Workforce Development
Moving Parts, Moving Data, Keeping People
This Plant's labor-saving automation includes hardware for updating CNC offsets to adjust for gradual process changes. When the plant adopted its automated system, management thought carefully about the impact on staffing.
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Cutting The Learning Curve
A grinding shop in western Pennsylvania uses self-teaching CNCs to boost productivity.
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Job Shop Finds Its Niche With The Help Of Tapping Machines
The metalworking job shop market can be illustrated as a pyramid. At the base of the pyramid is the largest segment of the discrete parts manufacturing business.
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Fit The Strategy, Not The Job
This shop faced two big challenges—keeping an important job from going overseas and positioning itself for future growth. Simultaneous five-axis machining helped the shop meet both challenges simultaneously.
Read MoreTraining, Planning And Doing An Improvement Effort
Marotta Scientific Controls, Inc. (Montville, New Jersey) designs, develops and manufactures valves, fluid control components and systems for commercial aerospace, space, industrial and defense applications.
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Software Helps Niche Manufacturing Job Shop Tackle Complex 3D Machining Jobs
This nine-person firm founded in the early 1950s, has found a niche machining molds and other complex 3D parts for a long list of blue chip clients.
Read MoreIs Labor Cost All There Is?
While this magazine addresses a great many topics related to metalworking, one topic these days seems to loom largest of all. Machining work that once might have been performed in an American shop is being sent to countries with lower labor costs, most notably China.
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Vertical Machining Center Helps Job Shop Stay Competitive
This shop has applied this vertical machining center to help with its core business of prototype and small runs.
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Today's Students—Tomorrow's High Quality Workforce
Allow me to share portions of my vision of the future of our country and our industry. This vision includes the critical role that today's students and their dedicated instructors play in making all our businesses profitable and productive in the future.
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Skilled Labor Shortage Solved With Technology
The problem facing this casting shop is that the artisans who create patterns used to model and create cast-iron parts aren't available in the numbers that they once were, and as skilled workers retire, there aren't enough replacements to staff the industry. Foundries across the country face this problem as the skilled labor pool diminishes through attrition. The remaining patternmakers are working longer hours trying to keep up, causing longer lead times.
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