December 2015 | Craftsman’s Cribsheet #39
In steel, tempering is reheating hardened steel to a temperature below the lower critical temperature for the purpose of decreasing hardness and increasing toughness.
Month: December 2015
Bolted joints are a staple of modern engineering and manufacturing practice.
Modern life is modern because of our mastery of materials and bolted joints.
I would be hard pressed to name a technology that does NOT depend on bolted joints in some aspect of its construction and operation.
Here are two videos that describe the challenges faced by bolted joints.
When you see that piece of heavy equipment, man lift, or structural application, you can be assured that the engineers have evaluated the risk.
For those of us in manufacturing, these are great tutorials to stoke our “Mastery of our craft.”
In maching, bolting that secures our tools and fixtures is subject to the same challenges as shown in these films.
Enjoy.
Hat Tip to Jeff Remaley of Motch and Eichele for the find.
Do you have a favorite video explaining some aspect of engineering, machining, or manufacturing? Send us a link in the comments so we can share it.
Seasonality explains our drop in Sales this November, as it does every year.
The November 2015 PMPA Business Trends Report Sales Index came in at 108, down 11 points from October, and virtually at the 12 month moving average of 108.8. The indicators that declined, Sales Index, Hours of First Shift Scheduled, and sentiment for Employment are explained, we feel, by seasonal, rather than market weakness. The factors that improved, and in some cases improved markedly, include sentiments for Sales, Lead Times and Profitability for the next three months. With 44% of shops scheduling First Shift Overtime, the argument that the market is weak is not convincing.
Seasonality explains our drop in Sales at this time, as it does every year.
Full report
The Institute for Supply Management Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector dropped to 48.6 in November from an October reading of 50.1. The reading, below 50% indicates contraction. This month’s reading was the lowest since the end of the Great Recession in June 2009.
The employment index was at 51.3%, up from 47.6% in October, and the new orders index was at 48.9%, down from 52.9%.
The only good news for manufacturing in the ISM release was Manufacturing Employment and Raw Material prices:
- Employment Index registered 51.3 percent, 3.7 percentage points above the October reading of 47.6 percent.
- The Prices Index registered 35.5 percent, a decrease of 3.5 percentage points from the October reading of 39 percent, indicating lower raw materials prices for the 13th consecutive month.
Among the manufacturing markets that contracted in November according to the ISM report:
- Fabricated Metal Products
- Machinery
- Primary Metals
- Electrical Equipment
- Appliances & Components
- Computer & Electronic Products
The PMPA’s Business Trends Report for October came in at 119 for October – down two points from last month’s 121, down 12 points from October 2014’s record of 131, and interestingly, exactly the same value as the average for October for the past five years – 118.8 or 119. Our report also showed expectations for employment leveling off in October.
PMPA October 2015 Business Trends Report
Graph Courtesy Calculated Risk Blog
Published December 2015
By PMPA Staff
As concerns regarding the lack of interest in manufacturing careers for the upcoming high school graduates
rise, one school is reaching out to a demographic often neglected in the recruitment process for STEM careers: female students.
Published December 2015
By Miles Free III
As we near the end of the calendar year, we thought you might want to know a little bit more about what we’ve accomplished for our members at PMPA this year.
Published December 2015
By PMPA Staff
Harry Eighmy is PMPA’s new president for the upcoming term.