Dings and Dents

Stephen Adilukito examining parts for any damage.

Brody Salazar @Brody_Salazar

8 W hile the noise of machinery and cutting metal fills the area of one building, the interns of Aeronautics and Commercial Tooling have a much more quiet and detail-oriented environment. Aeronautics and Commercial Tooling is focused on creating reproduction tools, but are shifting their focus on creating parts because of the consistent work they provide.

As interns, Ryan Molina and Stephen Adilukito is assigned work in the detailing building, where they work with the tools. They are not tasked with operating heavy machinery or running the waterjet, but he does manufacture several small parts for planes. Because of their size, the job calls for an extreme attention to detail.

Even the smallest dent can lead to the whole part being scrapped. This is because every part is “supposed to go up in the sky” according to Molina. They have to check every side of every piece, for dents, cuts that are too deep and other abnormalities. If there are, hundreds of dollars worth of products could go to waste.

“There’s just an expectation of quality, and they just trust that it will be done,” says Molina.

Some of the larger parts come in bins full of dry ice to make them easier to shape. However, this also means they have to work quickly.

A lot of the work they do is more analog, requiring the use of a hammer or mallet, but occasionally they have to use a power sander. Molina claims the work is more of a focused environment, not one involving a lot of stressful, fast-paced work, despite how “important a lot of the work is.”

However, Molina and Adilukido do not always have something to do. These lulls are what Molina describes as his least favorite part of the internship. Because the employees are often busy with work the interns are not ready for, they sometimes do not have time to direct the interns and tell them what else needs to be done.

According to Adilukito, although the employees might have a lot of work to do, if there is a question or a mistake, they will gladly help the interns and show them how to whatever they are having difficulty with.

“They’re all nice,” says Adilukito. “Like I said, they’re all willing to lend me a listening ear. When I ask questions, they reply back with sincerity, and they reply back with knowledge that I haven’t remembered before. If I make a mistake...like someone did make a mistake on their end, so I listen in and glean on how I can improve myself.”

Both Molina and Adilukito feel like they have learned a lot from the Aeronautics and Commercial Tooling and will look to bring the skills learned there to their lives outside and future careers.

Although Molina plans to make prosthetics, he believes what he has learned in detailing will be very helpful. However, this skillset is directly applicable to Adilukito, who is currently studying to enter the field of aircraft maintenance.

Adilukido showing a dent in a part.

Parts made by Molina and Adilukito.