Winter 2007, Vol. 4, Issue 4

Y‑12: the go-to place

Y‑12 solves manufacturing challenges of national significance. Click image for larger view.

Y‑12 has always been known for manufacturing what “couldn't be done.” According to Gordon Fee, former Y‑12 plant manager, “Y‑12's reputation was and probably is to this day, if you can't get it made anywhere else in the world, go to Y‑12, because they can do it.”

“If you can't get it done anywhere else in the world, go to Y‑12.” –Gordon Fee, former Y‑12 plant manager

“We have people with advanced skills in machining, welding, quality inspection and metrology, as well as large manufacturing facilities,” said Dennis Miller, Manufacturing and Technology Programs manager. “That makes us a good resource for military, space and nonproliferation projects.”

In addition to core defense work, Y‑12 has always taken on other projects. For instance, in the 1960s, Y‑12 employees designed and manufactured the “moon box,” a vacuum-tight vessel created to bring soil and rocks from the first moon landing back to earth. “Y‑12 got that job because they were the only ones who could machine the lids in a way that would make them sealable,” said Fee.

In the late 1980s, when private industry failed in their efforts to create a propulsor for the nuclear submarine Seawolf, Y‑12 took on the project. “I received a call one day from a Navy admiral in Washington who said that they were having great difficulty producing models of some of the blades they used for the propulsors for nuclear submarines,” said Fee. “We ended up making the first Seawolf full-scale propulsor when they found that nobody else in the country could do it.

“It was a spectacular job done by Y‑12 folks—learning how to take something that we used for manufacturing weapons and using it to machine these gigantic blades.”

In 1997 the decades of success prompted Congress to designate Y‑12 the National Prototype Center. Since then, Y‑12 has created many prototypes, including a portable surgical suite, known as the Rapid Deployment Shelter System, and a matchbook-sized accident notifier, the Personal Annunciation Device. R&D Magazine recognized both prototypes as two of 2007's most significant technological innovations. Y‑12 also created and produced a container—the ES-3100—that safely packages fissile materials for shipping.

“The ultimate purpose of Manufacturing and Technology Programs is to use Y‑12's manufacturing expertise and capabilities to meet the challenges presented by our nation's pressing national security needs,” said Miller. “Because of our size, expert work force and geographic location, Y‑12 is a national resource prepared to solve manufacturing problems of national significance.

“As for future projects, one intriguing prospect may have us once again studying outer space. NASA is interested in having Y‑12 participate in the development of shipping containers for materials from outer space,” said Miller. Y‑12, designer of the moon box, can handle the mission.

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