Submitted by: Greg Conder, PE The typical attributes purchasing agents and buyers use when evaluating suppliers are price, quality and lead times. Make no mistake,
Submitted by: Greg Conder, PE Buyers and purchasing agents often have to make the decision to use a single or multiple suppliers when purchasing precision
Some states like California and New York plan on raising their minimum wage to $15 per hour. This increase may not directly cause and increase
Submitted by: Greg Conder, PE Some industries like healthcare and jewelry are actually using 3D printing technology to produce finished and usable parts. The main
A China stimulus package can impact a small US precision machine shop by increasing demand for raw materials like steel, aluminum and copper. This can
We recently had the opportunity to machine components for an intake assembly associated with an organization doing research and development for artificial lift techniques in
Tariffs can have positive and negative impacts on CNC machine shops. Imported materials, products and machinery used by the shop that carry a high tariff
The NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) had a negative impact on US manufacturing jobs. What was NAFTA? NAFTA was an agreement signed by the
Industrial robots in manufacturing have been in use for many years. AI-enabled robots are being developed to improve industrial robots in manufacturing. The First Industrial
In NFIB’s (National Federation of Independent Businesses) small business survey of April 2024, the overall optimism index increased by 1.2 points from March. In terms
China is the leading EV battery manufacturer by country with approximately 57% of market share. The China-based company, CATL, has a 34% share all by
Manufacturing custom parts for a surgical technology teaching lab was interesting work. Most interesting was to learn how the parts were to be used. The
We have been a custom heatsink manufacturer serving Texas and Oklahoma for more than 35 years. We have business relationships with aluminum extrusion manufacturers and
We recently ran an order for custom 3D-printed cable-holding tools. It was a small order of 6. For us, small orders are typical for 3D-printed
The automation paradox is where systems have been automated for efficiency, and the human role has been reduced to monitoring and intervening. Although reduced, the
Merry Christmas from all of us at C & C Machine! We’ve had a pretty good year business-wise. Machining components for the energy sector were
Metal fabrication often requires custom punches and dies for punch press machines. Suppliers may be limited because of the small order volumes associated with custom
Manufacturing automation trends may negatively impact the job outlook for machinists, but positively impact the job outlook for other occupations. Manufacturing Trends in Automation The
Trillions of dollars have been spent on renewable energy sources over the past few years, but is renewable energy really replacing fossil fuels? Types of
