1. Aluminum cast panels for
Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and
Culture in Washington D.C.
Morel Industries
CNC Machinist
December 2014-February 2015
Supervisor: Steven Morel, Owner
(206)784-0855
Objectives:
Prepare cast aluminum panels shaken from molds for deburring by removing all excess
material
Coordinate with partner to maximize spindle utilization time
Edit program to increase daily production rate, reduce daily operational costs, and change
toolpaths quickly for partial panels
Plan production schedule for successful completion of contract
Tools/equipment used:
Haas GR 510 vertical gantry CNC mill
MIG aluminum wire fed welder
Renishaw probe, HSS cutters, collets, face mill using inserts
4’ pry bar and sledgehammer for removing flashing
Challenges to overcome:
1500 panels had been finished in previous year, 1500 remained with 3 months left to
finish
Problems with the casting and pouring created bottlenecks, requiring the daily demands
to increase from 12 panels to 35+ per 10 hour shift
Partners needed for loading/unloading had little previous experience or were easily
distracted
Hard deadline of 02/14/2015 to avoid $50,000 daily fine
2. Figure 1-Furnace used for melting 356 Aluminum bar for sand casting
Figure 2- Panels after casting
3. Figure 3-Panels stacked after removing flashing and high spots with pry bar and hammers
Figure 4-Panel after manual prep
4. Figure 5-Part was loaded onto vices with crane and bolted to the table
Figure 6-Close-up view after loading machine and bolting to table
6. Figure 9-Finished parts had to be dried, cleaned of debris, and inspected for errors
Figure 10-Small defects were filled in using MIG welder
7. Figure 11-Final 300 parts needed revised
program to enable efficient machining Figure 12-Partial panels were of all
combinations of rails
Figure 13-Extra material I turned into a spear
