When to adopt a new technology

Technological advances in machining can take many forms. Some come from the technological shifts in our daily lives, like smartphones and tablets, while others are industry-specific, such as advances in CAD/CAM software and high-speed machining.

The desire to improve drives manufacturers to seek new ideas and devices and make changes to technology when appropriate. However, keep in mind that change has no inherent value. Adopting a new technology can be beneficial or detrimental. Always question the desire to adopt technology and change the status quo by asking: Why are we doing this? Do we have a valid reason to change? Are we prepared?

Of course, some changes are easily justified. Customer requirements often force the adoption of new ideas and technologies. In 1991, while I was running the family machine shop, our largest customer handed down an edict that all vendors adopt electronic data interchange (EDI) to receive purchase orders. This change was significant because our shop didn’t have any computers at the time and, therefore, had to make a large investment in hardware and software. We were concerned about the cost as well as our ability to operate the system. However, the change to EDI proved very beneficial, allowing us to grow the amount of business we received from that customer.

In addition, 4 years after adopting EDI, our machine shop won a job much larger than anything we had previously undertaken. As a result, we purchased our first CNC machining center—a huge technological shift from manual machines. The machine worked so well that we purchased three more CNC machines that year and saw our business grow exponentially.

All images courtesy C. Tate

A Mori Seiki NC lathe, shown at Ellison Technologies in Charlotte, N.C., has a large control cabinet with an obsolete tape reader on the left. This machine was technologically advanced when it was built in 1975.

This new DMG MORI vertical machining center at Ellison Technologies is capable of making the highly dynamic moves associated with high-speed machining.

It’s no secret that acquiring and retaining skilled personnel is difficult in today’s market. Technology that allows workers to be more efficient is also easily justified. Automation that enables one person to operate multiple machines or eliminates a mundane task can free hands to perform more valuable work or allow a highly skilled employee to efficiently transfer knowledge to someone with fewer skills.

Sometimes it is necessary to adopt change to retain good employees. For small shops, it may mean adopting some of the perks provided by larger organizations, like direct deposit, shop Wi-Fi and computers in the break room for personal use.