PM Blog
Making It Big In Small Parts
This New Hampshire manufacturer is an expert in manufacturing small, complex parts. Having a niche is one solid strategy for survival, but it takes dedication, focus and technology to pull it off.
Read More
Online Tool Enables Company To Refocus
Perma-Brass, Inc. (Plymouth, Michigan) has had to make strategic changes in its manufacturing in order to survive. These changes included implementing new technologies, such as MFG.com (Atlanta, Georgia), to find new customers.
Read More
Swiss Democracy
Many builders of Swiss-type moving headstock machines have introduced models that do not require the use of a guide bushing to support the workpiece.
Read More
Whirling As A Separate Operation
For those looking for a faster, more economical method of producing bone screws, whirling as a separate operation may be an option.
Read MoreInventory Control Systems For The Shop
An ongoing effort towards more efficient operations drove this shop to take a closer look at indirect material usage, subsequently leading to implementation of a new system for tracking toolroom inventory.
Read MoreWhere Is Your Profitability Engineer
Go to any business and ask, "Who is responsible for generating profits?" You’ll typically get a limited number of answers. "Of course, it’s the boss" is the typical response. "The chief accountant or controller" is another common reply. While both "the boss" and the chief accountant are accountable for the company’s profit or loss, you may find that, in most companies, the profitability engineer is not the boss.
Read More
Supporting Lean Manufacturing With Digital Photographic Internal Audits
Visual management has been and will continue to be a key driver in the manufacturing world. Lean principles are predicated on visual activities. 5S — the building block of all lean activities — is based on the motto, "A place for everything and everything in its place." Cellular manufacturing focuses on isolating machinery and tools within an area of the plant in order to increase efficiency. Alarms, flashing lights and other poka-yoke techniques are visual assurances of compliance in work cells.
Read More
Bar Feed Considerations For High-Speed, Lights-Out Machining
There are design elements incorporated into today’s 12-foot, magazine-load bar feeders that make them more useful for high-speed and untended operation. This article looks at some aspects to consider before purchasing a 12-foot bar feeder.
Read More
Waste Management
As an avid gardener, I always notice the plantings and landscaping when I make visits to manufacturing shops. The foundation plantings, shrubs and the neat appearance of the landscaping are meant to convey a positive image about the plant, the premises, the company and its people. However, I seldom take photos of the landscaping on my visits. What I really long for is a photo of a nice trash dumpster.
Read More
Chip Compactor Squeezes Out Savings
Kurt Manufacturing Company (Minneapolis, Minnesota), learning from experience, believes it has developed a highly efficient recycling system that produces significant savings.
Read More
For Plateau Honing, Consider Ball Style
The ball-style hone is a specialized abrasive tool that is instantly recognizable by its unique appearance. For engineers in the automotive, aerospace, manufacturing and machining industries, this application-engineered hone, characterized by the small, abrasive globules that are permanently mounted to flexible filaments, is a flexible, low-cost tool for sophisticated surfacing, deburring and edge blending.
Read More
Living Large In A Materials World
He lives and breathes aluminum, stainless, carbon steel and brass because that’s what has brought him this far. However, his methods for winning in business show he’s not your typical material guy.
Read More
