Matt Danford

Matt Danford Former Senior Editor

Top Shops

Machine Shop Scale-Up Mirrors Past Success

An aerospace manufacturer doubles down on a subset of work and a knack for turning shopfloor problem solving into marketable new products.

Read More
Top Shops

Standardization Leans the Way to High-Mix Automation

An increasingly digitalized, lean manufacturing process begins with a common selection of cutting tools and five-axis machining fixtures.  

Watch

All Top Shops Are Winners

Standing out in one category is not enough to earn a spot among the highest-performing CNC machining businesses.

Read More
Top Shops

When Machining Lights Out Leaves Nothing Out

A Top Shops honors program winner strives to ensure every part crosses paths with a robot, cobot or pallet changer.

Watch
Top Shops

Benchmarking Becomes a Call to Action

A means of measuring performance evolves into a tool for catalyzing change as Modern Machine Shop’s Top Shops program matures.

Read More
Top Shops

Top-Tier Culture Keeps Top Shop Staffed

Interpersonal harmony, personal accountability, peace of mind, and an inner drive to improve help this shop compete in a tight market for CNC machining talent.

Read More
Top Shops

An Introduction to Modern Machine Shop's Top Shops Program

Presented by Gardner Intelligence, an annual benchmarking program helps CNC machining businesses specifically evaluate and improve performance.

Read More

Machine Monitoring Circles Back to Basics

Deeper insights from more varied data are no replacement for manufacturing fundamentals. 

Read More
Automation

CNC Data Feeds Make Social Distancing Easier

Machine monitoring helps work remotely, avoid close contact on the shop floor and prevent underbilling for lights-out machining.

Read More

Adding Part Traceability to CNC Machine Monitoring

Focusing on what makes money puts CNC machine monitoring data in context.

Read More
Automation

Machine-Tending Automation Gets a Head Start

Making industrial robots more versatile without sacrificing speed or power stretches integration investments and attracts new business.

Read More

ERP Makes Documentation Fast, Paperless

Touchscreen interfaces and digitized part and job data are the latest examples of an aerospace manufacturer taking advantage of its shop management software.  

Read More
Mastercam
CoroMill Plura Ballnose
Methods WY-100V
Highest Performance Solid Carbide End Mills
Schunk
Horn USA
IMTS 2024
High-precision grinding and hard turning machines
Mastercam