Customers need pruning too
October 2009 Manager's Desk column
Topic
People & Companies
Bending the rules
Because high-speed steel inserts can bend without breaking, they are an effective choice for select applications.
Grow in the dark
Even low-volume operations producing many different parts can benefit from lights-out production.
Concentric engineering
In addition to handling prototype and production machining, R.E.F. Precision Products LLC, Deer Park, N.Y., provides engineering and productivity consulting services.
Prepare for increasing business regs
As an owner or manager of a machining business, you have your hands full dealing with matters from the front office to the shop and everything in-between. Even so, nonproduction issues seem to be an increasing burden.
Spin doctors
Who should perform spindle maintenance in machine shops?
High anxiety
Understanding tool geometry and selecting the right tap for different workpiece materials can help take the anxiety out of tapping operations.
Tool Testing Done Right
Cutting tool tests performed by vendors are an excellent resource, and I've used them many times.
Simplifying Communications
Our shop uses several tools to help us communicate easier and more effectively. These methods are well-tested, readily available, cost-effective and, in my experience, underutilized by machine shops.n
Spot On
The timing of the IMTS trade show in Chicago last September couldn't have been better for Jason Bromiley. As vice president and co-owner of John R. Bromiley Machine Co. Inc., a job shop in Chalfont, Pa., Bromiley has the lead role in company plans to expand into aerospace manufacturing. Early last fall, the firm already was working on attaining the requisite certification (AS 9100B and ISO 9001:2008). And, as IMTS rolled around, Bromiley was in the market for equipment that would both streamline his shop's current w
Cranking out power
Eagle Machine Inc., in Abbotsford, B.C., frequently takes on challenging jobs, such as modifying a diving bell for deep-sea submarine rescues or designing and machining a set of solid aluminum wheels for an 800-mph land speed car based on an F-104 jet aircraft. Owner Steve Green said, "People come to us with the craziest things because other people tell them, 'the only place you can go is Eagle Machine.' "
Should you target fabrication?
Manager's Desk column for June 2009.