MEMORANDUM

TO: Dr. H. Jack, P. Eng.

FROM: Scott Woodard

SUBJECT: Michigan Wheel Plant Tour

DATE: 2-25-97

Professor Jack:

Several things come to mind concerning the recent tour of the Michigan Wheel Manufacturing facility. The first of which is the way that the whole process just seems to flow from ingot to finished product. I had never before had the chance to experience first hand such a complete and efficient transformation of a finished product that literally took place under one roof! The CNC machines in their machining department were very impressive. Not only because of their size, but more because of the intricacies of the parts (in particular the machining of the propeller blades) that they were capable of producing.

It was also interesting to me to see just how the pitch was tuned on each individual propeller and how they were balanced. I never expected to see people actually beating on the propellers with sledge hammers to "fine tune" their form. It was also interesting to see just how the propellers flowed from one station to the next with each progressive station bringing the product closer to completion rather than doing it all in one location.

The highlight of the whole tour had to be the casting of that very large propeller. The sight of those men pouring that Nyboril at a temperature of 1900 degrees Fahrenheit into the sand casting mold was a sight that I will always remember. This was something that I had only previously seen on television. To me, by far, this was the best of all the plant tours that we have been on so far this semester.

Regards,

Scott Woodard