October 2008

Modern Applications News

Custom Software Led to Customer Success
One-size-fits-all often means one-size-fits-none. Rather than purchasing off-the-shelf customer-relations management software and adapting its business practices to the application, a grinding shop helped develop a software-solution that fit its needs.

A ‘Little’ Law Goes a Long Way Toward Improvement
Using Little’s Law that shows a relationship between works-in-progress, throughput, and cycle time, a shop produced dramatic improvements.

Product Management in Three Easy Steps
A precision machining manufacturer finds out how simple it is to incorporate its product management software

No Material too Tough
Machining a difficult material, a shop thought it had the right cutting insert, until a manufacturer offered one that increased tool life by 400 percent.

Robots to the Rescue
Many fab shops in the U.S. are getting pounded by foreign competition, but LB Steel, LLC/Coburn Steel Products is successfully fighting back – thanks in part to robotic welding

Adding Savings by Subtracting Chips
Using friction drilling cut out chips and saved a shop time, money, and effort as well as improved safety

Tooling & Production

Dress rehearsal for robots
Collaboration makes its IMTS debut with working model of engine

Throughput quantum leap
Tool grinding capability changes the name of the game

Making a better crusher
Software magic and new machines pulverize once costly method

FABTECH 2008
Show is ready to roll in Las Vegas

Like a ‘perfect storm’
Reflecting peak in oil prices, rising lubrication costs burden manufacturers

 

Industry News

Small Manufacturer Economy Confidence Moderate
Confidence among large manufacturers eroded for a fourth consecutive quarter in the second quarter of 2008, according to a survey conducted by the National Association of Manufacturers. This marks the lowest confidence level in the history of the survey going back to the fourth quarter of 1997, with sales and employment expectations also falling to their lowest levels on record.

June Manufacturing Technology Consumption Level with May
June U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $360.43 million, according to the Association For Manufacturing Technology – AMT – and the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association – AMTDA.

U.S. Export Boom to Continue, Expert Predicts
Chris Kuehl, Ph.D., an economic analyst for the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, Intl., Rockford, IL, predicts the current boom in U.S. exports will continue even when the weak dollar recovers. He offers four reasons for the prediction.

Hardinge Declares Dividend
The Hardinge Group, Inc., Elmira, NY, board of directors declared a cash dividend of five cents per share on the company’s common stock. This dividend was payable September 10, to stockholders of record as of August 29. In 2007, approximately 66 percent of the company’s sales were from outside of North America.

Helicopter Maker Successful in New Tech Tests
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Stratford, CT, successfully completed the first flight of its X2 Technology Demonstrator, maneuvering the prototype aircraft through hover, forward flight, and a hover turn, in a test flight that lasted approximately 30 minutes.

Labor Lack Bugs Business Most
In what seems to be counter to conventional wisdom, a survey conducted by the sponsors of the FABTECH International & AWS Welding show, documents that more leading manufacturing executives today say the lack of skilled labor and management skills in the work force – not current oil prices or the weak U.S. dollar – most hurts the growth of America’s economy.