3-ON is the newest buzz word.
I’m starting to hear and see it more and more, like 24/7 was just a couple of years ago.
3-ON rhymes with Freon. but it talks about your company, your team, your own capabilityto get results:
ON Time.
ON Specification.
ON Budget.
3-ON. Its what ‘s expected.
Are you 3-ON?
Photocredits:
Time
Specification
Budget
Right on!
Month: September 2010
The China Price isn’t necessarily the Bargain that some buyers think it is…
- Reduce pipeline and surge inventory impacts on JIT operations;
- Improve the quality and consistency of inputs;
- Cluster manufacturing near R&D facilities, enhancing innovation;
- Reduce IP and regulatory compliance risk;
- And, most importantly to reduce Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
This Total Cost of Ownership issue is the most compelling. It’s just the facts. The MATH is transparent.
You can get access to a host of reshoring information, including the Total Cost of Ownership calculator, by signing up at ReshoreNow.
The total cost of ownership calculator is an actual XL worksheet that will allow you or your customer to estimate the Total Cost of Ownership for a product that takes into account all of thecost factors that most people ‘gloss over’ in order to make their decision.
The concerns that we had about our work going to China remain a great introduction to the talking points of reshoring: here’s a Link.
Thank you Harry Moser for engaging your passion and experience on this critical to North American Manufacturing Issue.
To advance member companies is part of the PMPA’s Mission; “to identify legislative issues having a significant impact on the Precision Machining Industry… to provide information to impact those issues” is part of the PMPA Government Affairs Committee’s Mission.
The Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010 signed into law today by President Obama, includes the following provisions to help small manufacturers remain competitive: It creates a $30 billion lending fund to provide community banks with capital to increase small business lending
- Expands access to and lowers the costs for small business to access Small Business Administration (SBA) loans and increases loan limits
- Spurs investors by giving 100% exclusion from capital gains taxes on small business investments
- Reduces small business taxes by allowing them to carry back general business tax credits to offset their taxes from the previous five years
- Doubles small business expensing for immediate write-offs of capital investments, such as equipment and machinery, in 2010 and 2011.
- Extends bonus depreciation
- Spurs investment and growth – giving small businesses more cash on hand to create jobs
Government affairs work takes time. Passion. Patience.
News Release
We’re glad to show that the hard work of our Government affairs committee has had a desired result: Legislation releasing money for small business loans to help us stay competitive, hire new employees, and restore American Manufacturing’s Competitiveness.
Thats just one thing that our trade association has done lately.
EMC Precision
PMPA Membership
Just like you, we are getting important work done. Shouldn’t you belong?
The PMPA Business Trends Index showed a surprisingly strong August.
PMPA’s Index of Sales of Precision Machined Products in August 2010 climbed to 108, a surprisingly strong showing. The 8 percent increase in industry sales helped August to tie with June for the Sales Index High of the year to date, and since May 2009. August is the 6th month of what we have termed the new normal of sales at the Year 2000 baseline. August 2010 is up 34 points over August 2009. Two thirds of our respondents reported single or double digit gains in sales in August.
Members can download the full report here.
The Witch is dead!
The National Bureau of Economic Research issued a statement that the “trough” ended in June 2009.
So how come we feel like the house fell on us?
- Inavailability of skilled machinists
- China continues to manipulate its currency;
- North American OEMS continue to try to move work to China;
- Inavailability of credit from Banks;
PMPA’s Business Trends Sales Index proclaimed “The Lost Decade” in March and “A New Normal” in April.
The Lost Decade was when our sales index returned to year 2000 levels. The New Normal is its new range at those year 2000 levels.
See our announcement here.
Friction welding is an ideal method to join dissimilar metals- cost, quality, and strengthwise.
Here are 7 advantages of Friction (inertial) welding:
- Easily joins dissimilar metals. This means the ability to use more expensive corrosion resisting materials where needed, and less resistant but sufficiently strong materials where there is no need- ON THE SAME PART.
- The full surface of the cross section is made up of both metals, airtight and absent of voids.
- Friction welds are higher strength than other means of joining.
- Friction welds often cost less as there are no consumables like filler metals fluxes etc. (This would be the bottom line for most businessmen, but I chose another, see # 7 below.)
- Friction welds minimize the Heat Affected Zone (HAZ).
- Friction welding minimizes the need to clean furnace residues from the entire part, post welding.
- The ability of a designer to optimize material choices by using friction welding cannot be overstated.
I produced truckload quantities of 1050 modified steel for an automotive half shaft application, the friction welding process made this a highly reliable part despite the high carbon content and different material between the alloy steel forged end assembly and the carbon steel shaft.
This welding process is ideal for pumps, process mixers, and other applications where a portion of the part needs to be food safe or chemically resistant, but the remainder of the part does not. The photo below shows an electrical industry bimetallic (copper and aluminum) application.
Frictional welding is a controlled process where two components are frictionally bonded by the heat and mechanical displacement of each material’s being melted and re-fused amongst the melt products at of the other. The bond that is created by the mechanical intermixing and solidification of the two metals is strong and free from voids and porosity. It can be cost effective and offers design engineers many more options than other methods.
Friction or inertial welds are a key process for attaching precision machined components to other parts like shafts or bodies or forgings.
My thanks to Stuart Short at Inertia Friction Welding at IMTS for chatting with me about this not so well known joining process.
Airbag Dummy photo.
Here are some photos of the most surprising thing I saw at IMTS in Chicago last week- SOLD SIGNS on machines!
This bodes well for PMPA members, and the North American Precision Machining Industry.
We didn’t have a lot of time to walk the entire show, but this sampling of “SOLD” signs is a leading indicator for optimism for our precision machining industry here in North America.
Why are YOU optimistic about a Manufacturing Recovery Here in North America?
I like it when I find an authority with clear facts to share.
Facts that I want to help share.
The following is an analysis from Daniel J. Meckstroth, Ph.D., Chief Economist for the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI, regarding the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Index for August 2010 (the ISM Index was 56.3 percent, an 0.8 percentage point improvement over July).
“Manufacturing has consistently outperformed the pace of growth in the general economy during this recovery,” he said. “For example, GDP increased only at a 1.6 percent annual rate in the second quarter of 2010 but manufacturing industrial production expanded at a 7.9 percent rate. Amidst evidence that the general economy is slowing to a crawl, this report indicates that manufacturing activity continues to grow at a healthy pace. Industrial firms are building inventories that were depleted during the recession and exports are surging in machinery and equipment and material industries.
“The strong growth in manufacturing production is partly catch up for a substantially more severe recession in the industry than the overall economy,” he added. “Also, the depth and length of the previous downturn built pent up demand for replacing big ticket consumer goods and repair and replacement in business. We expect manufacturing production to decelerate in the near term but still grow faster than overall GDP.”
The key to great management, I believe, is the ability to anticipate…
- A-N-T-I-C-I-P-A-T-I-O-N
- To Connect. I am really looking forward to hearing what the folks I meet there have to say. To see what they have to show me. Connecting is a very personal way of LEARNING for me.
- To Sustain. Manufacturing remains a vital, if beseiged contributor to the vitality of the North American economies and our citizens. If it is to continue to help support our way of life, we need to know what the technologies and practices are that will sustain a vital manufacturing base here in North America. And with no disrespect to E-Bay, that probably means newest and latest technology.
- To Anticipate. I describe my job as being the “over the horizon radar guy” for the precision machining industry. What are the developing trends , and how will they impact our shops, our business plans, our business models. We have spotted electrification of automobiles, ephemeralization of mass in our parts, and the trend to less machinable but higher strength lower weight applications.
Seeing the latest developments in our craft and available technology, and keeping a careful ear on what folks attending are saying will help me help us all ANTICIPATE that which we will very soon be MANAGING.
Why do you go to IMTS?
I’ll bet it’s for a lot more reasons than to just buy equipment.
See you at West Hall Booth W-1943.
The key to great management, I believe, is the ability to anticipate…
- A-N-T-I-C-I-P-A-T-I-O-N
- To Connect. I am really looking forward to hearing what the folks I meet there have to say. To see what they have to show me. Connecting is a very personal way of LEARNING for me.
- To Sustain. Manufacturing remains a vital, if beseiged contributor to the vitality of the North American economies and our citizens. If it is to continue to help support our way of life, we need to know what the technologies and practices are that will sustain a vital manufacturing base here in North America. And with no disrespect to E-Bay, that probably means newest and latest technology.
- To Anticipate. I describe my job as being the “over the horizon radar guy” for the precision machining industry. What are the developing trends , and how will they impact our shops, our business plans, our business models. We have spotted electrification of automobiles, ephemeralization of mass in our parts, and the trend to less machinable but higher strength lower weight applications.
Seeing the latest developments in our craft and available technology, and keeping a careful ear on what folks attending are saying will help me help us all ANTICIPATE that which we will very soon be MANAGING.
Why do you go to IMTS?
I’ll bet it’s for a lot more reasons than to just buy equipment.
See you at West Hall Booth W-1943.