Neat day today - EWI, Honda ELP
I had the opportunity to go on a couple tours here in Ohio. The program I am in at OSU is Technology Education and the OTEA (Ohio Technology Education Association) was having their annual spring quarter conference here in Columbus. One of the professors in our program at OSU opened the organization's tours up to the students to fill in a few open spots, so I was able to get in there. Boy am I glad I did!
The first place we went to is the Edison Welding Institute (EWI). They are one of two organizations in the world that are as specialized as they are in materials joining technology. They do work for customers, but the main focus of the organization is research and application of welding technologies. Out of 62 known welding technologies they have the capability to implement 58 of those in-house. Pretty amazing!
The first thing we saw on the tour is their strength testing lab. They have hydraulic presses that can apply up to 100,000lbs of force to a specimen. Along with very sensitive sensors and computer technology they can monitor just about everything in regard to strength testing - torque, compression, tension, fatigue, etc.
Then we moved to the main production floor. They have a LOT of space in there, and each area is not enclosed - the only enclosures they have are the machines and blue light-filtration curtains. You normally think of welding machines as being portable units either on a cart or carried, or if you have seen large-scale industrial welding then you have seen the boxes either trailer mounted or locked down in a fabrication facility. Well, have you ever seen a welding machine the size of a small kitchen in a house? How about a welder that is so big you can drive a semi truck through? Then, they had MIG welders with wire the size of a hair. Not only do they do heavy-duty welding, but they also do welding on a "micro" scale. There were some pretty amazing operations at EWI!
After a lunch break and meeting up at the conference location we re-joined for the tour at Honda ELP (East Liberty Plant). This was a treat as well. I have been through the Anna, OH plant before so I had an idea of what to expect.
I e-mailed a good friend of mine, Steve KA1VHF, yesterday (who works on automation/control stuff like PLC's and such at the Marysville plant) and got some inside information there. Boy am I glad I contacted him! He said to be sure to keep my head up, as long as I was watching where I was going occasionally hehe. Not only does the production floor of the ELP have a "production floor" with the main activity... they have another 1, 2, 3, 4, and probably 5 or 6 in some areas, levels above and below the floor! There is so much going on it is impossible to see it all in one walk-through.
They have automatic guided vehicles on the main floor (basically robots that drive stuff around). These are the first things we saw going in. They carry parts and materials around the floor - it is almost like an automated conveyor belt, except they don't have one place they go - they can be programmed to take anything anywhere. They travel right down the isles, no separate tracks or paths, so you have to "share the road". One thing I want to point out here is they don't just have a few of these. There are TONS! Every few minutes we would have to pause for one of these things to go driving by. They don't go fast, just a normal walking speed I would say.
The choreography of production was amazing. I made the comment to our tour guide that "It's amazing how someone figured out how to do all of this". It is a different world inside. I can't think of a better example of modern production technology. I am sure there are processes out there in other companies that rival some of the ones at Honda, but to combine the mass of technology and mass quantity production you can't beat Honda.
It is one thing to teach people to play music. You have a conductor standing in front of an orchestra keeping everyone synchronized. What happens when you add machines, robots, non-stop assembly lines, and the like, to the mix? Can you still play on the same note? Go to Honda and watch it in action. You'll be blown away!
So, thats it for my "neat" day. I sure am glad I had the opportunity to go. Any time something like this comes up I will try and jump on it. No two places will be alike, even withen the same company . Plus, I am still trying to figure out what I want to do for a living once I get out of school. Everything I see is something else to experience and consider.
The first place we went to is the Edison Welding Institute (EWI). They are one of two organizations in the world that are as specialized as they are in materials joining technology. They do work for customers, but the main focus of the organization is research and application of welding technologies. Out of 62 known welding technologies they have the capability to implement 58 of those in-house. Pretty amazing!
The first thing we saw on the tour is their strength testing lab. They have hydraulic presses that can apply up to 100,000lbs of force to a specimen. Along with very sensitive sensors and computer technology they can monitor just about everything in regard to strength testing - torque, compression, tension, fatigue, etc.
Then we moved to the main production floor. They have a LOT of space in there, and each area is not enclosed - the only enclosures they have are the machines and blue light-filtration curtains. You normally think of welding machines as being portable units either on a cart or carried, or if you have seen large-scale industrial welding then you have seen the boxes either trailer mounted or locked down in a fabrication facility. Well, have you ever seen a welding machine the size of a small kitchen in a house? How about a welder that is so big you can drive a semi truck through? Then, they had MIG welders with wire the size of a hair. Not only do they do heavy-duty welding, but they also do welding on a "micro" scale. There were some pretty amazing operations at EWI!
After a lunch break and meeting up at the conference location we re-joined for the tour at Honda ELP (East Liberty Plant). This was a treat as well. I have been through the Anna, OH plant before so I had an idea of what to expect.
I e-mailed a good friend of mine, Steve KA1VHF, yesterday (who works on automation/control stuff like PLC's and such at the Marysville plant) and got some inside information there. Boy am I glad I contacted him! He said to be sure to keep my head up, as long as I was watching where I was going occasionally hehe. Not only does the production floor of the ELP have a "production floor" with the main activity... they have another 1, 2, 3, 4, and probably 5 or 6 in some areas, levels above and below the floor! There is so much going on it is impossible to see it all in one walk-through.
They have automatic guided vehicles on the main floor (basically robots that drive stuff around). These are the first things we saw going in. They carry parts and materials around the floor - it is almost like an automated conveyor belt, except they don't have one place they go - they can be programmed to take anything anywhere. They travel right down the isles, no separate tracks or paths, so you have to "share the road". One thing I want to point out here is they don't just have a few of these. There are TONS! Every few minutes we would have to pause for one of these things to go driving by. They don't go fast, just a normal walking speed I would say.
The choreography of production was amazing. I made the comment to our tour guide that "It's amazing how someone figured out how to do all of this". It is a different world inside. I can't think of a better example of modern production technology. I am sure there are processes out there in other companies that rival some of the ones at Honda, but to combine the mass of technology and mass quantity production you can't beat Honda.
It is one thing to teach people to play music. You have a conductor standing in front of an orchestra keeping everyone synchronized. What happens when you add machines, robots, non-stop assembly lines, and the like, to the mix? Can you still play on the same note? Go to Honda and watch it in action. You'll be blown away!
So, thats it for my "neat" day. I sure am glad I had the opportunity to go. Any time something like this comes up I will try and jump on it. No two places will be alike, even withen the same company . Plus, I am still trying to figure out what I want to do for a living once I get out of school. Everything I see is something else to experience and consider.
posted by Steve at
8:50 PM
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