10 Topics We Plan to Cover in 2022

We are planning for the articles we will develop and write in 2022. Some topics we cover do not change; the focus of Modern Machine Shop is machining technology and how shops are succeeding with it, so topics like setup reduction, cutting tool improvements and workholding tactics will always be of interest. But then there are the special themes related to what is happening right now, and what shops are experiencing at this moment in time. I see at least 10 themes that are particularly current now — topics we hope and expect to write about, perhaps after hearing from you.

Do any of the 10 themes below sound familiar? That is, are any of these developments I am about to list happening in your shop? If yes, and if you might like MMS to cover your shop’s success in this area, then please get in touch. We have not yet finalized our plans for articles in the coming year (not even close), so your email might provide one of the story ideas we include in our planning.

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What are we looking to cover in the year ahead? Many, many topics, with the notable inclusion of the following. Here 10 topics we intend to cover because we see them as pressing issues for machining facilities now:

1. Lights-Out Machining

For U.S. machining, there is a new dawn happening in the dark. The best opportunity available to many shops in North America to increase machining capacity is to take advantage of the capacity sitting unused after the staff goes home. Successfully running unattended into the night requires both automation and process discipline. We hope to find examples of shops excelling with both.

2. Support for Domestic Manufacturing

OEMs hurt by supply chain disruptions are rethinking their sourcing, and in many cases they are looking to locate more of their production close to home rather than across an ocean. What steps are U.S. job shops taking to meet the demands of their U.S. customers looking to do more domestic machining?

3. Machining to Complete 3D Printed Parts

As additive manufacturing advances to account for an increasing share of part production, a growing share of machining work addresses the finishing needs of additive parts. We will devote attention to this. 3D printed workpieces are geometrically complex, and they are some of the highest-value components to proceed into machining. How are shops thinking about this emerging machining application?

Machining of 3D printed parts is one of the topics we expect to focus on in the coming year. This photo of machining implants made through additive manufacturing was taken at Tangible Solutions.

4. Cybersecurity

Significant sensitive information and intellectual property are contained in CAM programs and other digital files important to machine shops. Machining work in some sectors, particularly defense, demands protection for this data. How is cybersecurity changing the habits and procedures of machine shops?

5. Data-Driven Process Improvement

Where and how to make machining process improvements is no longer a matter of guesswork. Machine tool monitoring and data analysis provide clear views into when productive capacity is underused throughout the machines in a facility, so the challenge then becomes acting on the data. We will continue to seek and report stories of process improvements shops have made based on insights their machine tool monitoring revealed.

6. Improving Capability With Superalloys

Materials such as Inconel, Hastelloy and Waspalloy are finding greater use not just in aircraft, defense and space applications, but also in sectors such as oil and gas. Successes and tactics for machining these challenging metals remain an ongoing area of interest.

7. Upping the Game With Gaging

High-value machining needs sophisticated inspection capability, and plenty of it. One of the most common process delays revealed through machine tool capacity monitoring in a shop relates to the bottleneck of having too little inspection capability, or discovering that needed gaging is located too far from the operation it supports. How are shops improving in the area of inspection?

8. Major Expansion

Some machine shops are well-positioned to meet the needs of customers that require more domestic machining, and some have pivoted well to respond to the changing needs they see in their markets. When North American machining facilities expand in response to these kinds of successes, we want to learn about the expansion and report what it means for the shop and its customers.

9. Gains From Acquisition or Combination

Recent years have brought a notable rise in shops being acquired by other machining or manufacturing businesses or merging with other shops. The aim of these moves often includes the efficiency gains to be achieved through shared resources and complementary capabilities. Enough time has now passed for some of the impacts to be seen. How are the acquired and merged shops doing?

10. Small Staff Embracing Automation

We’ve drawn attention to (and produced a video series about) the one-person shop. We are interested in more one-person shop stories. But more broadly, we are interested in the ways machining automation is transforming the amount of value that a shop with a very small headcount can deliver. Right now, and looking well into the future, we expect that some of the biggest stories we cover will focus on the successes of shops that are small.

Does your shop have a story that fits one of these themes? Email us. I look forward to hearing from you.