Lab buys Sandia tools worth $5.8 million for $500K

New equipment enhances Lab's capabilities internally and across DOE complex

July 29, 2010—Imagine investing your nest egg and having your investment come back more than ten-fold. That's similar to what happened when the Lab's Prototype Fabrication (PF) Division acquired machine tools worth $5.8 million for just $500,000 from Sandia National Laboratories after SNL closed down their machine shop in November 2009.

Since then, 10 machine tools have been safely moved from Albuquerque to Los Alamos. By far the largest is the Mazak Integrex e-650 horizontal machining center. Comparable in size to a semi truck and weighing a whopping 40 tons, this top-notch tool was safely installed in PF Division’s main SM-39 machine shop in June.

Enhancing Los Alamos' capabilities

"The return on Los Alamos' investment in terms of upgrading and capability is huge," said PF Division Leader Denise Liechty, who helped negotiate the historic deal.

Liechty, a seasoned mechanical engineer who's been with the Laboratory since 1991, knows what she's talking about. She's been leading PF Division since 2006 and oversees more than 100 employees working in 11 machine shops that are spread over several Lab technical areas.

She explained that every year, she sets aside $500K to upgrade existing or acquire new equipment. "It's my goal to keep building Los Alamos' capabilities, both internally and across the Department of Energy complex," she said.

The deal with SNL will allow PF Division to achieve just that. "We're already doing unclassified, classified, and hazardous work internally and for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Savannah River Site, and Pantex Plant," she said. "Now that SNL no longer have their machine shop, we'll be taking on their work as well."

The Mazak Integrex e-650 "greatly enhances the Lab's prototype fabrication capabilities, thereby supporting both the Lab's and the DOE complex's programmatic needs," Liechty noted. “The safe move and installation of this 80,000-pound machine tool is a great example of how employees in multiple organizations within the Laboratory and SNL came together to work as a focused team."

"The e-650 move is a significant milestone and culmination of over six months of hard work incorporating every bit of technical, engineering, and managerial expertise to be found within our division," said Dino Farfan of the PF Technology Development and Implementation group. "This project has been challenging at times, to say the least, and has had an impact on every PF shop."

Safety first

Farfan, who is also the Team Sparta lead technician and Worker Safety and Security Team chair, commended workers that no injuries, property damage, or security incidents occurred during the project, "in spite of the pressures, deadlines, and the need to improvise at a moment’s notice."

Another piece of heavy equipment, the Lucas 30T vertical milling machine, has been transported to SM-39, where it is awaiting installation. Other, smaller machines, such as the

• American 40 Lathe
• Haas VF2 Mill
• Haas Super Mini Mill
• Fadal 2040 Mill
• Mazak Integrex 30Y CNC Lathe
• Mazak FJV 250 High Speed Machining Center
• Mitsubishi Wire EDM
• Bridgeport Mill

are either installed at SM-39 or ready to be installed at SM-39 or other PF Division shop locations, Liechty said.