NN Inc. and Volkswagen get help from JVS fabrication lab

PITTSFIELD TWP. — When Volkswagen came calling with a new contract, Ricky Scheman decided he needed help filling the automaker's order. Supply chain issues are causing slowdowns for NN Inc. in Wellington, where he serves as business unit manager. Scheman said he needs hundreds of small, tooled blocks used on the conveyer line where pinion gears are made for the new Volkswagen Tiguan. But he couldn't afford to wait up to 10 weeks for those parts to be shipped — so he looked 7 miles north to the Lorain County Joint Vocational School instead. "We looked at our options when we were looking at this project, and it was either make them out of steel component or have them 3D printed," Scheman said. The vocational school's precision machine technology and welding and fabrication students have been learning to use 3D printers, so they were "hired" to design and manufacture about 300 of the blocks for NN Inc. They showed Thursday how they are using ABS plastic, which is about 90 percent lighter than steel, much faster to make and won't cause nearly as much wear and tear on NN's machinery. "Now that I know how to do all of it, it's pretty easy. Just getting it set up was difficult," said senior Leo Briere. It took about three days to design the factory part and get the perfect prototype, working through an estimated 50 failed attempts that weren't quite right. Each was a learning experience. There were flaws to be fixed, but students also had to find ways to cut down on the production time, senior Oskar Velazquez said. He experimented with how many blocks could be printed at once and in what configurations. On Thursday, there were four 3D printers humming along in instructor Tony Tyree's lab, each printing five parts every six hours. "It's really nice getting to work with all this," said senior William Wallace, sitting in front of one of the machines and explaining how different materials have varying strengths. The project was his first exposure to 3D printing. At just $190 per unit, Tyree and Scheman said they foresee the printers becoming standard for manufacturers like NN Inc. that want to quickly fabricate cheap parts in-house. "Now that we're working on it, it's amazing to see all the different things you can make," Wallace said. The exposure helps students gain some insight into how industrial companies operate, and for NN provides a cost savings, Scheman said. He said business at the Wellington plant has rebounded and surpassed pre-pandemic levels, in large part due to the Tiguan contract. It has NN making some 500,000 parts per year for the next half-decade or more. "Things are coming back strong. We'll see if that continues," he said, wondering how the Russian invasion of Ukraine could hurt business in coming months. Ukraine-based companies supply any number of parts for the auto industry. They are caught in the violence, so Scheman said supply-chain headaches could intensify. Contact Jason Hawk at (440) 329-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com.