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Manufacturing’s Strength Is Stability
An aspect of the Detroit automakers’ predicament actually illustrates manufacturing’s value.
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Complementary Technologies Make MQL More Accessible
An add-on system for minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) combines an external pump with repeatable control over nozzle position.
Read MoreA Fresh Start
This plant hired an entirely new workforce. Your shop might find an even better way forward.
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Getting New Business with Big Machines
These shops saved themselves from dependence on the declining automotive sector thanks in part to their commitment to large-scale machining capacity.
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Replacing Turning with Grinding
This compressor maker’s custom impeller profiles used to present a sticky machining problem. Now, the parts no longer need the wax that turning used to require.
Read MoreThe Connection Between Labor and Lean
Lean manufacturing is about identifying and optimizing variables that affect cost and time. This same systemization can make the process easier to staff.
Read MoreCommentary: Competition For The “State” Of Manufacturing? Have At It!
State incentives account for a large share of the success of U.S. manufacturing exports. This is good, as long as states are giving the incentives. “Tennessee: love it or leave it” is an easier motto to obey.
Read MoreThe Like-New Generation
The machining trade can be a counter-cultural, counter-career choice for someone who has already tried a different vocation.
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Bryco Before and After
Within a two-month period, this Chicago-area contract shop reorganized the shopfloor, implemented new procedures and eliminated employee toolboxes. Here are the benefits the shop has seen.
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If You Prototype It, They Will Come
For an upcoming article, I recently visited Protofab in Petaluma, California. I wanted to learn how this small job shop got into micro-machining medical implants. It turns out the shop didn’t win this work because it had the right equipment or because it was knowledgeable about machining tiny parts. The equipment a
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Quoting On Cool
To a job shop, bidding on an unusual job with a quote that is too high or too low is an occupational hazard. Bid too high and you won’t get the work. Bid too low and you will lose money. Perhaps the worst scenario is to submit a bid that you thought was too high, only to get the job anyway. When that happens, the s
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Through-Spindle Dust Collection For Composites And Graphite
A vacuum system for the machining center draws particulate through the center of the tool.
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