Bill White
Cogent Marketing
1 586 201 1956
1.208 words
Is the Space Shuttle
Program good for the country?
That ÒGood for the countryÓ question is usually concocted by someone in an effort to present a negative spin on a person, place or thing. This article is an effort to get publicity for our customer and present some facts about the space program that are often overlooked by the rest of the country.
Q. How many catastrophic failures has the Space Shuttle experienced
since the first launch in 1981?
A. Most people know the answer is two.
Q. How many launches have there been?
A. With the recent ÒReturn to SpaceÓ flight – 114!
Most people answer, twentyÉ forty, we remember the failures and the successes become ho-hum. Millions of people and hundreds of countries benefit from the Space Shuttle Program. It provides a variety of job opportunities for many individuals, and a source of great national pride for all who participate. Just look at the faces of the astronauts who have traveled into space. It is an excellent cross section of the cultures and races that are America.
Is the program good for the country? It is for Dell Marking Systems. They were happily supplying industry with marking systems and inks when out of the blue, no pun intended, along came ATK Thiokol Inc., with recognition for excellence. ATK Thiokol Inc., located in northern Utah, makes the Reusable Solid Rocket Motor for NASA. It seems Dell has played a crucial role in assisting the quality and process control efforts of the Space Shuttle programÕs Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM).
The RSRM is the largest solid rocket motor ever flown and the first designed for reuse. Its integrity is ensured by the great attention to quality and performance during production, inspection, transportation, and storage of motor components.
The possibility of contamination entering the RSRM process is always a concern. One source of contamination is paint flakes/chips. Extensive testing by ATK Thiokol determined that Dell Marking Systems provided a superior performance product for the application when compared to other paints and inks.
ÒWe subjected Dell Inks to every applicable abuse we could think of.Ó
– Jeff
Champneys, Program Manager
They, therefore, are used in the RSRM manufacturing process to identify the weight check date of equipment used to handle RSRM flight hardware. Test criteria included exposure to moisture, high & low temperatures, scuffing resistivity flaking / chipping etc.
Some examples of flight hardware exposed to Dell Marking Systems ink are shown to the right. (need photos from Jeff.)
NASA and ATK Thiokol are appreciative of Dell Marking Systems attention to detail and focus on quality.
There are many more down to earth applications for Dell Marking systems and inks.
It is a versatile technique for
meeting the demands for perfect quality, lower costs and faster cycle/ delivery
times. Marking applications are increasing
rapidly in the wake of quality control systems like lean manufacturing and Six
Sigma. Dell Marking Systems is setting the pace with production proven contact
and non-contact marking devices.
Marking provides many productivity
and quality benefits. Marking can
identify source / supplier / shift, it can differentiate parts or match parts
to aid assembly, denote in - process status, record date or part number, show
balance weight positioning, permanent color coding, and there are new ink jet
printers that magically print bar codes right on the part, in process, no
labels, no stickers and no extra handling operations. You have probably seen
underwear with the label printed right on the fabric. This technique eliminates
many handling operations and material and labor costs. Watch for many more
applications as the marking systems secret gets out.
Ink Marking Devices
Typical Dell marking devices are
standard units in two distinct categories: Low-pressure non-contact markers
employing air pressure to reliably spray a controlled size spot of ink, line,
or bar code, and contact markers that provide a spot of color manually or by
programmable controlled machines.
Marking Inks
Marking inks are as important as
the devices that apply them. Inks
are specifically formulated not only to work reliably with the specific type of
unit but , to solve production problems such as marking oily parts and allowing
for either permanent or easily removed coding. An equally important product
grouping consists of manual and batch type marking and coating dyes and inks.
They are available in a wide selection of colors for any applicable OSHA or
industry requirement.
Special inks are available for:
Detection by optical, fluorescent, UV, and color sensors, to withstand
extremely high temperatures, resistance to specific chemicals, fast dry times,
laser marking applications.
Why marking is vital to 100%
quality control
Improved quality is attainable
from prompt inspection. Marking inspected parts provides instant visual
approval and assures that you ship only good parts. This eliminates the quality
issues that precipitate 100% sorts. Marking parts provides tremendous
improvements in performance and profitability. Quality and cycle times are two
key aspects of improvement. Plus, faster cycle times deliver a competitive
advantage against off shore competitors. Marking component parts can also aid
in identifying and matching parts for assembly. This delivers even more cost,
labor and quality improvements.
Applications
Applications are unlimited.
Marking systems fit easily and cost effectively into any manufacturing process.
Often marking is an afterthought and they try to jam a system into any
available space. Obviously designing a marking system into the process at the
beginning is a better way. Parts can be marked automatically with sophisticated
programmable controllers or individually marked one at a time by hand.
Here are some popular applications
in use today. Many more are coming on line every day:
Transmission Torque Leak
Testing
Matching component engine parts
to aid assembly and traceability
Appliance Manufacturing Quality
Control
Auto frame and component parts
match-up
Performance car axle marking.
RSRM FactsÉ
¥ Each stacked space shuttle
booster is nearly the same height as the Statue of
Liberty, minus pedestal, but weighs almost three times as
much
¥ Each RSRM burns nearly 5 tons
of propellant per second, or a total of 1.1 million pounds during its
120-second burn time
¥ Each RSRM has the maximum
thrust of 32 boing 747s at takeoff
¥ It takes only 8 minutes for
the Space Shuttle to accelerate to a speed of more than
17,000 mile per hour
¥ RSRM combustion gases
approach 6,100¡F, approximately two-thirds the
temperature of the sunÕs surface
¥ During flight, each RSRM
generated approximately 15,400,000 horsepower, or as
much horsepower as 38,500 Corvettes
¥ If their heat energy could be
converted to electric power, two RSRMs firing for
two minutes, would produce 2,2 million kilowatt-hours of
power, or enough
power to satisfy the needs of 87,000 homes for a full day.
More than 500 astronauts and scientists from around the world have safely ridden into orbit to explore, research, build, repair, and foster international relationships.
Is the Space program good for the country? Of course it is. It is part and parcel of our total national and world identity. It drives our domestic technology base, helps our economy, encourages education, strengthens our military, and does more to encourage international cooperation than any other endeavor.
Dell Marking Systems is proud to be a part of the Space Shuttle program.
For more information contact:
Mike
Grattan
Dell Marking Systems
721 Wanda, Ferndale, Michigan
48220
Phone: 248 547 7750, Fax: 248 544
9115
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