s an essential business, in a right-to-work state, High Performance Alloys has been blessed to maintain its open status. One of the ways our company prepared for a downturn was to apply and receive assistance via the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The PPP was designed to help companies survive a three-month shutdown, covering salaries and expenses, with 2019 numbers as the guide to those amounts.

Job shops are being asked to process and measure more complex parts amid stricter supply chain quality standards. Demand for 100 percent parts inspection for new product lines is also growing. AIMS Metrology, an OEM for coordinate measuring machines, has designed and introduced the new Summit 10.10.10 to put REVO-2 5-axis dynamic scanning and multisensor surface finish measurement [including video probing] into the hands of the operator. Engineered with 1 meter cubed capacity, the Summit provides high-volume large parts inspection. It can be automated with a robot load/unload system or pass through process with a conveyor.

n 1849, thousands of people faced boom or bust when they left their homes and jobs to pan for precious metal in the California Gold Rush. These days, depending on the industry, manufacturers are facing a boom or bust cycle of a different sort. “Due to COVID-19, markets such as food equipment are seeing declines in products like stainless cookware,” says Brett Thompson, sales engineer for Trumpf Inc.

odern products and the technology required to make them have changed the face of supply chains across the U.S. An era of specialists has emerged to perform work that used to belong exclusively to vertically integrated manufacturers like Ford or General Motors. For job shops with bending operations, it means managing multiplex parts, shrinking lot sizes and shorter delivery windows.

ending is still a nightmare for most job shops,” says MetalForming Inc. Executive Vice President David Prokop. “Sustainability is a huge issue. An aging workforce coupled with an evaporating labor pool means a manually intensive process is no longer feasible. Instead, you want an ergonomically sound machine that eliminates the need for operators to manhandle parts. Repetitive motion injuries and worker safety also point employers to a process that can create sustainable, controllable output.”

ultiple industries are recognizing the importance of workers being able to do their jobs with less fatigue, more comfort and greater efficiency. Working better and smarter requires the right tools and processes in order to repeatedly achieve the desired finish—especially when working with stainless steel. The abrasive used for the job, the grit type, grain and operator technique all affect surface finish.

An equipment manufacturer in Wisconsin was experiencing excessive labor and cost waste, a common issue in the metalworking industry. The grinding wheel needed to be dressed to maintain its removal rate and grinding angle. As a result, the operator had to manually discard the wheels prematurely, resulting in higher production costs and longer output times.

“Prior to introducing the Enduro-Flex Turbo, we had a flap disc, but not a good one,” says the plant supervisor. “It worked ok, but we didn’t know what we were missing.”