EU Commission- RoHS Exemptions Delayed Again

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The current exemptions for Lead in work piece materials for our shops will remain in effect and will not expire until the EU Commission completes the current ongoing review of the applications.

They can fly the flags, but getting regulatory decisions on time is not something the EU commission does very well. — They can run the flags up the flagpoles on schedule, but getting regulatory decisions on time is not something the EU Commission does very well.

According to Electronics Industry Portal I-Connect007, the EU is unlikely to publish the RoHS exemptions any time soon. Apparently the EU Commission only got around to reviewing the requests last month. December 15, 2016. December 2016!
And they are only now in the process of preparing draft legislation to be sent to the member states for consideration later this year.
Later this year!
Bottom Line for your precision machining shop and your customers:

A decision on the RoHS exemptions of interest to the precision machining industry is unlikely to be made until Fall of 2017.
The current exemptions for Lead as an alloying element in steel, Lead as an alloying element in aluminum, Lead as an alloying element in copper will remain in effect and will not expire until the EU Commission completes the current ongoing review of the applications.

Here’s the full statement from I-Connect007
“The EU Commission and Member States continue to meet to discuss the disposition of RoHS exemption renewal requests submitted by industry in January 2015. During their December 15, 2016 meeting in Brussels, the experts reviewed requests on: Lead as an alloying element in steel (Annex III exemption 6a); Lead as an alloying element in aluminum (Annex III exemption 6b); Lead as an alloying element in copper (Annex III exemption 6c); Lead in high melting temperature type solders (Annex III exemption 7a); Lead in a glass or ceramic other than dielectric ceramic in capacitors (Annex III exemption 7c-I), jointly with exemption request 2015-1; Lead as activator in the fluorescent powder (Annex III exemption 18b), jointly with exemption request 2015-3; Lead in solders for the soldering to machined through hole discoidal and planar array ceramic multilayer capacitors (Annex III exemption 24); and Lead in cermet-based trimmer potentiometer elements (Annex III exemption 34).
“The Commission is currently working on preparing the draft legislative proposals for these and other exemptions) which will be sent to Member States for written consultation. The drafts will likely be published in the spring; final legislative acts could be published in the Official Journal of the EU (OJEU) in the fall at the earliest. Under the EU RoHS2, all existing exemptions were set to expire by July 21, 2016. However, all exemptions for which industry submitted a renewal application will not expire until the EU Commission completes the current ongoing review of the applications.”
I-Connect007
(PS. Interesting footnote, I searched for an image of the European Union Commission and found the one above-on a blog about the EU Commissions delay to decide on a VISA issue– last April. Not an isolated case of Bureaucratic delay!)
Photo credit: Pulse Blog

RoHS Exemptions for Machining Industry- PMPA Members Know

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The EU decision on the RoHS 2011 recast appeals for exemptions for leaded materials for machining is almost a year late- the decisions were due from the commission January 21, 2016.
January 21, 2016!

PMPA has reviewed the findings of the study group assigned to review and report on the appeals regarding Lead for machining purposes in Steels, Aluminum, and Copper alloys.
If you are a PMPA member, you can get our summary providing the latest status of the RoHS exemptions that affect our shops. The EU is almost a year late with their decision on the exemption appeals for leaded materials for machining under the latest (2011) RoHS recast.
PMPA has posted a summary of the consultants’ findings and their potential impacts on our machining companies for our members information on the PMPA website here.
We have really been challenged by the EU to stay up to date on these exemptions, being almost a year late with the decision certainly keeps the uncertainty high for manufacturers.
I wonder if the European Commission is as lenient with the deadlines on the regulated communities as they are for their own?
If you are a PMPA member, you can get the latest Status of the RoHS exemptions that affect our shops here : January 2017 RoHS Exemption Summary Report
If you are not a PMPA member, where do you go to stay up to date on regulatory issues that affect your business?

December ISM PMI Positive Bellwether for 2017

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The Institute for Supply Management announced on Tuesday that its Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) for Manufacturing index rose 1.5 percentage points to 54.7 in December, its highest level in two years and up from 53.2 in November.
This is great news- let’s look at some details to find out why:

New Orders component– new orders rose 7.2 percentage points to 60.2 – their highest level since November 2014
Strength in Employment component– employment rose 0.8 percentage point to 53.1 – the highest since June 2015
And strength in the Production component-production improved to 60.3- very unusual outcomes for Manufacturing in December.

This is an unexpectedly solid report showing Manufacturing industry performance stronger in December than in November.

Highest in 2 years and up 1.5 points over November 2016

Here is why we see this as a bellwether for a great 2017 for our precision machining companies.

U.S. Light Vehicle (Auto) Sales set annual sales record according to the Wall Street Journal and reports we heard from online videos from AUTO NEWS. “A total of 17.55 million vehicles were sold in 2016, roughly 60% of which were classified as light trucks” according to the Wall Street Journal.
2016 sales volume was up ~ 700,000 light vehicles, according to reports from Auto News
The average age of the U.S. Light Vehicle Fleet in 2016 was a record 11.6 years, According to Statista online,

There is still plenty of reason to expect demand for light cars and trucks to be sustained based on the average age of the U.S. Fleet and the current low unemployment rate reported by the Federal government. Knowing that Automotive is the precision machining industry’s most heavily served market convinces us that these numbers reported by ISM, WSJ, Auto News and Statista bode well for our precision machining shops in 2017. I hope that you are preparing for success, not for hunkering down in 2017.
Happy New Year, indeed!

Link to ISM December 2016 report
Statista Age of Light Vehicles in U.S.

Calculated Risk December ISM Post and Chart

Making a List and Checking It Twice

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What’s on your list? Lists?
Holidays provide a great time for reflection. Santa checking his list started me thinking…

Didn't know that Santa was into over-inspection — As a quality guy, I didn’t know that Santa was into over-inspection

Here is our list of “to be given”

To our customer’s- Zero Defects, 100% on time, delightful answers and best in class service
To our suppliers- Sufficient lead time and clear requirements on the specification and purchase order.
To our employees- Sincere appreciation and offers of further training
To our community- Continuing to be great citizens and networking

And our “Wish List”

From our customers- Orders with sufficient lead times and clear specifications
From our suppliers- the same treatment that we give our customers
From our employees- attention to safety and their best efforts
From our community- respect for the magic that our people and processes accomplish that makes a difference in everyone’s lives.

What’s on your list?
Need help with creating and using lists? There’s a great book for that:

Maybe a great gift Idea for some of your key performers... — Maybe a great gift Idea for some of your key performers…

Checklist Manifesto Amazon
Savage Chickens

ISM PMI Manufacturing Report for November 2016

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The November ISM PMI Manufacturing Index rebounded by 1.3 points in November. A welcome development as we near year end.

Rebounds are especially important in the finals... — Rebounds are especially important in the finals…

The composite index rose from 51.9 in October to 53.2 in November, its third straight month of expansion. The manufacturing production index, up from 54.6 to 56.0 in November expanded at its fastest rate since July 2015.
According to Bradley Holcomb at ISM,“The November PMI^® registered 53.2 percent, an increase of 1.3 percentage points from the October reading of 51.9 percent.”

We’ll take it!
Fabricated Metal Products, of which Precision Machining is a sub sector, was one of 11 industries that grew in November. according to ISM data.
Both ISM’s Production Index and New Orders Index also reported gains in November.
PMPA’s Business Trends Index was down 1.7 % in October, so we are looking forward to our own rebound in November… after all, our components are what makes the manufactured goods sold in November actually work…
Link to ISM PMI November Report
Link to Calculated Risk Graph
Rebound: Showing some love to our Chicago Readers… Jordan Rebound 1995-1996 Finals
PMPA Business Trends for October 2016

PMPA's October 2016 Business Trends Report- Boring is Good

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With 84 companies responding, the PMPA Business Trends Index in October 2016 declined 1.7% to 116 from 118, virtually identical to its movement from September to October last year (when it fell from 121 to 119- a 1.6% drop.) Our Index Average year to date is 119, down just 2 points from last year’s calendar year average of 121. Twenty-two percent (22%) of our respondents reported sales increases in October, thirty-one percent (31%) reported sales decreases, remainder reported no change.

Modest change in sales at same magnitude as last year same report.

Meanwhile, the Fed reported that Industrial Production was unchanged from September to October, while the manufacturing output component increased 0.2 percent. The Fed estimates capacity utilization at 75.3%, down 4.7% from its long run (1972-2015) average.
The October 2016 PMPA Business Trends Report shows that our responding shops continue to perform somewhat better than expected, down not quite two percent (1.7%) from last month. The 3 month moving average has turned up, but remains below the 12 month moving average as we report the first month of the seasonally slow fourth quarter. The Average Sales for the Industry remains within a couple of points of last year’s calendar year average, and our 119 YTD is “essentially even” with the performance of our shops in CY 2014 and 2015. October Lead Time sentiment suggests that our shops expect sales to be stronger than the Sales Indicator alone shows. Our indicators this month justify our optimism about the markets and employment prospects for our precision machining industry.
Members can see full report Here.

PMPA Selected as National Partner to Grow Apprenticeships in Manufacturing

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PMPA is proud to be partnering with NIMS, to help companies find new ways to help students and workers gain skills for success.

Apprenticeships to build a pipeline of skilled professionals for a great manufacturing career.

The National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS) has been selected by the U.S.Department of Labor as an industry intermediary to support the expansion of registered apprenticeships within MANUFACTURING. The Precision Machined Products Association (PMPA) a founding stakeholder member of NIMS, will work with NIMS to increase access to apprenticeships and assist employers in developing new programs that reach diverse talent pools among our membership. As part of this initiative, $500,000 is available to support companies in establishing a registered apprenticeship program with the Department of Labor.
“For over two decades, NIMS has worked with companies, workforce development groups and community colleges to stand-up high-caliber apprenticeship programs across the country,” said Jim Wall, Executive Director, NIMS. “This contract gives us the unique opportunity to create more impact in our industry by expanding apprenticeships to underrepresented populations and to new companies looking to establish a sustainable talent pipeline.”
What’s in it for your company? NIMS will focus on providing companies with tools and resources to develop customized registered apprenticeship programs. These programs combine on-the-job training with job-related classroom instruction and meet national standards for registration with the Department of Labor or State Apprenticeship Agencies. PMPA is working with NIMS to help facilitate the creation of registered apprenticeships for our member companies.
If you are interested in enhancing your talent pipeline through apprenticeships, this program may be for you.
Companies that are interested in building an apprenticeship program or organizations that are interested in partnering with NIMS should contact Sterling Gill gro.apmp@lligs; for more information go to www.mfgapprenticeship.com or email the NIMS ApprenticeshipUSA team at gro.slliks-smin@pihsecitnerppa.

Thread Rolling Thin Walls- CJ Winters

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Guest post by Lib Pietrantoni, CJWinter
Flaking threads and thread damage can be avoided when thread rolling thin walled parts.
Distortion during the thread rolling process can cause

Flaking,
Non-uniform thread geometry
Tearing
Collapse of threaded portion of part

These are particularly troublesome issues on thin walled parts.
These can be avoided if you assure that a minimum wall thickness is maintained for the process.

Minimum Wall thickness is determined by Nominal Thread diameter and thread pitch — Minimum Wall Thickness is determined by Nominal Thread Diameter and Thread Pitch

Larger nominal thread diameters require thicker minimum wall thickness; so do coarser thread pitches.
The way that you roll the thread can also be a factor.
According to Lib Pietrantoni at CJWinter, specialized pneumatic radial-pinch-type thread rolling machine attachments can apply equalized rolling pressure across the workpiece, ensuring thread concentricity, eliminating side pressure on both the parts and the machine, and allowing precise control of the penetration rate — especially important for thin-walled parts.
You can download the Thread Rolling Reference Chart at CJWinter’s website: reference chart
As a steel mill Quality Metallurgist, I saw my share of complaints that “the steel was flaking- it must be the steel.”
But the lab results never found the flaking anywhere except where the thread had been rolled – it was never on the bars as shipped.
Pay attention to minimum wall thickness when thread rolling!
And don’t forget to pass this handy chart along to the engineer at your customer that is designing the parts that you make.
Thanks to Lib Pietrantoni at PMPA member CJWinter for providing this reference information.

October ISM PMI Report Manufacturing Positive

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“The October PMI® registered 51.9 percent, an increase of 0.4 percentage point from the September reading of 51.5 percent… The Employment Index registered 52.9 percent, an increase of 3.2 percentage points from the September reading of 49.7 percent.”- ISM Spokesman Bradley J. Holcomb.
We were pleased to see the strong increase in the Employment Index, which agrees with PMPA’s Employment sentiment indicator which was reported to be above 95% for September.

Positive showing for manufacturing and employment in October 2016.

Link to full ISM Report: https://www.instituteforsupplymanagement.org/ismreport/mfgrob.cfm?SSO=1
Chart courtesy of Calculated Risk Blog: http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/

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http://www.calculatedriskblog.com

Industry Sales Stronger Than Expected- PMPA Business Trends

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With 85 companies responding, the PMPA Business Trends Index in September 2016 remained even with August at 118, up ten points from the year’s low in July and up 4 points from the average for September for the past four years which was 114. Last year’s September Sales index was 119, so we are down just one point from last year for September, and down just two points from the 2015 calendar year average of 121.

Even with August and 4 points above last four september's index average. — Even with August and 4 points above last four September’s Index average.

Opinions for the next three months compared to today:

Net Sales: The Sales Outlook remains level despite our approach into the usually lower sales months of the fourth quarter.
Lead Times: Overall outlook for Lead Times dropped considerably in this report, signaling open capacity foreseen in the next three months.
Employment: Prospects for employment are positive with NINETY-SIX PERCENT (96%) expecting level or increased opportunities for employment.
Profitability: Overall sentiment for profitability has remained level since May.

Link