Author: ddavis
Published May 1, 2024
By David Wynn, Technical Services Manager, PMPA
David Wynn
David Wynn, MBA, is the PMPA Technical Services Manager with over 20 years of experience in the areas of manufacturing, quality, ownership, IT and economics. Email: gro.apmp@nnywd — Website: pmpa.org.
Published May 1, 2024
Fabricated Metal Products Manufacturing is a subsector of manufacturing that makes critical goods from metal components.
Precision Turned Products Manufacturing is a subsector of fabricated metal product manufacturing that makes the components that MAKE IT WORK!
MAINE ECONOMIC OUTPUT
Maine Manufacturing
NAICS 31-33
$7,790,000,000
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
NAICS 332
$1,108,943,000
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing
NAICS 332721
$137,451,000
MAINE MANUFACTURING ACCOUNTS FOR
Manufacturing Is Productivity –10.02% of Maine’s total output (GDP)
Manufacturing Builds Businesses –1,605 manufacturing establishments in the state of Maine.
Manufacturing Creates Jobs – 8.65% of all Maine’s employees are in the manufacturing sector. (53,000 employees)
Manufacturing produces for Maine
Maine is a great place for a career in manufacturing
Published May 1, 2024
How many shops or suppliers can make one call and land a new customer? I’m guessing zero. Selling materials, tools or time on machines…these are big ticket items and not an impulse buy. Th e salesperson needs to understand that, even if they are selling the greatest product or service available, a strategic relationship and trust is required before money changes hands. I was reminded of this at a PMPA Northern Ohio Chapter meeting when I was having a great conversation with Dana Kalchoff , the owner of Comturn Manufacturing LLC in Cleveland, Ohio. Dana shared a story about the National Acme Co. and Henry Ford, saying, “Henry Ford came to Cleveland to meet with the National
Acme Co. to obtain some screw machines. He desperately needed the equipment but did not have the funds to purchase at that time. National Acme provided Henry Ford the machines he needed, and Mr. Ford was so appreciative that the Ford Motor Company bought their screw machines exclusively from the National Acme Co. Th at relationship proved to be very profitable over time for both companies.” What an incredible example of a relationship built on trust.
Dana put it concisely when he said, “Th e relationship between a shop and a supplier is like a marriage — if you keep working at it, it can last a long time.” If you think about it, shops and suppliers both have limited resources, which means investing the time to forge a relationship where trust has been earned benefits both parties and both bottom lines.
I was talking with my colleague, Miles Free, and he pointed out that salespeople bring the human aspect to the relationship. And he is right. Th ink about artificial intelligence (AI) and the disruptive potential it has on our industry. The marketers can automate emails and use AI to help craft messaging, but the salespeople have the opportunity to be authentic and develop the human relationships. It may be a business-to-business relationship, but the true power is in the human-to-human interactions. As Miles states it, “AI can’t out-human us.”
I asked Klaus Miller, vice president of sales, Absolute Machine Tools, how he sees the role of the salesperson. Klaus responded, “Sales in this industry isn’t all about expecting to sell something each time you walk in the door. Rather, what you should expect to be doing daily is supporting, resourcing and problem solving for your customers.” Klaus noted that he built his customer base over years of cultivation, building relationships and providing solutions when he connected with them. Klaus added, “My advice would be to put yourself in the customer’s position. If you were the customer, would you purchase a product that can cost as much as a high-end automobile or even as much as a house from a salesperson you just met, even if you’ve had a long-term relationship with their employer? I believe it takes time to earn trust, especially when it comes in the form of hard-earned money.”
There are numbers and quotas to be met. I get it. But how much easier would it be to make those numbers once you have invested time in getting to know your customer, their needs and finding solutions to their challenges? Build the relationship, earn that trust and you can win the race.
Carli Kistler-Miller, MBA has over 25 years of experience with
communications, event/meeting planning, marketing, writing and
operations. Email: gro.apmp@rellimc — Website: pmpa.org.
Published May 1, 2024
Shops today have quality management systems (QMS) registered and compliant with various quality system standards. ISO 9001:2015, TS-16949 and AS9100D come to mind as typical QMS standards in precision machining today. Shops that achieve and demonstrate compliance are awarded certificates which they display in their lobbies and feature prominently online. A key feature of these certificates is a statement of scope.
The purpose of a scope statement is to precisely describe the products and services that your company provides, including the regulatory requirements, activities, locations and facilities supported by your company’s QMS. The scope statement describes fully and completely, exactly what your business does.
The failure to include some aspect in your company’s scope statement similarly proclaims to the world what is not covered by your QMS. What is not providable by your company. What is excluded.
Engineering and Design
Look at your company’s quality certificate. Read the scope. Does it say “design and development of…” or
“engineering design, development and…” or words to that effect? In our precision/production machining and contract manufacturing shops, we typically do not include design scope in our QMS. Our core competencies are the production of high-precision components from customers’ drawings or prints. We are not in a position to know, understand or engineer solutions for end-use applications for which we have no data.
What does this mean to you? Th ere are three potential traps when you receive a job to quote that can expose your company to full or partial liability for product failure — because you are operating outside the scope authorized by your company’s QMS.
Trap 1: Here is the print — you pick the grade.
On what basis? As a manufacturer, you will likely choose to maximize manufacturability, not some needed performance aspect unknown to you. How would you know?
Trap 2: We can’t get the grade we want, will grade X work for this part?
Again, as a shop you can answer about your ability to fabricate, but you have no idea as to whether that substitute will perform in the same manner as the originally requested material. What design aspects are important to performance? All that you know are the dimensions and geometric relationships on the drawing. You know nothing of stresses, pressures or torques applied or to be withstood in the end use.
Trap 3: We don’t care what grade you use as long as it is (fill in the blank … aircraft quality, medical quality and so on).
Perhaps this is the most dangerous trap, as you may think that you are ok to share that another material is, in fact, an aircraft quality or medical quality material. It probably is, I mean you trust the supplier and their cert, right? But by warranting that the material is aircraft or medical quality did you just become the “Engineer of Record?”
These three traps can be avoided by recognizing that they share a common trait – they are asking you to do something that is outside the scope of your QMS. Probably outside your education and licensing, too.
Bottom Line – Who is the “Engineer of Record?”
“The Engineer of Record shall be responsible for the final design and construction of the project and the submittal of all required documents. a) all judgement decisions affecting the design or altering the design will be the responsibility of the engineer of record”
bit.ly/PMPA-PM0524E
Who is the Engineer of Record? In California, the engineer of record is defined as “the Engineer who has prepared the plans and specifications:’ In many states, this requires state licensure as a professional engineer (PE).
Engineer of Record can also mean the PE that develops the criteria and concept for the project, performs the analysis and is responsible for the preparation of the plans (drawings) and specifications of the work.
When the customer invites you to “pick the grade;’
“confirm to them that a substitute material will work for their application” or “assure them that the material chosen is suitable;’ because it meets some broad classification, the question you must ask yourself is “on what basis of authority can you answer?” If you are not a licensed professional engineer, if your company’s QMS scope does not include design, development or engineering, then you must decline their invitation.
Stay out of these traps! You lack the credentials, the authority, the knowledge of all necessary factors needed to be considered for the application. Without these, you are
“hazarding a guess;’ which is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as “to risk doing something that might cause harm to someone or something else:’
bit.ly /PMPA-PM0524f
Avoid the hazard. Honor your scope.
Miles Free III is the PMPA Director of Industry Affairs with over 50 years of experience in the areas of manufacturing, quality and steelmaking. Miles’ podcast is at pmpa.org/podcast. Email Miles
Published April 1, 2024
By Miles Free III, Director of Industry Affairs, PMPA
Prior to the Society of Automotive Engineers taking responsibility for Steel Grade nomenclature in the United States (1995), the American Iron and Steel Institute determined U.S. standard steel grades in collaboration with SAE. As many legacy prints for federal and defense procurement may still have prior AISI Grade designations, here are the letters used for prefixes and suffixes employed by the former AISI designation system. Th ese notes are based on the AISI numbering system as published in the February 10, 1942, edition of the SAE Handbook.
Capital letters designate prefixes to indicate method of steel manufacture. Lowercase letters used as suffixes to indicate various special requirements affecting quality. Numbers are used to indicate the grades of steel by chemical composition.
A designates basic open-hearth alloy steels
B denotes acid bessemer carbon steel
C denotes basic open-hearth carbon steel
CB denotes either acid bessemer or basic open-hearth
carbon steel at option of manufacturer
D denotes acid open-hearth carbon steel
E designates electric furnace alloy Steel
a Restricted chemical compositions closer (tighter) than
standard ranges
b Bearing steel quality
c Guaranteed segregation limits affected by methods of
sampling
d Special discard
e Homogeneity tests (macro-etch)
f Rifle barrel quality
g Limited austenitic grain size
h Guaranteed hardenability (This evolved into the H-band steels, with a capital H suffix after the four numeric digit grade indicating wider chemical range and compliance with hardenability curves)
i Guaranteed conformity to non-metallic
inclusions standards
j Fracture test
t Extensometer test
v Aircraft quality or Magnaflux testing requirement
Acid bessemer carbon steel is not furnished with specified silicon content; for standard basic open-hearth carbon steels, silicon may be ordered only as 0.10% maximum; 0.10-0.20%; or 0.15-0.30 %. (Special practices were required to comply with silicon specifi cations.)
For open-hearth alloy and electric furnace alloy steels, the lowest standard maximum phosphorus and sulfur is 0.05% weight each. Lowest standard minimum silicon is 0.15% for both open-hearth acid and acid electric furnace processes.
NE denotes a National Emergency standard steel designation promulgated by Office of Production Management.
Miles Free III
Miles Free III is the PMPA Director of Industry Affairs with over 50 years of experience in the areas of manufacturing, quality and steelmaking. Miles’ podcast is at pmpa.org/podcast
Email: gro.apmp@eerfm — Website: pmpa.org.
Published April 1, 2024
Fabricated Metal Products Manufacturing is a subsector of manufacturing that makes critical goods from metal components.
Precision Turned Products Manufacturing is a subsector of fabricated metal product manufacturing that makes the components that MAKE IT WORK!
NEW JERSEY ECONOMIC OUTPUT
New Jersey Manufacturing
NAICS 31-33
$60,500,000,000
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
NAICS 332
$4,889,745,000
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing
NAICS 332721
$231,375,000
NEW JERSEY MANUFACTURING ACCOUNTS FOR
Manufacturing Is Productivity –9.47% of New Jersey’s total output (GDP)
Manufacturing Builds Businesses –6,835 manufacturing establishments in the state of New Jersey.
Manufacturing Creates Jobs – 6.2% of all New Jersey’s employees are in the manufacturing sector. (252,000 employees)
Manufacturing produces for New Jersey!
New Jersey is a great place for a career in manufacturing
Published April 1, 2024
What happens when a local precision machining shop supports a local trade school? Th e shop recruits some of the best students and the school is able to maintain its program. Win-win. Clippard in Cincinnati, Ohio has been working with Butler Tech in Colerain Township, Ohio for over 45 years. Clippard supplies Butler Tech with material, helps with mock interviews, mentors and hires students, and Clippard’s maintenance employees help install machines and fix equipment. Every year, Butler Tech holds a skills contest and Clippard is always on hand.
According to Dave Fox, Butler Tech’s machine shop teacher, “Butler Tech is affiliated with many of the high schools in the Cincinnati area and have different programs to offer. We have always had state machining competitions for our students, but we thought it would be a good idea to invite the business community to watch.” The local contest was held at Butler Tech on January 23, 2024. Th e contest is limited to 25 students. During the competition, high school junior and senior students are given a print that they must make on a manual mill or lathe and on a CNC mill and lathe. There are four winners who move onto the Southwest Regional Championship. But everyone is a winner because of the 25 contestants, all 25 received job offers, which, according to Dave, is normal. How is this possible? Because Butler Tech invited local businesses to the contest and 50 attended. Also in attendance were parents, school administration, politicians, high school freshman and sophomore students and news media. Dave is proud to share that “Every year we have more employers asking how they can be part of the program and what they need to do to be able to hire some of the 25 students that are in the program.”
Robin Rutschilling, director of operations for Clippard, cannot overstate the positive effects of their relationship with Butler Tech. It’s not just about access to talent — which is a big benefit — but it’s about their community. Th e Colerain Township community s important to the Clippard family, and their participation with Butler Tech is a glowing example of how businesses and schools can work together. Bill Clippard Sr. started serving on Butler Tech’s advisory committee 45 years ago and, since then, Clippard has been able to help the program grow.
Butler Tech’s machining program started with manual machines and with the help of an enthusiastic teacher, a supportive administration, engaged politicians, Clippard
and additional local businesses, the program now has CNC machines, simulators and an upgraded workspace. All working together and all benefiting.
When Robin talks about programs, open houses or anything related to Butler Tech, he uses the word “we” instead of “they” without realizing it. Th at tells the whole story.
Carli Kistler-Miller, MBA has over 25 years of experience with
communications, event/meeting planning, marketing, writing and
operations. Email: gro.apmp@rellimc — Website: pmpa.org.
Published April 1, 2024
I recently stepped into the director of technical services role at PMPA. Working for PMPA is a fun and exciting journey. I get to meet lots of great people. I get to see the best manufacturing facilities in the world. My favorite part is helping our members solve their problems. Moving into the director position is just the next step in my transition
into Miles Free’s role with PMPA, so I thought it would be good for me to give you a brief history of how I got where I am.
I started my college career as a dual chemistry and biology major while working in my family’s shop. While attending college, I noticed that I had a passion for two things: machining and business. I spent my spare time studying both. It occurred to me that I should be studying my passion, rather than just trying to get a rubber stamp on a piece of paper. So, after two years I switched to a business degree and earned a degree in finance-economics with a minor in accounting, all while working at my family’s machine shop.
After graduating college, I started moving more into the management side of the business. I had a professor pushing me to get my MBA, so I re-enrolled in college.
This time, all my classes were at night, which allowed me to work full time in the shop. While I was an undergrad, machining was a fun hobby, but now it was becoming a career — being in a small family shop you had to get your hands in a little bit of everything.
While studying for my MBA, I started working on my “masters in machining” at the school of hard knocks and real-world teaching by my grandfather. My grandfather had worked on Brown and Sharpes for several companies in the Chicago area. After the war, he worked primarily at Teletype. Th e teletype machine was a mechanical marvel full of screw machine parts. My grandfather got to see about everything you could do with a Brown and Sharpe while he was there. When it came to teaching, my grandfather demanded perfection. When I would grind a cutoff tool, he would send me back to the grinder if it did not have a mirror finish. I almost wore a whole blade down the first time before he would accept it. I spent time learning flat die thread rollers, the burnishing machine and various other mechanical equipment.
After earning my MBA, my grandfather and grandmother were getting older and planning to retire. My dad and I decided to take over the business. I had spent seven years on Brown and Sharpes at this point, but my skill could not compare to my grandfather’s 60-plus years of experience. I had to find a way to make the business my own. I challenged myself to find a
way to produce the parts as, or more, efficiently while maintaining quality. Th is is where PMPA and Swiss machines enter the story.
For years I had collected old NSMPA manuals (NSMPA became PMPA in the mid 1990s). Th e manuals were the holy grail of information in our industry. I called and talked with Miles at PMPA, and my dad and I decided to join the organization. My first Management Update (MU) conference was in San Antonio, Texas, which was special to me because I met so many of the people who ended up mentoring me. Th e connections I made at that first MU have carried my family’s business to this day; they guided us into Swiss machines. It totally changed our business dynamic. Th e shop still runs Brown and Sharpe screw machines, but only when it makes sense.
I fell in love with the parallel processing of Swiss just like screw machines — Swiss just takes a different mindset. I also learned mill-turn, CNC lathes and spent a little bit of time on CNC mills, in addition to mastering the implementation of information technology throughout the business.
Machining was not the career I chose, it chose me. With my new position at PMPA, I am honored to be able to continue working with PMPA members and I’m proud to be a part of the organization’s continuous improvement.
PMPA is a fantastic organization that has been helping small manufacturers become world class for over 90 years. I plan to be a part of the great tradition of providing high-value, relevant and useful content that will help our members adapt and thrive. I like to say that I work in the solutions department, and I look forward to being your problem solver.
David Wynn is the PMPA Director of Technical Services with over 20 years of experience in the areas of manufacturing, quality, ownership, IT and economics. Email David
Published March 1, 2024
By David Wynn, Technical Services Manager, PMPA
David Wynn
David Wynn, MBA, is the PMPA Technical Services Manager with over 20 years of experience in the areas of manufacturing, quality, ownership, IT and economics. Email: gro.apmp@nnywd — Website: pmpa.org.
Published March 1, 2024
Fabricated Metal Products Manufacturing is a subsector of manufacturing that makes critical goods from metal components.
Precision Turned Products Manufacturing is a subsector of fabricated metal product manufacturing that makes the components that MAKE IT WORK!
DELAWARE ECONOMIC OUTPUT
Delaware Manufacturing
NAICS 31-33
$4,860,000,000
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
NAICS 332
$379,661,000
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing
NAICS 332721
$4,333,000
DELAWARE MANUFACTURING ACCOUNTS FOR
Manufacturing Is Productivity –6.3% of Delaware’s total output (GDP)
Manufacturing Builds Businesses –528 manufacturing establishments in the state of Delaware.
Manufacturing Creates Jobs – 5.84% of all Delaware’s employees are in the manufacturing sector. (25,000 employees)
Manufacturing produces for Delaware!
Delaware is a great place for a career in manufacturing