In the increasingly competitive world of engineer-to-order and project-based manufacturing, companies have to operate at maximum efficiency to compete with not only domestic, but also the growing number of overseas competitors. The companies that will thrive in this environment are those that are continually looking for improvement. One such company is Encompix customer Orbitform. Located in Jackson, Michigan, Orbitform manufactures precision orbital forming and impact riveting equipment for a ...
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Dixon-Bayco Industries is a manufacturer of quality industrial and recreational products. These products are marketed worldwide. The company was founded in 1941, and has almost 200 employees, an 80,000 square foot plant on eight acres in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The company is ISO 9001 certified and works in a variety of areas: ' Materials cast: aluminum, copper, bronze, zinc and ZA alloys ' Foundry : sand, permanent mold and pressure die casting ' Machining: seven CNC machining centers, ...
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The August issue of Tooling & Production highlights, 'Leaning ETO Project Management.' The term engineer-to-order (ETO) denotes a style of manufacturing rather than a specific industry segment. Other synonymous terms are 'project-based' or 'custom' manufacturers. ETO companies typically have distinct characteristics about the way they conduct business that differentiate them from discrete or repetitive manufacturers. According to Thomas R. Cutler, spokesperson for the ETO Institute, 'ETO ...
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A big problem for engineer-to-order (ETO) companies is that they have many unique requirements that make traditional ERP systems unsuitable. The engineer-to-order market is relatively small and the companies themselves also tend to be small. The result is that the larger ERP software companies are more focused on the needs of the larger and more numerous repetitive manufacturers. In the manufacturing software industry the terms are clearly recognizable. The differences between ...
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In the increasingly competitive world of engineer-to-order and project-based manufacturing, companies have to operate at maximum efficiency to compete with not only domestic, but also the growing number of overseas competitors. The companies that will thrive in this environment are those that are continually looking for improvement. One such company is Encompix customer Orbitform. Located in Jackson, Michigan, Orbitform manufactures precision orbital forming and impact riveting equipment for a ...
Read the rest of this entry »

Dixon-Bayco Industries is a manufacturer of quality industrial and recreational products. These products are marketed worldwide. The company was founded in 1941, and has almost 200 employees, an 80,000 square foot plant on 8 acres in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The company is ISO 9001 certified and works in a variety of areas: -Materials cast: aluminum, copper, bronze, zinc and ZA alloys -Foundry : sand, permanent mold and pressure die casting -Machining: seven CNC machining centers, high ...
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Established in 1976, Gehring L.P. launched its North American operations in Farmington Hills, Michigan. The 50,000 square foot facility provides a full service machine tool operation, engineering and assembly of custom precision honing machines, comprehensive research and development services, contract honing services, tooling re-work services, a highly skilled team of service technicians, spare parts and in-house manufacturing of super-abrasives by another Gehring Group member, Diato L.P. ...
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With the rising cost of fuel prices, industries that use steam boilers for heating or power generation are hard pressed to operate at peak efficiencies. While steam consumption, leakages, and other heat transmission losses can contribute to the overall energy bill, this article focuses on the heart of the steam generator - the boiler. Controlling the boiler is of utmost importance in any steam generation energy saving program. Below are some ways to improve boiler efficiencies: 1. Reducing ...
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One of the most frightening phenomenon for operators of diesel engines is the crankcase explosion. Although many force-lubricated, totally enclosed, reciprocating machines like diesel engines, steam engines, air compressors and many others had been running for many hours without any such problems, still the problem of crankcase explosion is ever present and we cannot forget about it. In order to understand the phenomenon of crankcase explosion, we have to understand the nature of fire, ...
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I had been given the task to organize a fire evacuation drill specifically for only a certain area in a building. As ridiculous as it may seem, there was a very good reason for doing this. Firstly, this is a high technology manufacturing facility that manufactures products under extremely clean and dust-free conditions. With clean room facilities standard that goes down to class 10, it is very, very clean indeed. As such it is very important that dust do not enter into the clean room ...
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