Sunday, October 5, 2008

I don’t know if these only exist in Minnesota, but I wish we had them where I live.  I went for a run in Becker, MN and I saw a really nice library.  I wanted to make an excuse to stop so I could check out the building.  I walked into the main entrance and saw a really nice basketball gym to my right and to my left was an enormous indoor swimming pool with waterslides.  “What kind of library is this?” I thought to myself.  I explored the rest of the building, but never found the books.  I was too busy playing basketball and lifting weights in the library.  Next time your kids say they’re going to the library, that doesn’t mean they’re studying.  Later, I found out that most cities in Minnesota have community centers that are similar.  $300 a year for the whole family.  Woah. 

A couple nights ago, I had the chance to explore downtown Minneapolis.  It reminded me of Denver quite a bit.  Everyone was out on their bikes and walking around the lakes.  The main difference is that Denver has the Rocky Mountains and Minneapolis has the lakes and the Mississippi River.  I crossed over the new bridge that replaced the one that collapsed.  It’s much higher than I thought.  I’ll pass through downtown again on my way to Iowa today.  I’ll have to stop and see Mall of America too.

Friday, October 3, 2008

“Minnesota Nice,” “You bet.”

Those are the two sayings that I’ve heard all week and they really fit together.  Seriously, Minnesota people are sooooo nice and I would bet on it.  I can’t believe what has happened today.  I’ll start with the end of my last work day.  I was packing my stuff ready to leave for good, but Metal-Craft didn’t allow me to leave.  They called me into the cafeteria and woah, all the employees were packed inside for a surprise farewell party.  The owners handed me two envelops and one had a check for the work week and the other was a card signed by all the employees with cash; cash from each of the employees’ pockets.  That’s “Minnesota Nice.”  All of the manufacturers work hard for their money and well, I’m speechless.

An hour before the farewell party, Metal-Craft purchased a sticker for my car of the logo from my website.  It’s on there now.  It looks cool. 

An hour before that, I heard that my story made it on CNN.  Speechless there too.

Lastly, I spoke in front of Becker High School about my project.  I’ll have the video up soon.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Most of the employees at Metal-Craft have been there for 15+ years.  If they haven’t been there 15+ years, they will be eventually.  The trend for machinists (manufactures) show that once they’ve decided to attend technical school, they make it a lifetime career.  So, if you’re thinking about attending technical school, really think about it. 

Sometimes the work could get monotonous, but there are so many new projects that it’s not so bad.  One day, you might be making the same part for the entire day, but the next day you would be doing something totally different.  I was making surgery drills half of the day and the second half I was making braces for the spinal cord.  Typically, you would have your own work station and specialize in one particular area.  You’re on your feet the whole day, which made me look forward to break time. 

On my lunch break, the marketing director brought me to get a fishing license because we decided to go fishing after work.  I’ve never been fishing before because I thought it would be boring.  I was so wrong about that.  I caught 3 Northern Pikes in 20 minutes, which is the limit, but I had to keep going.  I caught 9 fish in 1hr 40mins.  “I’ve never seen a first-timer do that,” said the lead fisherman.  Either I’m really lucky or that’s the reason why Minnesota is so well known for fishing.  Maybe I’ll trying hunting this weekend. 

Back to work and then downtown Minneapolis…..

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

I am going to experience every department of manufacturing this week.  Today, I was assigned to milling, drilling, and honing.  I spent all day wondering what part of the instrument I was making; none of the manufactures knew.  I guess they have so many parts to make that they stop wondering themselves.  There are three shifts of operations at Metal-Craft.  The 1st shift works from 6AM, breaks at 9AM, lunch at 11:30AM, break at 2PM, and then off at 3:30PM.  The 2nd shifts comes in at 3:30PM, same break increments, and then off at 3:30AM.  The 3rd shift works on weekends. 

The machines that I used for milling were under Computer Numerical Control (CNC).  CNC Milling is much more efficient than milling manually, which manufacturers had to do years ago.  Now, the toughest part is setting up the right coordinates to make the first part in order to duplicate the rest.  The first

part needs to be inspected thoroughly before the rest are created.  There are basically no margins of error, which are what manufacturers call “tolerance.”  The tolerance level is 1/1,000 of an inch on most of the parts we created today. 

Drilling and honing operate just the same.  We had to make sure that all the coordinates were correct, including depth, speed of the drill, and that the oil continuously lubricates the part.  Most of the machinists that I worked with have been doing this type of work for more than 20 years.  After high school, they attended technical school and then followed the career path since.  I guess once you’re in it, you’re in it.

Monday, September 29, 2008

The drive to the northern suburb of Minneapolis was short, but long.  I had to stop so many times to check out all the lakes.  Minnesota is the home of 10,000 lakes and I probably saw 5% of them on the way down from Fargo, ND.  I didn’t get a chance to go boating because most people brought their boats in for the winter, but I did go swimming and it was really cold.  I’ll have to come back and try it again.

Today, I started my first day; again.  I received a great welcoming.  Metal-Craft gave me some shirts, hunting hats, and a big luncheon.  I was a little intimidated when they toured me around the facility.  So many new machines and tools that I’ve never seen.  I’m going to have to get real familiar with them and real quick.  Tomorrow, I will be doing some gun drilling and honing. 

I’m off to watch my host’s powder puff football game….