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Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders

Manufacturing is challenging, but if you are connected to a community of leaders, you can elevate your skills, solve your problems and grow your business! MakingChips was launched in 2014 to equip and inspire the metalworking nation. Hundreds of episodes and a million downloads later, it’s an industry-leading source of information, inspiration, and entertainment for manufacturing leaders of all types. It’s hosted by Jason Zenger and Nick Goellner, two multi-generational manufacturing leaders, and they’re joined by a rotating panel of expert guests – including Titan Gilroy (TITANS of CNC), John Saunders (NYC CNC), Mark TerryBerry (Haas Automation), and many more. Join us as we tackle the topics that keep you up at night - leadership, operations, technology, growth, workforce development and culture.
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Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders
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Now displaying: December, 2018
Dec 28, 2018

The MakingChips podcast welcomes guest Tony Schmitz, professor at UNC Charlotte and assistant director, energy production and infrastructure center to talk about machining vibration. Tony teaches mechanical design, helping students design and build useful technology like robots. He also teaches mechanical vibrations, structural dynamics, and advanced manufacturing. He says, “At the end of the day, when you’ve made something, you never feel like you didn’t accomplish something that day.” During this episode, Tony gives helpful information about how to measure and mitigate machining vibration in manufacturing.

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The 3 pieces of the machining dynamics puzzle

Why are machining dynamics important for manufacturing leaders? Knowing the variables within a tooling machine and being able to adjust them appropriately can increase the longevity of the tool and increase productivity. Tony Schmitz explains that there are three pieces of the machining dynamics puzzle. Listen as he explains why considering these three factors are essential for manufacturers.

Feel the machining vibration

Whenever a force is being applied to a nonrigid structure, there will be vibration. The problem, according to Tony, is that CAD/CAM software encourages you to ignore vibration and the variables within the machining tool. CAD/CAM always drafts the cutting process perfectly. However, it doesn’t take into account the reality of a machining tool that vibrates. Vibration means displacement of your cutter that changes over time. However, Tony says that the math equations you learned in school can actually be applied to the shop floor. Hear how differential equations can actually be used in CAD/CAM software to help get higher axial depths of cut without chatter.

Good vibrations v. bad vibrations

“Just like we all have fingerprints, every cut has a fingerprint as well and it’s the frequency content of that sound signal,” says Tony Schmitz. Bad vibration, also called chatter, are unmistakable when you hear it in a shop. Tony talks about how he can analyze frequencies that a machine puts out and identify bad vibrations and problems in the chip making process. He also explains how viewing wave patterns produced by a machine can tell you how to adjust your spindle speed. Tony says, “The most powerful knob on your controller is not the feed override, it is the spindle speed override.”

How to increase productivity in your shop

In order to mitigate bad vibration and increase your productivity, Tony encourages collecting a minimum set of data. He describes how to select the 8-10 standard tools that you use the most and collect data on those tools, using an impact, or tap test. Results from a tap test can help you bid jobs more accurately. They can also help you make adjustments to your machines so that you can avoid chatter and be more efficient. Learn about that and much more on this episode of MakingChips.

Here’s The Good Stuff!

  • Manufacturing News: A Detroit entrepreneur applies lean auto manufacturing principles to build a beauty salon
  • Introduction of guest Dr. Tony Schmitz, professor of at UNC Charlotte and Assistant Director, Energy production and infrastructure center
  • Tony explains the three pieces of the machining dynamic puzzle
  • How math and physics can be applied to the shop floor
  • Analyzing frequency data to identify bad vibrations within a machining tool
  • The correlation of feedback in a PA system and chatter in a milling tool
  • How a tap test can help you measure your tools data, make adjustments, and increase productivity
  • The pigskin professor and how Dr. Tony Schmitz put together videos for University of Florida football games

This Week’s Superstar Guest

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Dec 22, 2018

On this week’s episode of MakingChips, guest Noah Goellner talks about lean process improvement for manufacturers. Noah is the Vice President of Continuous Improvement for Hennig Inc. He is also a lean expert with who presents lean practices in his role at Hennig and as a member of the board of directors of QRM. During this conversation with Jim and Jason, Noah shares why focusing on lean process improvement is important for manufacturers and how it can help transform their companies.

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Why do manufacturers need to focus on lean process improvement

Manufactures should devote time to integrating lean into their companies for many reasons. There are cost saving benefits, improvement of throughput, better problem-solving skills and employee development and much more. Failure to have a lean process can put you behind the competition Noah says, “You can’t improve without changing and you can’t change without improving unless you are going the wrong way.” Listen as Noah explains the benefits of lean process improvement during this podcast.

How lean flows value to the customer

Success doesn’t begin on the shop floor. Most of what determines success happens upstream before the work ever reaches a machine. Quality engineering, supply chain, and employee development all determine whether or not your company can serve your customers well. Lean process improvement is all about flowing value to the customer by eliminating waste or white space, increasing efficiency and consistently improving in all areas of the business. Listen as Noah Goellner shares more ways that lean flows value to the customer.

How can you start implementing lean into your company?

As with any new process implementation, the key is to take the first step. You don’t have to wait until you have everything figured out. And you don’t have to do everything at once. Consider your pain points and areas of inefficiency and start with one challenge. Noah Goellner talks about taking a cata approach to solving problems. He encourages manufacturing leaders to avoid the shotgun approach and instead take a focused approach to implement lean.

Lean process improvement over the natural approach

Manufacturing leaders can fall into the habit of operating their companies under natural or organic processes and expectations. However, growth and improvement must be intentional. Noah explains that taking the natural approach allows you to work in your areas of strength while your weaknesses remain unaddressed. Lean process improvement can be an effective agent of change, especially in the areas of weakness. As you identify the challenges within the business, you can then start to implement strategies to change for the benefit of the company and the customers you serve. Hear all about that and more on this episode of MakingChips.

Here’s The Good Stuff!

  • Manufacturing News: Manufacturing’s mixed messages aren’t helping to close the skills gap.
  • Why do small machine shop owners need to devote time to implementing lean into their businesses?
  • How Noah Goellner defines lean and how it helps companies provide value to the customer
  • Real-world practices for implementing lean into your manufacturing business
  • How to work backward through the manufacturing process to set expectations and evaluate process to achieve those requirements.
  • What is cata and how does it help with problem-solving?
  • Noah Goellner shares some stories of success for companies have implemented lean processes.
  • What is the best reason for implementing a process rather than allowing it to happen naturally

Tools & Takeaways

This Week’s Superstar Guest

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Dec 8, 2018

On today’s podcast, Jim and Jason share a very special announcement about MakingChips 2.0. Four years ago, MakingChips started with the goal of equipping and inspiring manufacturing leaders. The mission has not and will not change. However, what started as a hobby has now turned into something much more. And now there is an exciting new partnership that is going to take MakingChips to the next level. Listen to this episode to hear all about MakingChips 2.0

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A strategic partnership that is reshaping the future for MakingChips

On this episode, Nick Goellner joins the podcast to reveal a new strategic partnership for MakingChips. Nick is the Marketing Director of Advanced Machine & Engineering and is now a Partner and Managing Director at MakingChips. He is joining the team to propel the company from a simple podcast to a media agency that can serve the metalworking nation. Hear about the bright new future that lies ahead for MakingChips and how you can be encouraged and equipped even more by joining the journey.

The impact of content marketing for manufacturers

Marketing has changed dramatically in the last twenty or thirty years. Companies used to talk to the consumer and tell them what they wanted. Now the key to marketing success involves interacting with your audience and talking with them, not at them. Content marketing isn’t a new strategy. Nick Goellner talks about how two companies that have leveraged it to help grow and solidify their brand. Listen to hear how content marketing can help your company expand its reach.

How do you build a brand?

How can you build your brand? Nick Goellner says that you build a brand by building an audience. That’s exactly what MakingChips has done over the last four years. By consistently creating quality content that educates your audience, you become a thought leader and expert in the industry. During this episode, Jim and Jason share with Nick how they have approached content marketing with MakingChips. They also discuss some of the exciting new opportunities that lie ahead.

The future of MakingChips 2.0

MakingChips has provided interviews, information and inspiration for the last four years. Realizing how challenging manufacturing can be led Jim and Jason to seek out wisdom and knowledge from other leaders. Now, MakingChips is becoming an agency to serve manufacturers so they can experience greater success through marketing. Utilizing video, written content, and the brand new Chip-In program, MakingChips will continue to strive toward the mission that has driven them from the very beginning.

Here’s The Good Stuff!

  • The big announcement of MakingChips 2.0 with a very special new partner
  • Manufacturing News: 2019 Manufacturing Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends report
  • The mission of MakingChips when Jim and Jason started and where it is today
  • Two classic examples of content marketing.
  • Nick shares the six steps of building a brand by building an audience.
  • How partnering with Nick will help MakingChips expand and grow.
  • Ways that the metalworking nation can be a part of encouraging and inspiring manufacturing leaders.

Connect With MakingChips

Subscribe to Making Chips on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or Spotify

 

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