Tours & Sessions

You’re Invited To Take A Personal Tour Of An Advanced Manufacturing Facility

Collaboration is an important aspect of WESTEC. That’s why we’re pleased to announce some behind-the-scenes tours of successful manufacturers such as SpaceX and Edelbrock Automotive. Tours include an educational session, plus a stop on the show floor to visit companies that complement the subject matter. These are very popular and interactive, but due to their nature, space is strictly limited. Pre-show registration is required.

Tour Package Fee:
$99 SME Members*
$129 Non-Members

*includes government/military and full-time academia/students

Tour Package #1: SpaceX
Tuesday, March 27, 2012 | 10:15 a.m. - 3:30 pm.
SOLD OUT

Technical Session: “Trends in Aerospace Manufacturing”
Room: 306A

10:15 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

10:15 - 10:50 a.m.
J-2X Rocket Engine Development
Vernon Gregoire, Chief Engineer, J-2X Upper Stage Development Program and John Malinzak, Senior Manager, Manufacturing Engineering, Pratt & Whitney, Rocketdyne Division

The J-2X engine is being developed by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne for NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. NASA recently conducted a successful key stability test firing marking another step forward in development of the engine that will carry humans farther in space than ever before. Data from this and future combustion stability tests will be discussed helping engineers understand more about the engine’s performance and robustness during engine operation.

10:55 - 11:30 a.m.
Affordability on Legacy Programs
Ed Lugo, Manager, Manufacturing Technology Applications, Northrop Grumman Corporation

11:30 a.m. - 12 noon
Tour Check-In/Board Bus/Depart LACC at 12 noon

1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Tour:

SpaceX Hawthorne headquarters offers complete design, fabrication and assembly of Falcon 9 rockets and Dragon spacecraft. Tour participants will see engines being assembled, rockets being fabricated and spacecraft being built. Established in 2002 by Elon Musk , SpaceX has already developed two brand new launch vehicles, established an impressive launch manifest, and been awarded COTS funding by NASA to demonstrate delivery and return of cargo to the International Space Station. SpaceX is privately developing the Dragon crew and cargo capsule and the Falcon family of rockets from the ground up, including main and upper stage engines, the cryogenic tank structure, avionics, guidance & control software and ground support equipment.

Tour Package #3: National Oilwell Varco
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
10:15 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Technical Session: “Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM) & Supporting Technology”
Room: 306B
10:15 - 11:30 a.m.

10:15 - 10:50 a.m.
Moving Beyond Lean: Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM)
Ananth Krishnamurthy, Associate Professor, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
University of Wisconsin-Madison Director, Center for Quick Response Manufacturing
Director, Manufacturing Systems Engineering Program

QRM is a companywide strategy used to cut lead times in all phases of manufacturing and office operations. National Oilwell Varco (NOV) has implemented QRM in multiple facilities throughout the world. Many NOV facilities have more than quadrupled their outputs over the last four years. QRM can bring your products to market more quickly and secure your business prospects by helping you compete in a rapidly changing manufacturing arena. You will learn why QRM is the most effective approach for manufacturers that produce custom-engineered products in low or varying volumes. Discussion topics include:

• Increase profitability by reducing non-value added time, cutting inventory and increasing return on investment
• QRM focuses on lead time reduction across the extended enterprise
• QRM provides a unifying theory that enables organizations to convert challenges into growth opportunities
• The four (4) core concepts that form the foundation of QRM principle and practice

10:55 - 11:30 a.m.
Conversational Programming for Multitasking Machines & How it Applies to Quick Response Manufacturing
Rudy Canchola, Western Region Applications Engineering Manager, Mazak Corporation

Often times shops make every effort to apply lean concepts on the floor or focus their efforts on eliminating non-value added time. What is at times overlooked is the streamlining of the value added tasks or the non re-occurring tasks. Programming is one of those tasks that can be consolidated and streamlined by the use of Conversational programming. What's more, applying this concept to multitasking machines can create a total QRM scenario. Discussion topics include:

• The combining of G code and Conversational programming.
• Part Verification as a result of Conversational programming.
• Applying Conversational programming to Multi-Tasking machines.

11:30 a.m. - 12noon
Tour Check-In/Board Bus/Depart LACC at 12 noon

1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Tour:

National Oilwell Varco (NOV) is dedicated to ensuring customers receive the highest quality oilfield products and services and supplies customer focused solutions that best meet the quality, productivity and environmental requirements of the energy industry. NOV is a worldwide leader in providing major mechanical components for land and offshore drilling rigs complete land drilling and well servicing rigs, tubular inspection and internal tubular coatings, drill string equipment, extensive lifting and handling equipment, and a broad offering of downhole drilling motors, bits and tools. NOV also provides supply chain services through its network of distributions service centers located near major drilling and production activity worldwide.

Tour Package #2: Edelbrock
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
10:15 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Technical Session: “Manufacturing Solutions for Tomorrow’s Production”
Room: 306A
10:15-  11:30 a.m.

10:15 - 10:50 a.m.
Additive Manufacturing 101: The Future of Product Development & Manufacturing is Changing
Jon Cobb, VP of Global Marketing, Stratasys, Inc.

This presentation will explore how additive manufacturing systems such as 3D printers and 3D production systems are changing the future of product development and manufacturing. Topics include:

• How additive manufacturing can help designers create better products
• Why additive manufacturing gets products to market faster and cheaper
• How companies like Oreck, Ducati, and Toro use additive manufacturing to save time and money
• How additive manufacturing can be used to improve efficiencies on the manufacturing floor

10:55 - 11:30 a.m.
Bad Drawings and the Manufacturing Engineer
Walter McGee, Senior Design Engineer II, Raytheon SAS

This presentation will address the ongoing problem of bad drawing and how the manufacturing engineer can play a major role in mitigating or preventing these deficiencies. Unless corrected, the quality objective is impeded and the use of statistical process control is rendered meaningless. Topics include:

• How to detect bad drawings and eliminate ambiguities
• Data from bad drawings invalidates SPC
• Tools to defend manufacturers against bad drawings
• Reduce cost of production

11:30 a.m. - 12 noon
Tour Check-In/Board Bus/ Depart LACC at 12 noon

1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Tour: 

Edelbrock is a manufacturer of high performance automotive components. Tour participants will start in the corporate office with a walking tour of Edelbrock’s manufacturing facilities. The tour will end at Vic’s Garage or Edelbrock Museum located adjacent to the Distribution Center and houses the Company’s collection of street rods and classic cars, as well as an extensive collection of historic photos and archives.

Tour Package #4: Robinson Helicopter Company
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
10:15 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Technical Session: Precision Machining
Room: 306B
10:15 - 11:30 a.m.

10:15 - 10:50 a.m.
How to Measure and Compensate the 3D Volumetric Positioning Error of CNC Machining Centers
Charles Wang, President Optodyne

Twenty years ago the largest machine tool positioning errors were lead screw pitch error and thermal expansion error. Today, the largest machine tool positioning errors are squareness and straightness errors together with thermal expansion and distortion. This presentation will discuss:

• 3D volumetric positioning errors
• Measuring 3D volumetric positioning errors efficiently using LDDM
• Compensating positioning errors
• Examples or verifications of CNC machining centers

10:55-11:30 a.m.
Increasing Opportunities for Your Shop by Accelerating Performance and Reducing Scrap
Gerard Vacio, Product Manager - Workholding, BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling Inc.

Success requires a well equipped programming staff to help you find the shortest cycle times in the race for production speed. Programmers have the advantage of CAD/CAM, but what edge are you giving your setup and operational staff? This presentation will identify the resources required to maximize productivity while keeping machine tool downtime, scrap and rework to a minimum.

• Techniques and tools for maximizing the life of your machine spindle
• Managing tool holder assemblies to guarantee reproducible and repeatable tool performance
• Resources for eliminating downtime associated with fixture and workholding changes
• Production management techniques for reducing scrap and rework

11:30 a.m. - 12 noon
Tour Check-In/Board Bus/Depart LACC at 12 noon

1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Tour:

Visit Robinson’s impressive factory specifically designed and built for helicopter manufacturing. Attendees will view the latest state-of-the-art machinery including extensive use of CNC (computer numerically controlled) machining centers and CMM (coordinate measuring machines). The company performs most operations on-site to maintain the highest quality standard. Operations include welding, machining, assembly, painting and flight testing.

Tour attendees must meet the following guidelines:

• Preregistration is required by Friday March 9, 2012.
• Tour attendance is limited and subject to approval by host facility.
• Individuals MUST be 18 years of age or older to attend.
• All individuals MUST present official, government-issued photo identification as proof of U.S. citizenship.
• No Cameras, videos, note-taking, sketching, texting or phone use of any kind while on the tour.
• No luggage, backpacks, bags, etc. allowed on the tour.
• Closed toe shoes only.

Each Tour Package Includes:

• A Technical Session led by Industry Experts
• A Tour of a Leading Manufacturing Facility
• Round Trip transportation from the LACC
• Complimentary Lunch
• An Exclusive Show Floor Experience
• Daily Admission to the WESTEC Exposition

Tour Package Agenda:

 Proof of U.S. citizenship is required.

• All tour participants are subject to final approval by the host facility.
• Pre-registration is required.
• SME reserves the right to amend this program if necessary.