Henryk Zając
Manufacturing Engineer · Manufacturing & Production
Wroclaw, Poland
Manufacturing Engineer with 15 years experience in precision aerospace machining, tooling design, and production planning. Specializes in CNC programming for complex titanium and aluminum alloy parts, process optimization, and NADCAP-compliant special process control. Known for reducing scrap rates and cycle times on high-value aerospace components.
Expertise
- CNC programming (3-axis, 5-axis)
- machining process optimization (titanium, aluminum, Inconel)
- tooling and fixture design
- production planning and scheduling
- NADCAP special process compliance (machining, surface treatment)
- lean manufacturing and waste reduction
Technologies
Work History
2024-07
Prepared manufacturing process documentation for NADCAP machining audit: control plans, tooling lists, operator work instructions, and in-process inspection records for 12 critical machining operations.
Challenge: NADCAP checklist required traceability of cutting fluid batch numbers to each machined part — our existing traveler card didn't capture this. Updated traveler to include coolant lot number as a mandatory entry.
Learned: NADCAP audits surface process traceability gaps that AS9100 audits often miss. NADCAP-level documentation rigor is worth implementing even on non-NADCAP work.
2024-02
Led kaizen workshop on machining cell to reduce non-value-added time. Identified 6 waste categories: excess material handling, tool search time, deburring rework, unnecessary inspection steps. Implemented 5S and visual management.
Challenge: Operators were skeptical of lean changes — previous lean initiatives had produced short-term gains then reverted. Involved operators in designing the new layout and made them process owners, not just executors.
Learned: Lean improvements are sustained when the people doing the work design the solution. Imposed improvements revert; co-designed improvements stick.
2023-09
Redesigned fixture for engine mount machining operation — reduced setup time from 45 minutes to 12 minutes and improved repeatability (Cpk from 1.1 to 1.6 on critical datum surfaces).
Challenge: Old fixture required manual shimming to locate the part — each operator shimmed slightly differently, causing variation. New fixture uses kinematic 3-2-1 locating with no shimming required.
Learned: Fixture design determines process capability ceiling. No amount of operator skill can compensate for a fixture that introduces variability. Kinematic locating principles should be the default, not the exception.
2023-03
Developed 5-axis CNC program for titanium thrust chamber bracket — 37 features, 0.02mm tolerances on critical bolt hole positions. First-off inspection passed 34/37 features; adjusted tool offsets and achieved 37/37 on second cut.
Challenge: Titanium work-hardening caused tool wear faster than predicted. Had to reduce cutting speed by 15% and increase coolant flow to maintain dimensional stability over a 4-hour cycle.
Learned: Titanium machining parameters from standard handbooks are a starting point, not a final answer. Always run tool life tests on representative material before committing to a production cycle.