New part development, troubleshooting of existing processes

New part development and troubleshooting of existing powder metal products and processes.

Led new part development and process improvement of existing parts.Major accomplishments:• Assigned as a principal engineer to transfer tungsten heavy alloy powder metal operations from the East Rutherford, NJ location to the Euclid, OH facility during consolidation. Transfer was completed with minimal interruption to production.• Directed the startup of tungsten heavy alloy laboratory testing procedures. Instructed laboratory and supervisory personnel in testing and approval requirements of tungsten heavy metal alloys.• Assisted Quality Assurance efforts by writing Work Instructions and Procedures to comply with ISO 13485 and AS 9100. • Led the effort to reduce excessive static imbalance in tungsten heavy alloy spherical balance rotors, resulting in a three-fold reduction in the amount of static imbalance experienced by our customer.• Investigated new grade of alumina furnace pusher plates claimed by manufacturer to have superior high-temperature dimensional performance. Implementation of new pusher plates resulted in reduction of rework due to out-of-flatness from 50% to 10%.• Served as liaison to H. C. Starck’s new startup factory in Taicang, Jiangsu Province, China. Travelled to Taicang to train and advise factory employees regarding production and testing requirements for tungsten heavy metal alloys.• Designed and ordered tooling for both uniaxial compaction and isostatic cold compaction for new and existing parts.• Participated in contract review process by reviewing new part product prints for aerospace, defense and medical customers to determine the anticipated degree of difficulty in manufacturing. Advised the sales department of any unusual requirements in materials, tolerances or manufacturing methods. Customers included major aerospace suppliers such as Boeing, Sikorsky, Bombardier, Fokker, Hawker, and medical suppliers such as Varian and Elekta.

Assisted with development of new products and investigated process problems, leading to improvements and cost savings.Major accomplishments:• Led successful effort to eliminate the sizing (re-pressing) operation for a powder metal sprocket. • Optimized application of metalworking lubricant used on powder metal products at the sizing operation and reduced the amount of metalworking fluid used. This resulted in cost savings, improved cleanliness, and eliminated subsequent heat treat contamination problems.• Introduced wear-resistant tool coating program to reduce abrasion of compacting tool edges and eliminate the formation of detrimental molding flash on finished components.• Assisted with the modification of a sizing core rod for circular hubs This allowed the part to be sized without lubricant, thus improving the performance of the subsequent steam treat blackening operation. • Retargeted the tooling dimensions for another major product - a P/M coil housing. This resulted in a five-fold reduction in customer returns due to flash repressed into the part surfaces.

Technical oversight of blending and sintering operations, and research and development.• Directed day-to-day routine metallurgical and metallographic operations including technical oversight of raw materials blending, adjustments to materials and/or processes, and rework of material.• Established, controlled and monitored specifications for both raw and blended materials to maintain desired physical properties.• Assisted in ongoing research and development and continuous improvement efforts focused on the elimination of metallurgical problems in production processes and materials, and the evaluation of improved materials and processes.• Developed a new hybrid powder mix composed of 50% reground material with considerable cost savings.

Research and development, root cause failure analysis on parts returned from customers and vendors.• Was instrumental in the development of a new sinter-harden process. Led the optimization of the sinter-harden powder composition. Conducted experimental modifications to the prototype sinter-harden furnace to improve the sinter-quench performance.• Spearheaded Root Cause Analysis and Failure Analysis investigations into defective parts returned from customers and vendors. Wrote reports documenting findings and recommendations.

• Assisted with efforts to optimize and troubleshoot production processes, including blending, powder pressing, sintering, sizing, powder forging, induction heat-treat hardening (both surface hardening and deep hardening), and integral quench heat treating. Also was involved with development of new processes for prototype parts. • Conducted testing on parts such as routine metallographic examination, hardness and density checks, crack checks, and dimensional evaluation.• Aided in efforts to eliminate the sizing operation for turbine hubs. Conducted tests on different sintering orientations to determine which orientation minimized the internal hub spline taper, which would then eliminate the need for sizing.