The Image Problem with Manufacturing in the USA To say Manufacturing in the US has an image problem is putting it lightly. Even Walmart's attempt to rally support for their commitment to US Manufacturing portrayed factories as dingy, dirty, grit encrusted environments. When you talk about manufacturing it conjures up a vision of huge factories in the far east with unskilled … [Read more...]
Two for Friday – Data Collection Standards and Flying Dune Buggies
We're going to have fun today with two completely diverse topics. One of them will make the manufacturing industry better and the other could make your wallet lighter. Are you ready? Data Collection Standards - Siemens names TechSolve as Solution Partner for MTConnect The Dune Buggy that Can Fly - SkyRunner Data Collection Standards - Siemens Names TechSolve as … [Read more...]
CIMCO Editor Training and Educational Resources
There is a newer version of this post! CIMCO Editor Training and Educational Resources Revisited Get the Most Out of Your CIMCO Editor Investment Tools are designed to make us more efficient and in business being more efficient makes us more profitable. CIMCO Editor is a CNC programmers tool, and to get the most out of it requires training and practice. Here are a number of … [Read more...]
You Selected Arizona but Tesla May Build the Giga-factory in California
You might recall earlier this month when we asked you where you thought that Tesla would build their 5 billion dollar battery giga-factory. At the time only Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas appeared to be in the running and you voted fairly overwhelmingly in favor of Arizona. On April 26th New Mexico Watchdog reported that there may be a chance that the factory will be in … [Read more...]
Two for Friday – Shop Classes and Positive Shipments
In this weeks edition of Two for Friday we'll discuss the seemingly conflicted relationship in two distinct topics. It's no wonder people get confused about where things are going. This week we were reminded that high paying jobs exist without candidates to fill them and yet un-employment overall remains high. We also learned that in spite of sentiment being low, shipments hit … [Read more...]
How to Load and Re-Load Common Parameters in CIMCO CNC-Calc
A couple months ago a useful feature was added to CNC-Calc. This feature will enhance the experience for people who frequently use the same toolpath parameters. The change includes the addition of a new tree on the left side instead of a tabbed interface. New buttons allow you to Load/Save and Reset the parameters. Pressing the Load Parameters button will list the … [Read more...]
Attracting the Right People to Manufacturing with STEM Education
As many of you probably already know, our background is as an IT provider. When we took on the opportunity of being a CIMCO reseller in 2006, it was a practical decision. There was a need for someone to answer the calls, fill the orders and help people with servicing their licenses. At that point we had worked with several machine shops in the IT capacity for many years. Then … [Read more...]
Two for Friday – Innovation and OEE
While visiting one of our customers in the Visalia area this week, the visit provoked some ideas about innovation in manufacturing. Luckily there was a tie in to that in the news as well. On LinkedIn we saw several discussions about calculating OEE and looking beyond just OEE so this week's topics are: Efforts to Promote Innovation in Manufacturing OEE and Beyond, What … [Read more...]
How Does CIMCO Software Maintenance Work?
One question we get asked frequently is how maintenance works with CIMCO Software products. The best way to think of the maintenance cost of your software is as an entitlement to receive all software updates for the duration of the term. It doesn't matter if the updates are just that, an incremental update of an existing version or a completely new version of the software; a … [Read more...]
Empowered Employees – Your Solution to the Manufacturing Skills Gap
It's hard to talk about manufacturing in the US without the issue of the skills gap coming up. We'll always advocate to make the conditions as favorable as possible for employees and employers alike, and in this case we'll take aim at opportunities within your organization. We learned recently from one of our customers who had CIMCO MDC installed last year a startling fact. … [Read more...]