Author: Noah Graff

I encounter a lot of friction in my work. Too many obstacles get in the way of me doing the things I need to do and the things I like to do. I know all of you out there have friction in your work too, and if you’re in the manufacturing business you likely encounter friction when you have to achieve the necessary quality to be ISO certified. Today’s guest on the show, Adam Marsh, has a company called Ledge Inc. that guides manufacturers through the ISO certification process. Getting ISO certification can be an overwhelming undertaking, but like so…

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Monday morning I was thinking about what a slump I was in as far as selling used machinery in 2024. We’ve got some very interesting opportunities right now to sell or buy equipment on the horizon. Some potential deals have been dragging on for months and a few new ones have recently materialized. But still, looking at it objectively as far as sales I’ve closed, I’ve produced poor results most of the year. When I get my coffee in the morning I sometimes picture Alec Baldwin yelling at me, “Put that coffee down. Coffee is for closers only.” But as…

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If you have not already listened to Part I, you can find it here. After serving in the Navy SEALs for nine years, Bill Berrien retired from the military in 1999, ready for a new chapter in his life. He attended Harvard business school where there were six other SEALs in his class. After graduating from Harvard, Bill worked as a Six Sigma Blackbelt at General Electric Health Care, which brought him to the Milwaukee area in 2002. Rather than climb the ladder at a large corporation, Bill’s ambition was to eventually acquire his own business.  Scroll down to read…

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Bill Berrien has had an extraordinary professional journey. He earned an MBA at Harvard, worked for General Electric and then in private equity. Ten years ago, he purchased Pindel Global Precision, a successful two-generation machining company near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which he has modernized and grown over the past decade. Oh, I forgot to mention, he was also a Navy SEAL officer for nine years. Scroll down to read more and listen to the podcast. Or listen on your phone with Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite app.  You can also view the podcast in video form on our YouTube Channel.  …

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At IMTS 2024, I learned about the latest technology for CNC lathes, robots, and most notably 3D printing. Stratasys was the first 3D printing company I visited at the show. I spoke with Foster Ferguson, Director of Aerospace, and Tom Leach, Commercial Leader at Stratasys, about 3D printing applications for automotive and space vehicles. Then I spoke with Evan Hochstein and Allison Harbaugh, Business Managers for the Stratasys Medical Team, about the capabilities of Stratasys 3D printers to replicate the feel and shape of body parts, which surgeons analyze before they operate on real human flesh. ************* Listen on your favorite podcast app…

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Today’s podcast episode is the second half of our interview with Dr. Onome Scott-Emuakpor, the founder of Hyphen Innovations, a firm that develops low cost, damage resistant aerospace components. When Onome does engineering research, he fuels his creativity by embracing resource constraints and what he calls the “fail fast” mentality. The fail fast mentality means you can look at failure during the problem solving process as a positive. If “failing” means you learn something that propels you forward the next time you try to solve the same problem, then it really isn’t a failure. It’s a success. We also discussed…

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Noah is attending IMTS this week, so we are resharing one of our favorite podcasts from last year. This episode of Swarfcast was recorded in March of 2023. The second part is also available online here. On today’s podcast, we talk about how you can apply the artistic side of your brain to solve engineering challenges. Our guest is aerospace engineer, Dr. Onome Scott-Emuakpor, founder of Hyphen Innovations, a firm that develops new advanced aerospace components for the Department of Defense and other clients. Onome’s family immigrated from Nigeria to Lansing, Michigan, before he was born. In high school, he…

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Terry Iverson is a lifer in the machining industry. His grandfather sold machines for Hardinge over 100 years ago, and for 40 years he ran the Hardinge machinery distributor for the Midwest.  Today Terry focuses his efforts on getting young people in America into manufacturing. He wrote two books directed at parents to open their eyes to manufacturing careers for their children. His latest project is a machining camp called Camp CHAMP, in which middle school kids are mentored by high school kids running CNC machines. Even though Terry is 20 years older than me, I feel like we really…

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This podcast episode is the second part of our interview with Will Healy III about how to get the most out of trade shows, which we did before IMTS 2022. It’s a great time run the best of, as IMTS 2024 is coming Sept. 9! We suggest you listen to Part I of the podcast before you tune into this one. Scroll down to read more and listen to the podcast. Or listen on your phone with Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite app.                              Follow us on Social and never miss an update! Facebook: https://lnkd.in/dB_nzFzt Instagram: https://lnkd.in/dcxjzVyw Twitter: https://lnkd.in/dDyT-c9h Main Points Participate and…

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The 2024 IMTS International Manufacturing Technology Show coming up in two weeks in Chicago! We did an awesome podcast two years ago about preparing for trade shows and IMTS in particular, so we will be rerunning both this week. The following is a summary of our 2-part interview with Will Healy III. Will has been going to machining industry trade shows such as IMTS for a long time, as an exhibitor, a speaker, and attendee. I myself have been to quite a few trade shows over the years, including IMTS, and I have to say, I wish I had known…

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