This week on Swarfcast, we’re sharing an interview we originally did back in 2020 with Paul Van Metre, Co-Founder of ProShop ERP. During our discussion, Paul shares a lot of valuable and timeless information that can help your shop run more efficiently. Since we did the interview, he has also started his own podcast, called [...] The post How to Cut Machine Setup Time in Half, with Paul Van Metre – EP 97 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

Do you ever wonder how I make a living buying and selling old iron? Sometimes Graff-Pinkert’s used machinery business boggles our own minds too. But we have some tricks of the trade that make it possible for me to pay my mortgage, and on today’s podcast I’m going to share a few of them with [...] The post How to Buy and Sell Machines Like a Used Machinery Dealer–EP 217 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

Pasta machines operate a lot like cam screw machines, Antonio Adiletta told me when I interviewed him for this week’s podcast. Antonio is co-owner of Arcobaleno and GAM Precision in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. After growing up in Italy, Antonio moved to Canada and then eventually emigrated to the United States with his wife and business partner, [...] The post Pasta Machines and Precision Parts, with Antonio Adiletta — EP 140 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

Working in the machining industry I hear the term “lean manufacturing” mentioned a lot. But what does the word “lean” really mean in this context? And how do you implement it in your company?  To help me clarify these questions, I interviewed Matthew Rassi, founder of Twenty Helping Hands. He’s a lean manufacturing consultant who [...] The post Escaping Your Comfort Zone with Lean Manufacturing, Matthew Rassi-EP 216 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

In honor of this weekend’s PMPA National Technical Conference, we’re resharing a podcast we did last year with Elliott May, engineer at BME in Port Huron, Michigan. BME builds original custom attachments for cam multi-spindles. They also rebuild Acme-Gridley screw machines. Elliott and I talked about a lot of fascinating things in this interview. How [...] The post Innovating New Attachments for Screw Machines, with Elliott May—EP 143 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

I’m dealing with a customer right now who seems interested in some CNC machines Graff-Pinkert has for sale. They told me they needed this type of machine ASAP! And these machines are RARE! They even said they had a big job for the machines already and they are on the “verge of pulling the trigger [...] The post Ghosted by a Customer, What Do You Do?—EP 215 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

On this week’s classic episode of Swarfcast, we’re talking about preventing fires inside of machinery. Our guest is Mike Campo, Midwest Regional Sales Manager with Firetrace International, makers of fire suppression systems and solutions. Fire suppression systems keep businesses, people and equipment safe by automatically detecting and suppressing fires in high-risk equipment, like CNC machines, [...] The post How to Prevent Fires in Your Machine Tools with Mike Campo-EP 98 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

Our guest on today’s show, Howard Sheldon, grew up working in his family’s third generation precision turning company. He planned to eventually take over the business from his father, but unfortunately succession didn’t happen the way he had hoped. Howard left his family company in his mid-30s, and 10 years ago started his own Swiss [...] The post Leaving your Father’s Manufacturing Company and then Founding Your Own, with Howard Sheldon-EP 214 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

It seems that today’s younger generations of workers, such as millennials, want to understand why they are instructed to do their jobs in a certain way more than their predecessors. Many of today’s employees are not content to just follow orders and take home a check. They want to feel invested in their work, they [...] The post The Benefits of a Manufacturing Business Sharing Financials with its Employees, with Reid Leland-EP 132 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.

My guest on today’s show, Thadd Mellott, called us at Graff-Pinkert because he needed a Star SB20 CNC Swiss machine. His company, Circle M Spring, in Warsaw, Indiana, produces medical parts, including implantable orthopedic components. Circle M Spring is currently merging with a medical component design company that specializes in sports medicine. Thadd is incredibly [...] The post Supplying Medical Parts Directly to Hospitals, with Thadd Mellott-EP 213 first appeared on Today’s Machining World.