This podcast has been going for five years now, and those people who listen to it frequently might be tired of the Graff-Pinkert ad at the beginning of the show. I was tired of it, so I finally created a new ad. For people who are listening to this show for the first time, I’m a used machine tool dealer with a family business called Graff-Pinkert. We specialize in selling equipment for the precision machining industry. Recently, Graff-Pinkert started a new service, Graff-Pinkert Acquisitions and Sales, in which we consult precision machining companies who want to buy or sell their…
Author: Noah Graff
Editor’s Note: This podcast was recorded in Spring of 2022. Tyler has now been retired for over 2 years, and Noah is the proud father of a 1 year old. In early 2022, Tyler Jarosz sent me an email to ask if Graff-Pinkert would be interested in a used little parts washer he no longer needed in his machine shop. He found out about Graff-Pinkert from listening to Swarfcast, which I’m proud to say is the only podcast he has ever listened to. At 40 years young, Tyler retired, closing Twenty6Products, his 1-employee shop, which had been lucrative enough over…
George Konidaris is the cofounder of the startup, Realtime Robotics. He’s also a Professor of Computer Science and the director of the Intelligent Robot Lab at Brown University.
Right now, programming a robot arm to perform a repetitive task typically requires a robot integrator to program where every joint of a robot should go. It’s a ridiculous and tedious process.
But with Realtime Robotics’ AI technology, you can instruct a robot to do a task and you don’t have to tell it a zillion steps explaining HOW to do the task.
On today’s podcast we continue our season talking to successful companies who produce their own products. Today’s guest is Joel Trusty, co-owner and President of Trusty-Cook, a company that manufactures a diverse group of industrial polyurethane products such as dead blow hammers and spindle liners for bar loaders. Joel says one of the keys to the company’s success has been talking to customers about what they need. Listen with the player at the bottom of the page or at your favorite podcast app. …
Last week, I heard a story about an old customer of Graff-Pinkert who lost three key machinists because a shop down the street was paying more. It led me to make a post on Linkedin, asking if machinists and setup people were paid enough to attract young people to the machining field. On the whole, commenters vented that they were not compensated what they felt they deserved working in the machining industry. The post has 53 comments so far (I’m usually lucky to get one). The big question is, are manufacturing jobs in the United States, machining jobs in particular,…
Today’s guest on the podcast is Jayme Rahz, CEO of Midway Swiss Turn, a small precision machining job shop in Wooster, Ohio. Around a quarter of Midway Swiss Turn’s business is supplying the U.S. Department of Defense. While supplying the DoD can be a lucrative opportunity for a manufacturer, the work comes with some hurdles to overcome, including acquiring a Cyber Security Maturity Model Certification, commonly referred to as CMMC. On today’s show, Jayme discusses how a small manufacturing company gets CMMC certified, how that has affected her company, and what it’s like to be a small machining business supplying…
In November of 2015, our used machine tool company, Graff-Pinkert, bought a Schütte S32PC, mfd. 2002, in Cologne, Germany, from a dealer we didn’t know. It was a nice looking machine. A big 32mm CNC Multi-Spindle, painted red and cream because it came out of a Mercedes factory. We were excited to bring the machine to the US until the seller allowed it to get wet when he put it outside in a rainstorm. But this debacle eventually had a happy ending. Someone we had never met before helped us get out of this jam, and that would lead to…
As a machinery dealer, very often I hear customers lament that they can’t find good people to work in their machine shops. To this I say, perhaps they need to be more creative in hiring practices. Maybe they could offer better pay, more flexible hours, or some other benefits that competitors don’t provide. Or, maybe it’s time to have a more open mind to hiring groups who society often overlooks. On today’s podcast I interviewed Kathryn Shibelski. Kathryn is a second chance hiring advocate. Her firm, KES HR Consulting, works with companies who are considering hiring incarcerated or formerly incarcerated…
Recently, I’ve talked to a few Swarfcast listeners who are considering starting their own podcast shows, so I thought it made sense to make an episode discussing the merits of hosting a podcast as well as some advice if you want to build one successfully. I’m really excited about my guest today because he is one of the most knowledgeable people I know about how to grow and monetize a podcast, my podcast coach, Kevin Chemidlin, host of the podcast Grow the Show. Even if you don’t want to start podcast, I think a lot of listeners/readers will enjoy this…
For years, Graff-Pinkert has tried to convince customers who use 6-spindle Acme-Gridley or New Britain automatic screw machines that they would benefit from running Wickmans instead. Before I go any further with this spiel, I want to add that I have never run production, so I’m sure there are reasons why Wickmans are not always the best option. And, the point of this blog is a lot more than just a commentary on screw machines. That said, Wickmans have a lot of advantages over other multi-spindles, such as not requiring changing cams, and their stems don’t have a bronze bushing…