Steelworker

Union Steelworker

PTC Alliance

*/****-*******

Inspector/Welding Mill Operator

PTC Alliance is a manufacturer of steel tubing, from 1 inch up to 10.8 inch tubes. My first three years here I was an inspector, where I inspected the finished product before it was shipped. I used instruments such as a micrometer, bore gauge, ring gauge, plug gauge, straightness gauge, and tape measure to make sure the product met the customer’s and ISO specifications. After all readings were performed, I entered all information into the computer and printed the ticket. I then proceeded to bundle the tubes using a banding iron, an air gun, and a hand crimper. The bundle was tagged, marked and taken away by crane. I also have some experience with a rotoflux and UT NDT units.

The next two years I spent in the welding department. Here I worked on most jobs on the mill, where the coil is electronically welded into a tube. First job on the mill is the entry, where the steel coils enter the mill by machine. After that you have the strip shavers to trim the hard edges off the coil. Then the strip goes through a series of forming rolls and fin passes before it is ready to be welded. The next two steps in the process is the welder and the cutoff. Once it comes out of the cutoff you now have a cut length tube. They are then inspected, and separated into lifts by the mill checker. The overhead crane and dispatcher work together to take the lift away and separate into racks in order of due dates. I also worked on the SRM mill where red hot tubes are stretched and roll down a cooling bed. The same process is used here other than the tubes being hot. I have also ground defects out of the tubes both on the outside, using a large angle grinder, and inside which is done by machine.

Having worked in both ends of the procedure, and with five years experience, I fully understand the whole process and what each individual job’s purpose is to get to the finished product. I also understand what the tubes are used for when they are received by the customer.

Kellen Poyser 330-***-**** 10/12/1982