejected, and a third is currently being evaluated for potential savings.