All in Manufacturing

Growing the Lathe Department

Growing the Lathe Department

Matthew Schowalter, CMfgT
CNC Machining, CNC Programming, Machining, Machinist, Manufacturing, Manufacturing Engineer

While spending much of my career working in the medical machining industry, it was an education into complex part machining. What is being done today in the machining industry is exceptional. Now a highly engineered part can be made compete in one setup in a machine that can turn, mill, drill, hob, broach, thread whirl, and gun drill parts. I have implemented lathes from 5-axis models up to 11-axis models. Here is a breakdown of what it might take to implement advanced lathes.

Is Being a Machinist Stressful?

Is Being a Machinist Stressful?

Matthew Schowalter, CMfgT
CNC Machining, CNC Programming, Machining, Machinist, Manufacturing, toolmaker

Machining could be a stressful job, but it is as stressful as you make it out to be. For example, there are many things to consider when machining parts, like quality issues, time deadlines, and machining conditions. These items may be stressful when you look at everything at once, but if you form a plan with many individual goals to meet it will add up to the end goal of making a quality part and on time.

Cardinal Manufacturing: Leading in Technical Education

Cardinal Manufacturing: Leading in Technical Education

Erin Luke
Machining, Machinist, Manufacturing, Soft Skills, STEM, Technical Education

Nestled in Eleva-Strum High School, Cardinal Manufacturing is revolutionizing technical education through its student-run business model. As a beacon of excellence, Cardinal Manufacturing in Strum, Wisconsin empowers students to gain hands-on experience in manufacturing while running a real business. This innovative approach not only equips students with invaluable skills but also positions the program as a leader in the technical education world.

Machine Tools

Machine Tools

Matthew Schowalter, CMfgT
CNC Machining, Machining, Manufacturing

A machine tool is a mechanical device that is used to machine metal components. The machine tool is essential in manufacturing processes and is used to cut, drill, and grind parts. A machine tool could be a lathe, mill, or a grinding machine. Machine tools are essential to making precision parts for production machining operations.

A Technical Education Program’s Community Support

A Technical Education Program’s Community Support

Matthew Schowalter, CMfgT
Machining, Machinist, Manufacturing, Soft Skills, Technical Education

The community support of the technical education program at Eleva Strum High School is impressively large and there are several reasons why. The technical education program operates as a student-run business that fabricates and machines parts for customers. The business is called Cardinal Manufacturing. The money made by the business is used to buy raw materials, upgrade equipment, marketing, cover the operating costs, and to pay the student employees.

CNC Machining Terms

CNC Machining Terms

Matthew Schowalter, CMfgT
CNC Machining, CNC Programming, Machining, Machinist, Manufacturing

The CNC Machining industry has many specialized terms for tooling, machines, and other technology. Here is our list of things to know about machining with CNC equipment.     

  • Blueprint Reading - The term blueprint reading means that someone interprets ideas that are on a drawing or print.

  • CAD/CAM Software – CAD is the acronym for Computer Aided Design. CAM is the acronym for Computer Aided Manufacturing. They are computer software that are used in the manufacturing industry.

  • Caliper – A measuring tool that is used to measure internal and/ or external dimensions on machined parts.

5 Ways to Mitigate the Lack of Skilled Machinists

5 Ways to Mitigate the Lack of Skilled Machinists

Paul Van Metre
CNC Machining, CNC Programming, Machining, Machinist, Machinist Interview, Manufacturing

I don’t know a single CNC machine shop that has an easy time hiring machinists, and would say they have enough well-qualified candidates. The fact is that there is more demand than supply, with not enough young people coming into the industry to fill the positions that are needed by machine shops today. On one hand, it's great news in general, that the demand for machinists is strong. Onshoring seems to be a longer-term trend now and the demand for machined parts in North America is strong, which is fantastic. The shadow side is that it’s tough to find machinists and most shops feel that pain, which inhibits their ability to grow at the pace they could theoretically if hiring was not a problem.

7 Habits of Highly Effective Machine Shops

7 Habits of Highly Effective Machine Shops

Paul Van Metre
CNC Machining, Machining, Machinist, Manufacturing

The machining industry has thousands of CNC machine shops. Many of them struggle to stay profitable and deliver on their promises, and as a result, don’t grow as fast as they want to. A small number of shops are highly effective and grow faster than the rest and go on to have amazing results. I’ve talked with thousands of machine shops around the world and seen the common themes, and of course, with our own experience growing a shop from $0 to $12M in revenue, we have a few thoughts to share today. There are many more effective habits that are also important, but here are the most important habits we’ve seen over the years.

Introducing the Younger Generation to Manufacturing

Introducing the Younger Generation to Manufacturing

Matthew Schowalter, CMfgT
CNC Machining, Machining, Machinist, Manufacturing

Adapting to the worker shortage in manufacturing is difficult. Some shops may choose to search more aggressively for employees, while others might invest in technology that helps streamline the manufacturing processes. Then there are other manufacturing facilities that may buy another machine shop to gain capabilities. Those are all ways to overcome the worker shortage, but this article will focus on how to introduce manufacturing to the younger generation to help fix the worker shortage.

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