TOUR 1 Fort Wayne
May 20 @ 8:00am – May 21 @ 4:45pm
- Charleston Metal Products
- Rayco Tools
- Valbruna Stainless
- Vanamatic Company
- Wieland Chase
TOUR 2 Charlotte
September 16 @ 9:00am – September 17 @ 5:30pm
- Bucci Industries
- Dixon Quick Coupling
- Nucor Cold Finish, parent company of Laurel Steel
- Marcegaglia Stainless
EMPOWER YOUR TEAM WITH SYSTEM KNOWLEDGE
PMPA’s Mastery Program consists of two bus tours which provide an unparalleled experience! PMPA member and non-member contract manufacturers will see the precision machining supply chain, receive two valuable reference books and instruction from industry expert, Miles Free III and David Wynn. Develop your team.
RECEIVE
- Instruction from industry expert, Miles Free III David Wynn.
- Two books filled with invaluable reference materials: What You Should Know about STEEL and the Craftsman Cribsheet Collection.
Who should attend?
Engineers, machinists, purchasing agents, operations, owners.
If the people responsible and having the authority to solve problems are more knowledgeable about their sources and their processes, they can use their judgement to better understand the likelihood and unlikelihood of the issues they face being due to a supplier, or in their own process.
TOUR
- 3 PMPA member shops
- 2 stainless mills
- 1 toolmaker
- 1 brass mill
- 1 steel mill
- 1 machine tool builder
WHAT WILL YOU SEE?
Bucci Industries
Barloading of our automatic machines is a critical capability often taken for granted. Learn how this under-appreciated automation solution- and other automation technologies- can improve your productivity, reduce setup, idle time and labor
Charleston Metal Products
See how the legacy technology of our industry, alongside the latest precision technology can provide a compelling solution to customers needing highest volumes and highest precision.
Dixon Quick Coupling
Focus on manufacturing safe connections for flow control ensures that you will see manufacturing systems and procedures set up for long runs and consistent performance despite a high mix of parts produced.
Marcegaglia Stainless
Stainless steel processing including heat treatment and cold drawing have the greatest impact on our machining operations. See what happens at the mill to make it happen right in your operations for your applications.
Nucor Cold Finish, parent company of Laurel Steel
See how Electric Arc Furnace continuous casting converts scrap steel into billet, hotrolled bars, minimizing energy and emissions. Then see how hot rolled bars are cold finished to optimize performance in our precision machining operations.
Rayco Tools
See how tool and gage making is equal parts precision engineering, material science, manufacturing savvy, and heat treat expertise.
Valbruna Stainless
See the scale of steel melting operations from melt and casting through rolling, peeling and cold drawing and nondestructive testing to better understand the growing share of stainless jobs in your shop.
Vanamatic Company
See how Manufacturing/engineering, chip processing/shipping, tool room/maintenance process, quality control, Intelligent management and rational work rules integrate to make a shop and its people supplier of choice.
Wieland Chase
Integrated brass melt shop, caster, processor for leaded and eco-brass materials. See what happens to the chips you return to the mill.
REGISTRATION – DEADLINE March 19, 2025
– Registration is limited to contract manufacturers (PMPA members or non-members).
– Registration is not transferable — to benefit from the program, the same person must attend all three tours.
REGISTRATION FEE
PMPA members $2,000 for one attendee or $1,600 each for multiple attendees
Non-members $3,000 per attendee
REGISTRATION FEE INCLUDES
- Instruction from Miles Free III and David Wynn
- Fort Wayne Tour and Charlotte Tour
- Tours on all scheduled stops
- Hotel room for overnights on May 19 & 20, September 15 &16
- All meals and snacks
- Two books exclusive to the Mastery Program: The Cribsheet Collection and What You Should Know: STEEL
- Safety glasses or safety shields for eyeglasses
- Safety vests
- Ear protection
- Mastery Program backpack/messenger bag
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: STEEL BOOK
This valuable book includes critical information for What You Should Know about
- steel grade system
- bar straightness
- bar handling
- surface imperfections and stock removal
- effect of austenitic grain size
- carbon
- sulfur
- nitrogen
- nickel
- phosphorus
- feed vs speed
- cold work
- benefits of cold drawing
- lamellar pearlitic annealing
- spheroidize annealing
- stress relieving
- mechanical properties
- effect of sulfides on transverse mechanical properties
- difference between hardness and hardenability
- case hardening of free machining grades
- roundness, concentricity and lobing