HellermannTyton Boosts Efficiency and Cuts Costs with Markforged

HellermannTyton Boosts Efficiency and Cuts Costs with Markforged

GSC
Additive Manufacturing, Manufacturing, Manufacturing Engineer, Manufacturing Engineers

Amy Vasey is an Automation Design Engineer at HellermannTyton. She has been with the company for 20 years and recently helped introduce and implement 3D printing in their Automation department.

The product development group at HellermannTyton, familiar with additive manufacturing technology, approached Amy’s team, asking if they’d ever considered 3D printing some of their many aluminum parts.

At the time, Vasey and her team weren’t familiar with the technology or where to start. “The product development team was really good at pushing us to start with something small, and that’s what we did.”

Communicate, Collaborate, Connect, on a Consistent Basis

Communicate, Collaborate, Connect, on a Consistent Basis

Matthew Schowalter, CMfgT
Manufacturing, Worker Shortage

If you work in the Manufacturing Industry chances are you have seen firsthand how the skilled manufacturing worker shortage affects your job. When there are more people retiring and less new people coming into the field, it can have negative effects on the industry. I have looked into the worker shortage crisis since 2015, and I came up with a phrase to help fix the shortage, “We Must Communicate, Collaborate, Connect, on a Consistent Basis”. I call it the 4-Cs of manufacturing.

CNC Macro Programming Basics

CNC Macro Programming Basics

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

We will cover the basics of Parameter programming. The concepts learned can be applied to many CNC projects and can be used in small shops and large shops alike. In G Code, macro programming variables are assigned values and when they are referenced and called they provide the last value that they were assigned. Some ways that variables can be used are for machining part families and for modifying work offsets and tooling offsets.

What to Do When a Client Rejects Your Parts

What to Do When a Client Rejects Your Parts

Paul Van Metre
CNC Machining, CNC Programming, Machining, Machinist, Manufacturing, Manufacturing Engineer, Manufacturing Engineers, Professional Engineer, toolmaker

Your company tries SO hard to make everything perfect, but occasionally, something slips through the cracks, and you send some parts to a customer that get rejected. It’s not a fun situation, and it can be like a gut punch, depending on how expensive the mistake is. How you handle it from the customer’s perspective can make all the difference and even potentially turn a bad situation into a positive experience. Customers know that mistakes will happen, but how a vendor responds to them can put your relationship on the chopping block, or solidify your position in the partner category.

Don’t Let Tribal Knowledge Kill Your Shop

Don’t Let Tribal Knowledge Kill Your Shop

Paul Van Metre
CNC Machining, CNC Programming, Machining, Machinist, Manufacturing, Manufacturing Engineer, Manufacturing Engineers

Tribal knowledge can be a killer. For a smaller, stable company not on a growth path, it probably isn’t the worst thing ever – unless you lose one of your long-term employees who is the only one that knows how to do a lot of things. Certainly for any company that is on a more dynamic path for growth, adding new customers, more employees, or is concerned about losing that knowledge of a key employee it can be a major problem. Having your companies’ processes and procedures be locked in the brains (and only the brains) of your employees can be very difficult when you lose someone.

Red Raider Manufacturing

Red Raider Manufacturing

Matthew Schowalter, CMfgT
CNC Machining, Collaboration, Machining, Machinist, Manufacturing, Technical Education

The Red Raider Manufacturing program in the Sheboygan Area School District had 1,090 students in the 2021-22 school year. Its mission is to give all SASD students access to the most up-to-date, relevant and exciting learning experience to succeed. The vision of the program is education and industry partnering to turn a manufacturing/technical career into an aspiration. The students in the program are high achieving, proud of what they do, and career ready.

Starting a Career in CNC Programming

Starting a Career in CNC Programming

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

I recently had an opportunity to interview Phil Brown and Umair Riyas from NexGenCAM about how to begin a career in computer-aided manufacturing or CAM. They are applications engineers that specialize in CAM software. Phil and Umair have extensive backgrounds in CNC and CAM/CAD, they offer a few tips to others who may be interested in starting a career in the field.

Remodeling A Student-Run Manufacturing Facility

Remodeling A Student-Run Manufacturing Facility

Matthew Schowalter, CMfgT
Apprenticeship, CNC Machining, CNC Programming, Machining, Manufacturing, Manufacturing Engineer, Manufacturing Engineers, Soft Skills, Technical Education

Cardinal Manufacturing is a student-run manufacturing program in the Eleva-Strum high school. They recently finished a 10-month remodeling project in the machine shop and classroom. It was a complete remodel which included the ceiling and walls being repainted. They chose a red and white color scheme for the rooms, halls, and manufacturing equipment.

Eight Considerations That Will Assist in Fixing the Skilled Manufacturing Worker Shortage

Eight Considerations That Will Assist in Fixing the Skilled Manufacturing Worker Shortage

Matthew Schowalter, CMfgT
CNC Machining, CNC Programming, Engineer, Machining, Machinist, Manufacturing, Manufacturing Engineer, Manufacturing Engineers, Worker Shortage

With my study into the shortage of skilled manufacturing workers that spanned five years, I discovered a few things along the way. The observations started in 2015 by investigating ways to spark interest in manufacturing careers. I published a 4-page article on my career, and it was promoted by three manufacturing magazines. I also assisted my local youth apprentice program by creating a testimonial video for them. I participated in a career fair and only 1% of the students were engaged in manufacturing. I then decided to observe the industry.

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