Global Employees Meet Challenge with Innovative Thinking

Our production department has been experiencing difficulty manufacturing ½” Inconel bonnets for some time. The dilemma involved the cladding that is welded onto the disc insert which, in turn, would cause the insert to pull down, reducing the necessary gap between the insert and the bonnet itself. This issue was causing the bonnets to be out of compliance and creating a headache for our production department.
A recent idea was devised by Russell Hartman, Steve Hetz and Steve Yanosky to machine the disc guide with a .060 lip to prevent the guide from pulling down. After welding the cladding, the lip is machined out, leaving the .060 gap between the seat and the disc guide. The idea was tested and found to be a success! This creative and ingenious idea will save machining time and ultimately allow these bonnets to be manufactured more efficiently.
Many thanks and congratulations to Russell Hartman, Steve Hetz and Steve Yanosky for thinking outside of the box and offering such an innovative solution to this obstacle. For their cost-saving idea, each gentleman was awarded with a $50 Sheetz gift card.

Nichole Sheets