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Derek Korn ,
Senior Editor
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What To Do During The Great Wait
Given our current credit and economic challenges as well as uncertainty about how our president-elect’s policies may impact U.S. manufacturing, there seems to be a palpable “wait-and-see” vibe in industry. Shops and manufacturers are waiting for something to spur growth and activity. Chances are, that describes how you feel. And perhaps it may even give you pause as you decide when you’ll pull the trigger on that new piece of equipment you’ve been eyeballing.
So what do you do in the meantime? It’s during times like these that shops should examine their existing processes and look for ways to improve efficiency by eliminating waste. That’s the prime goal of lean manufacturing.
If that’s what you’ve set out to accomplish, I suggest visiting our Lean Manufacturing Zone. There you’ll find a collection of stories that show how other shops have implemented lean techniques such as 5S organization, value stream mapping and visual workplace initiatives to reduce waste.
Here are a few stories that I think you’ll find particularly helpful.
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Inbox Insights
Snapshots From IMTS
Even if you were at the International Manufacturing Technology Show, you might have missed some of these highlights. Click through these photos to see various interesting products and other sights the editors encountered this year in Chicago.
Big parts and big machines were prevalent at IMTS 2008.
Click here (or the image above) to view photos from IMTS 2008.
Industry Info
Free High Speed Steel Guide
The HSS Smart Guide is currently available at no cost from the International High Speed Steel Research Forum, a nonprofit association dedicated to advancing HSS technology through shared research and educational activities. The association includes cutting tool manufacturers, HSS producers and coating companies.
The guide provides basic and advanced information related to machining operations using HSS cutting tools. This includes milling, drilling, tapping, reaming, broaching, sawing and gear cutting. The properties of HSS tool materials and coatings are also covered. Be sure to download this pdf.
The graphical elements of this guide provide HSS topic explanations at a glance.
Your Thoughts
Cautiously Optimistic Or Just Plain Cautious?
Are you feeling good about the coming year or feeling queasy? Are current business conditions causing you to table purchases of new machining equipment for the time being?
Share your thoughts. If we publish your response, you’ll receive your choice of one free book from the metalworking section of the Hanser Gardner bookstore.
To respond, send an e-mail to Derek.
New on MMS ONLINE
Video: A Shopfloor View Of Lean
Bryco Machine may be somewhat new to lean manufacturing, but the shop has already made visible changes to its process that can be seen in this narrated tour. And don’t forget to read the story.
 Our Next Issue
Grinding, Honing, Turning Lights-Out
December’s cover story highlights a compressor manufacturer that fundamentally changed the way it machines custom impellers. Grinding replaced a slow, messy turning process. Another feature story tells how a manufacturer of power train components added flat honing capability to adapt to small-lot-size orders of bearings that demand greater precision. Plus, we include four short articles that describe ways to optimize a lights-out turning process.
Be sure to subscribe or renew your subscription.
Industry Events
MoldMaking Expo, Time-Compression Expo Announced
The annual MoldMaking Expo and the inaugural Time-Compression Expo have announced that they will co-locate with NPE 2009 next June 22-26, 2009, at Chicago's McCormick Place.
The "tri-location" creates the year's largest gathering of the moldmaking, rapid product development and plastics industries with more than 75,000 industry professionals and close to 2,000 exhibiting companies expected to participate.
Get more information @ www.moldmakingexpo.com.
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