Miles Free Director of Industry Affairs, PMPA
How Should Tools Fail?
Two incidents early in my career started me on the path to learning all that I could about how tools fail. The first, at a Tier One subsidiary plant of a major domestic automaker near Rochester, was a call for immediate assistance because the cold-drawn bars that my company had supplied were causing their form tools to burn up.
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Training–Perform, Document, Manage Effectiveness
The need for training in our shops and businesses is indisputable. No one graduates from high school with the skills and knowledge to perform as a journeyman machinist. If your company is ISO 9001:2000, Section 6.2.2 describes the records of training that must be maintained; if you are TS16949:2002, the requirement is found in Section 6.2.2.2. If you are FDA Medical Device-compliant, 21CFR, Part 820.25 describes the training requirements for your company.
Read MoreForget About Parts--We Are Really In The Satisfaction Business
Several times this year, I have presented a "Cost of Quality" talk to local meetings of PMPA districts or chapters around the country. This program makes the case for why we have to adopt Lean Manufacturing techniques in our shops.
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Will My Products Go? The Real China Question
There is no doubt that the impact of China's entry into the World Trade Organization and its growth as "workshop to the world" in global manufacturing has had a dramatic impact on manufacturing in North America and worldwide. Demand for essential raw materials continues to drive up the prices of machining materials to unprecedented new heights.
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Important Machining Factors of Carbon Steels
Learn the factors that contribute to carbon steels and their machinability as well as the 1214 steels, 1215 steels and 1018 steels, other grades, and more.
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Precision Machining Industry Transforms To Serve Population Dynamics
Demand for the medical implants in the United States is expected to grow by 11 percent annually through 2007. The market for knee and hip replacements alone in Europe is expected to grow from 1.4 billion U.S. dollars to more than 1.83 billion in 2010. At the heart of each of these procedures is a manufactured, precision-engineered implantable component, the ultimate application of machining technology to improving human quality of life.
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Critical Skills For Effectiveness In Today's New World--Part 2 of 4
The four trends that define the differences between yesterday's and today's way of maximizing effectiveness include the following: 1) Solo to team performance; 2) Stand-alone company to link in supply chain; 3) From problem detection to process failure prevention; and 4) From managing data to empowering decision making. This month's article looks at the second of these trends.
Read MoreEuropean Environmental Directives Impact The North American Machining Industry
The PMPA Technology Services Department has recently published a technical overview of five European directives and regulations. The report is available only to PMPA members.
Read MoreCritical Skills For Effectiveness
Today's business and competitive world is different than it was even a couple of years ago. Are we using the right tools to maximize our effectiveness today or are we still using yesterday's tools because we are comfortable with them?
Read MoreCareer In The Precision Machining Industry: What's In It For You
Ready employment. There are real jobs available in the precision machining industry. I read the classified advertising sections in the Sunday newspapers every week.
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 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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