|
|
|
Lives on the Line
Manufacturing veterans work
to make it all work out
Once an idea is hatched, who executes it? Who dons the safety glasses, goes home with dirt
under the fingernails, lends the human touch to machined products? Craftsmen, machinists, computer operators and assembly line workers, that's who.
Their contributions are indispensable to manufacturing companies. They work on products round the clock, mastering
computers and machines to make consistently the best possible products. They work with engineers to improve the process or product, know the sources
of machinery kinks, and have the experience to drive production schedules. BNH talks to three professionals from local manufacturing firms to find out what they think makes a quality product and a skilled manufacturer.
|
Business New Haven
1/12/1998
By: BNH
|
Alloy's Dabkowski: Tricks of the Trade
Tadeusz (Teddy) Dabkowski is a 24-year veteran of Alloy Engineering in Bridgeport, a manufacturer of thermowells (the protective shields
for industrial thermometers used for, among other purposes, nuclear submarines, power stations, oil refineries and the food and beverage industry).
There are about a dozen stages to manufacturing a thermowell, which can range from 2.25 inches to several feet in length, and take
anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours to make. Costs start at $7 and climb to more
than $1,000.
Although experienced enough to make a
thermowell from beginning to end, right now Dabkowski is working on the last operation
of manufacturing a thermowell: “doing internal tread” - in essence, fabricating grooves for the screws. His instrument-of-the-moment is a hunky, imposing-looking automatic machine.
Dabkowski is an up-from-the-bootstraps kind
of guy who emigrated to the U.S. from Poland, found a job at Alloy, built a reputation as a skilled machinist, and put two kids through
college.
Unlike his kids, Dabkowski is “self-taught.”
“I picked up points from people who showed me how,” says Dabkowski, “and the rest I picked up, like certain ways of doing it quicker, with better quality and more quantity.”
What does a veteran like Dabkowski consider key to manufacturing a quality product? quality control. “Check the dimensions [thickness of the thermowells, length, tread sizes] often. Keep measuring to make sure you have the proper gauges, so when it comes to the final inspection, it's made the way it's supposed to be.”
You also have to make sure that the tooling is not worn, Dabkowski adds. “Once it's worn out,” he says, “the tolerances will change.”
Like Pleau, Dabkowski believes understanding your industry - what the product is used for - gives a craftsman insight into how a product should be fabricated.
What makes him a good craftsman? “I always considered myself a perfectionist. I check with the print all the time to make sure I make what it calls for.” And then he does just that.
- K.W.
|
Go FirstGo PreviousGo
NextGo LastGo
to Index
|
|
