Articles
PMPA Education Foundation
In 1999, the PMPA Board of Trustees established the PMPA Education Foundation to "ensure the future success of our industry by supporting educational research and related projects."
Read MoreSwiss Precision And Flexibility Help Shop Compete
This company is so pleased with its new Swiss-type turning center's performance that the company president calls it "the best possible way to keep this work in the United States." As his research indicated, the machine reduces labor costs by completing four or more machining operations in a single setup
Read MoreThe New American Night Shift
Strong customer service is what has made this company successful. However, while keeping the customer happy is a primary goal for American Eagle, it is the customer service it has received that has made the biggest difference. Now, increased lights-out operations are allowing the company to be even more competitive by providing lower shop rates for the customer.
Read MoreA Baker’s Dozen Of OSHA Moneymakers
The safety of our employees, precision and quality workmanship have always been guiding principles in the precision machining industry. What are the areas that we need to focus on for continuous improvement? Here is a baker’s dozen table of what the OSHA inspectors cited in our industry (SIC 3451; NAICS 332721 Precision Turned Products Manufacturing) for the last fiscal year (October 2005-September 2006). This data was current as of October 13, 2006.
Read MoreRiding Out The Storms
After a machine setback in this shop, management got in touch with Ganesh Machinery Inc. (Chatsworth, California). This company offered a selection of machines that seemed to fit well with the needs of G&L, so the two companies worked out a deal on a multitask lathe with bar feeder—the model GH-25M.
Read MorePlanning For A Promising New Year
We asked the principals from eight successful shops about what they see for business in 2007. Here is what they had to say.
Read MoreWant to turn all those quotes into new business?--Come to PMPA Management Update ‘07
Are you satisfied with your company’s success in converting quotes to orders? Do you feel that you are getting a fair return on your investment in the quoting process? I frequently hear CEOs and sales managers complain about the amount of quotes that never seem to generate new orders. After working endlessly to respond to piles of quotes and prepare in-depth proposals, the hit rate on incoming orders is quite disappointing.
Read MoreSelecting Brushes For Burrs
Deburring is often a practical necessity after cutoff operations. Wire brush systems provide a low-cost and reliable means of automatic deburring of barstock or tube stock.
Read MoreTool Life Means Spindle Utilization
It is this goal of keeping the machines running that Schwanog LLC (Elgin, Illinois) has set its sites on helping its customers accomplish. Since modifying its direction about 18 years ago to specialize in indexable form tools, the company has been increasing tool life and providing fast turnaround to help shops reduce machine downtime.
Read MoreCorporate Support Maximizes Students’ Experience
An example of a positive technical school/corporate relationship is that of the Ferris State University (FSU) Manufacturing Tooling Technology program (Big Rapids, Michigan) and Hurco Companies, Inc. (Indianapolis, Indiana).
Read MoreA Problem-Solving Approach: One Size Does Not Fit All
Each day, organizations face challenges to become lean within their shops. Often, the focus of these lean activities is not extended to our management practices. Problem-solving methodology is one such management practice where simplicity is sometimes ignored.
Read MoreMember Profile: Fordsell Machine Products Co.
In 2006, Fordsell Machine Products Co. reached a business milestone. The job shop manufacturer of precision-turned parts celebrated its 60th anniversary. Fordsell opened its doors in 1946 in Warren, Michigan, by Bill Sellheim and Gwayne Ford. In 1984, Michael Redfield, who had prior experience as a general manager at another screw machine company, purchased Fordsell. His main focus for the company was to use Brown & Sharpe as well as Index cam machines to generate business. In 1998, Redfield’s son, David, took over the company and is the current president of Fordsell.
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