Industry News

Although millions of manufacturing jobs may need to be filled in the years to come as baby boomers continue to retire, many manufacturers already struggle with unfilled positions. One efficient way to combat the problem is by improving company websites, said Claudia Pennington, co-founder and CEO of DIY Marketing, Marietta, Pa.

Every day, it happens. Someone from Houston calls, or maybe San Francisco, peddling precision-machined parts from China. Then there are the emails from people with fake names—like Lily, Annie and Susan—overflowing my inbox with offers of low part costs and excellent service. Please, China, I don’t want to buy machined parts from you. No metal stampings. No plastic injection molds or 3D-printed prototypes. And at the risk of offending those who do, you shouldn’t either.

E-Z Burr Tool Co. will continue to operate as an independent entity out of the deburring tool manufacturer’s Livonia, Mich., facility, with little or no change in procedures or processes, reports purchaser Cogsdill Tool Products Inc., Camden, S.C. The sale closed Jan. 3.

"Politics weighs more heavily on foreign companies in China than it has in nearly three decades," writes Joe McDonald, an Associated Press business writer. "The latest flashpoint was Beijing's fury last week at hotel keeper Marriott and other companies that labeled self-ruled Taiwan a country on websites or customer materials. But companies face pressure on many sides from President Xi Jinping's more nationalistic stance and twin campaigns to tighten the ruling Communist Party's political control and have it play a direct role in business."

Why shop locally for CNC machined parts? Cam Machine says they are better, from delivery/pickup speed and part quality to the support of local businesses and the ability to have firsthand knowledge of work.

Implementing a safety management system is no small task. Because safety is highly cross-functional, you will need buy-in and support from the full business, as well as dedicated time and resources to develop a plan.

The week after CemeCon Inc. held a ribbon-cutting Jan. 17 to officially open its new 15,000-sq.-ft. headquarters and CVD diamond coating facility, I spoke with Gary Lake, company president, to discuss the expansion and developments in cutting tool coating technology. The opening marks the fourth expansion of production capabilities since the company, which is a subsidiary of Wuerselen, Germany-based CemeCon AG, was founded in 1998 and the third increase in capacity for the CVD diamond process since 2014.

The Rhode Island Manufacturers Association has chosen Henry D. Sharpe Jr. to receive the inaugural Samuel Slater Lifetime Achievement Award, writes Kate Bramson in The Providence Journal. He was a longtime president of Brown & Sharpe and the third generation of the Sharpe family to run the machine tool powerhouse.

Grayson College has unveiled its $1.4 million Advanced Manufacturing Lab for the school’s Career and Technology Center, writes Rhea Bermel in the Herald Democrat. The lab will provide space for large industrial machinery, classrooms and storage and will be used largely to educate students participating in the Advanced Manufacturing Program.

Baker Industries Inc. has installed a 5-axis Mecof PowerMill to begin large-scale machining operations. The 11-month construction and build project garnered a financial investment of $3.4 million and has positioned Baker Industries to take on some of the largest machining programs in the industry.

Like most businesses, manufacturing is subject to cycles of stagnation and acceleration. Historically, improved manufacturing has led to the growth of the service sector, which in turn has led to a diminished manufacturing base. Manufacturers will no longer be able to produce a “one size fits all” product and hope the buying public will respond. Consumer input will be required, and processes will have to be adaptable to quickly respond to changes in demand.

Brynäs IF are one of Sweden’s best ice hockey teams. We discover how combining the latest knife blade steel and the best boot innovations keep them ahead of the competition.

Since 2013, members of the MIT Media Lab community have set out from their research groups every summer to observe work in about 10 factories in China. Last summer, they went with a different approach—not just to visit but to collaborate on experimenting and cooperative design with two facilities in or near the city of Shenzhen. The hacking manufacturing summer course in August focused on the theme of soft robotic materials, and three instructors and seven lab students worked with a digital knitting factory called K-Tech and a flexible printed circuit board manufacturer called King.

If you want to produce high-precision profile inserts, your tapered diamond grinding wheels need to be dressed on a regular basis. Haas opts for the profile accuracy of the XING dressing technique inside the machine.

There was nothing at their first meeting that suggested to Chris Salow that Amanda Hutchings would one day be president of his Peak Manufacturing Corp. and take it to record revenue. It was 2007, and she was applying for a job as marketing manager at his Shop Rat Foundation, a Jackson area-based nonprofit that teaches area high school kids how to operate factory machinery and prepare for skilled, well-paying jobs upon graduation. She was 22, and although she had graduated from Baker College with a degree in business administration with honors, she was so nervous about the interview that she had broken out in hives.

The Chicago-based Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute is opening its manufacturing floor to manufacturers and academic institutions that need to quickly test process improvements. “We are seeing a manufacturing renaissance in Chicago, and the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute is adding to that momentum,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said. “By opening their doors, sharing equipment and providing expertise to small businesses, startups and students, DMDII is ensuring Chicago’s advanced manufacturing ecosystem will be stronger for generations to come.”

If a spindle breaks down, what is your company’s plan of action? Is it the most practical and efficient way to deal with a down spindle? Spindles need maintenance at varying intervals based on the length and design of their operation. Normal use of any machine will cause wear and tear, the spindle being the component that receives the majority of the wear. It is necessary for spindles to run at the right speeds and feeds to minimize wear. Because of this, a good spindle program should consider the specific operational information of each individual spindle.

Manufacturers are optimistic about what 2018 will bring, according to a survey. Jensen Werley of BizWest Media LLC writes that one of the three main areas of priority is talent and that half of participants said they expect to increase hiring despite the top barrier to growth being a labor shortage. The most important strategies for attracting and retaining talent are listed as increasing compensation packages, conducting internal training and apprenticeships, developing strategies to reduce turnover and being more deliberate about succession planning.

John Dauber and Kevin Tucker of Camfil APC, Jonesboro, Ark., have written a white paper about airborne mists emitted during machining processes, which pose numerous risks to human health and safety. It is important to understand the regulations that limit these emissions, as well as the various technologies available to achieve compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and other regulatory agencies. This paper discusses what you can do about mist collection issues in your facility, how to evaluate which type of collection system is most suitable for your application and how to establish an overall safety program that will best protect employees and equipment.

When is the best time to sell your CNC machine? How should you prepare it to sell? How can you optimize your profit? Chicago-based Machinery Marketing International addresses these questions in the e-book "Selling CNC Machines." The guide covers considerations for selling old CNC machines.