Vital in-house engineering support Published May 25, 2016 By Jenny Gordon Robins Public Affairs ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- There's a theme that resonates throughout the Manufacturing Engineering Support section of the 402nd Electronics Maintenance Group. While there's collaboration, cooperation and creativity, a close team of mechanical and electrical engineers, a physical scientist and chemist, and engineering technicians, many who've worked in their respective careers at Robins for over 25 years, tackle projects in a hands-on environment many agree can't be found in many places. Joseph Tamer, a mechanical engineer, has been at Robins for seven years. In a small cubicle area, he spins his chair around and begins discussing his latest project, one of several in the works. On this particular day he's working on a model for a grinding box for the declassification shop. "I like this because I get to put my own personality into how I'm factoring it out," he said. "I have to figure out who's going to build it and how, and I get to see the end result. Very rarely these days am I bored. Or rather, I'm bored if I have less than five things going on." The section's engineers like Tamer provide engineering for production and processes for in-house manufacturing shops that include the printed wiring board, cable, machine, assembly and declassification shops. A circuit board designer, Patty Causey is working on an interface test adapter for a circuit board on an F-15 Eagle. "What's unique about our outfit is that the majority of people have been working together here for years. No two days are ever the same. There's always something to figure out," said the Auburn University graduate. "This is a unique place at Robins. Most engineers don't get the hands-on experience that we get. You get to come up with ideas and see them get done. We're unique in that we can design things, see it built, assist the technicians - that's rewarding." Physical scientist and chemist Connie Tussey, at Robins since the early 1980s, mixes chemicals in a nearby lab where her work supports printed wiring board plating tanks. "When I first came here we were producing simple single-sided boards and double-sided boards. Now we're manufacturing mostly multi-layers and flexible circuits," she said. "We start with a mound of raw materials that end up as circuit boards that go into a weapon system. We get to manufacture something in the U.S. today where manufacturing has largely gone by the wayside. It's an honor and a privilege to work in a shop like this." One engineering solution that will continue to assist electronics technicians for years to come was the development of a tech data package for C-5 main landing gear sequence control panels. "The tech data was originally very old and indecipherable," said Tamer. "We had to teach ourselves how to read it, redeveloping the data for how to wire, etc. What we did was just break it down in a way where it's easy for people to read, and in the order they're going to use it." It's just another day at work in the 402nd EMXG, whether it's manufacturing items such as these, or performing depot-level testing, maintenance or repair work to support the warfighter. Their efforts and inspiration can come from any place. A modest frame was built to hold the landing gear panel as technicians install new wiring, allowing them to stand in front of a panel and rotate it as needed. "Engineering can come in the simplest form," said Tamer.