Boston Centerless - Precision Matters Magazine Precision Matters Magazine Spring 2018 | Page 12

SKILLED MATERIAL®
FIGURE ONE
TITE VALUES
IMPROVE YOUR CNC SWISS
®
OPERATIONS WITH SKILLED MATERIAL
IT’S IN the news almost every day:
record low unemployment figures not seen
in nearly twenty years. Worker shortages
threaten to hold back the growth potential
in service industries, retail, and even
in manufacturing. For decades it has
seemed that manufacturing careers have
been subtly discouraged in the public
education system. There is evidence that
even parents of high-school-age students
discourage the pursuit of a career in
manufacturing. They remember only too
well how their parents found themselves
on the outside looking in during the decline
of American manufacturing in the 1980s
and ’90s.
The problem is particularly acute for
manufacturing firms that require highly
skilled employees. Companies that utilize
CNC Precision Swiss Machining technology
are a great example of firms that often
cannot find enough skilled machinists
to operate the equipment they have, let
alone hire additional skilled machinists to
operate machines they would like to invest
in to grow their businesses.
Those of us in the manufacturing
world today know that a career in
manufacturing isn’t at all like your
grandfather’s factory job. New technology,
lean manufacturing principles, and
continuous improvement techniques have
transformed US manufacturing into the
globally competitive environment we live
in today. Unfortunately, until the word
gets out to young people about what a
promising career in manufacturing really
can be, it seems we will struggle to attract
sufficient numbers of new, skilled workers
to the Precision Machining world. Despite
this very real skilled machinist shortage
problem, there is a solution that can help
today. Not enough skilled machinists to
operate your CNC Swiss machines? Skilled
Material by Boston Centerless offers a
way to get greater productivity out of
your skilled machinists and the CNC Swiss
machines they operate.
To enable a one-time machine set up
without the need for constant monitoring
and adjustment, your machining bar must
have exceptionally good roundness,
consistent diameter tolerance, and
outstanding straightness. With these
attributes in your raw materials, one
skilled operator can easily supervise the
operation of multiple machines with the
confidence that the high quality feedstock
will yield very high quality parts that are
within tolerance and at or below cost
estimates.
For many years, Boston Centerless has
supplied a customer with millions of feet
of stainless steel machining bar that held
roundness to 0.000040” and diameter
tolerances to a total of 0.0002”. This
contract manufacturer was able to operate
ninety-six CNC Swiss screw machines
while running this job with just four skilled
machinists. Running “lights out” was more
than an operational objective for this
company—it was a reality.
So if you are concerned about the
availability of skilled labor to power
your precision machining operations and
support your growth strategy, consider
using AccuRod by Boston Centerless, the
Skilled Material that enables you to get the
most out of the talent you already have on
your shop floor.
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David Smith
David Smith is the Vice President Business
Development at Boston Centerless. David has
over 40 years of experience in sales, marketing
and general management in the specialty metals
industry. Prior to working at Boston Centerless,
David had a 30 year career with the Carpenter
Technology Corporation. He held senior level
positions in sales, marketing and operations
management at Carpenter and with the Carpenter
titanium subsidiary, Dynamet Incorporated.
David holds a BA degree from the University
of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana.
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