PM Blog
Electropolishing Returns To The Surface
Manufacturing engineers are taking a closer look at some old-line processes to help solve some critical metal surface problems. Electropolishing is one such process worthy of closer inspection.
Read MoreMember Profile: Curtis Screw Company
Curtis Screw Company, LLC is marking 100 years in business this year. By coincidence, the Buffalo, New York-based manufacturer is also moving its headquarters to a larger, more modern building. The company recently began relocating most of its operations to a 150,000 square-foot facility in Buffalo, leaving a building that it had occupied since 1908. The move is expected to be complete this fall.
Read MoreConformance, Traceability And Measurement Uncertainty In Coordinate Metrology
Customer-supplier disagreements over product compliance to specifications often are costly to the parties involved. Recognition of measurement uncertainty when determining conformance to geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) specifications has risen in recent years. This article will focus on some important developments in this arena.
Read MoreNon-Contact Digital Measurement
The Digital ShadowGage from Resec Systems Inc. (Bergenfield, New Jersey) is designed to provide better and faster inspection, measurement and data collection. This system digitizes all dimensions of a piece, so the user can read off any dimensions exactly as they would be read from a print.
Read MoreWeb Site Leads Shop To Nearby Customers
Nebraska Machine Products (Omaha, Nebraska), established in 1966, has grown to be one of the largest screw machine shops in the state. Yet, it’s still very much a family business. Like any other job shop, the company has faced dwindling orders from a declining customer base and increased competition for the domestic work that remains. Therefore, it is preoccupied with finding new customers and has discovered that the solution is often to use nontraditional approaches to locate more markets.
Read MoreSwiss Shop Gears Up For Larger Parts
If increasing sales is a priority, offer customers a bigger selection of products and services. That is part of the strategy that has made Bryco Machine, Inc. (Tinley Park, Illinois) one of the fastest-growing precision turning shops in the Chicago area.
Read MoreThings I Learned At Steel Success Strategies XX
I recently attended the Steel Success Strategies conference in New York City. My purpose was to find out what is going on in the world markets for our steel raw materials. The following comments were of such broad interest and applicability, I thought I’d pass them along for your review.
Read MoreTechnical Member Profile: Firetrace International
One of PMPA’s newest technical members is Firetrace International, a provider of automatic fire detection and suppression systems for micro-environments, including all types of computer-controlled machinery. The technology is designed to detect a fire on a machine and automatically suppress it at the source before it has a chance to spread and cause greater damage.
Read MoreCoolant Filter Requires No Replaceable Elements
This coolant filter back flushes the trapped particles away from the permanent filtering element to restore its effectiveness. The operating principle is similar to a backyard swimming pool.
Read MoreDefining Expectations
Ensuring that responsibilities and authorities are defined has always been a mandate of the automotive quality standards. The latest version of ISO (9001:2000) has included the requirement to "ensure that responsibilities and authorities are defined and communicated within the organization."
Read MoreMedical Machining: Speed And Accuracy Win Orders
To handle the steady flow of incoming orders, this company has prepared itself by building facilities and purchasing equipment that are able to complete its jobs quickly and efficiently.
Read MoreRecord-Breaking Sales: Barely Braking Even
I was talking the other day with the chief executive of a shop when he made the following comment, "We have record-breaking sales, yet we’re barely breaking even. We ran the numbers, and on almost every line item, our costs are up a tenth of a percent or so. That doesn’t sound like much, but at the end of our study, those one-tenths added up to almost 7 percent. The Fed and Greenspan missed it. Inflation is alive and well. I can show it to you in my books."
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