Category Archives: Machining

Ep. 109 – Citizen CNC Swiss Lathes with Marc Klecka

January 21, 2021 • Leave a reply

By Noah Graff

Today’s show is the first episode of our new season about Swiss-Type CNC machining. Our guest is Marc Klecka, founder and president of Concentric Corporation, a prominent distributor of Citizen-Cincom CNC Swiss lathes in Cleveland, Ohio.

Scroll down to read more and listen to the podcast, or listen with Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts or your favorite app.

Main Points

Marc talks about his company, Concentric, which has been distributing Citizen Swiss machines for 31 years and Miyano for 10 years (after Citizen acquired the company). (2:20)

Marc gives his “5-year-old explanation” of Swiss CNC Machining (sliding headstock machining). He says the original technology of “Swiss style machining” was developed in Switzerland over a hundred years ago for producing high precision watch components. He says what differentiates CNC Swiss machining from conventional CNC turning is that a CNC Swiss machine grips the part with a collet and also supports the part with a guide bushing. This eliminates the vibration that normally occurs when machining bar on a a conventional CNC lathe. (3:00)

Marc says a traditional Swiss part has a length to diameter ratio of 3 to 1 or more because that is the point where you start sacrificing the rigidity and accuracy on a conventional CNC lathe. He tells a story about a Citizen customer who produced a 10-foot part out of aluminum tubing. (4:40)

Marc talks about the importance of running ground bar stock on Swiss machines, particularly for running lights-out. However, he says that says in the 31-year history of Concentric, he estimates that only 30% of the material run (in Swiss mode) on the machines he has sold has been ground bar stock. He says it is a misconception that Swiss Style CNC machines are only good for running ground stock. (7:25)

Marc says that during 2020 Concentric’s business did ok, but the pandemic made it more difficult to sell machines because it was harder to have in person contact with customers. (11:00)

Marc says that there are lots of good brands of machine tools on the market, but he sees the support and service of local distributors as something that sets Citizen apart. He says that many years ago Marubeni Citizen made a point of having all of its local distributors become self-sufficient for servicing customers. He says that all the Citizen sales engineers also are applications engineers. He says it is important to have sales people who can get in the trenches with customers to solve their problems. (12:00)

Marc talks about Citizen’s proprietary LFV (low frequency vibration) technology, which is featured in many of the latest models. It enables operators to control the geometry of the chip coming off the machine using the machine’s CNC control. He says this capability is significant for manufacturers who want to do lightly attended or unattended machining. (17:20)

Marc talks about the significance of the medical sector for Citizen machines. He explains thread whirling for making long bone screws. He discusses a bone screw that was made on a Citizen featuring a laser that performed a cut on that part while still inside the machine (see video). (21:45)

Marc talks about diverse markets where he sees Citizens being used. He says during COVID-19 woodworking has become more popular and Citizen machines are making tools used for the art. Also, he says tattoos have become more popular during the pandemic and Citizen machines are making parts that go into the tattoo gun pens. He says demand continues to grow for parts for the electric car markets. (26:00)

Noah asks Marc tell him something he learned the week before. Marc jokes hat he learned it probably was not a great thing to break into the Capital building. He also said that he learned about the new LNS chip conveyors that are being put on some of the newest Citizen machines equipped with LFV technology. (31:00)

Question: Which Swiss machine do you prefer to use and why?

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Ep. 108 – Tool Life Optimization with Benjamin York

January 14, 2021 Comments Off

By Noah Graff

Our guest on today’s show is Benjamin York. Benjamin’s company, Theory 168, makes a product called Tool Life that collects and analyzes data on machine tools to optimize efficiency in machine shops.

Scroll down to read more and listen to the podcast with Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts or your favorite app.

Main Points

Benjamin talks about his company, Theory 168. He says the company focuses on optimizing machining processes, particularly in Swiss machining. He says his constant mission has been to “take the art out of machining.” He wants to approach machining from a scientific standpoint rather than believing there are “ghosts in some machines,” as he was originally taught when coming up in the industry. When machine glitches seem mysterious and won’t go away, Benjamin’s attitude is to keep digging deeper, rather than using hacky short-term solutions. (2:45)

Benjamin talks about his background. His father operated machine tools, and Benjamin started spending time with him at the shop when he was 4 or 5 years old. As an adult Benjamin worked in machine shops, and he has been a consultant for machining companies since 2009. (6:15)

Benjamin says that most shops don’t reach their potential for productivity. He says many companies continue to purchase equipment and hire employees while they could get a lot more out of the capacity they already have. (7:30)

Benjamin’s company, Theory 168, builds a product called Tool Life for the purpose of helping companies boost their productivity and utilize the capacity they already have. It uses Web-based software that collects data about machining processes and then analyzes the data so shops know how they can improve their productivity. One of the most significant processes the software is intended to optimize is tool life on a machine, hence the product’s name. (8:20)

Benjamin says he wants to make technology work for the people using it. He wants to make jobs easier. He says one of the potential benefits of making processes less complicated is that companies can hire workers who have less experience. They can hire people based on their potential to grow and create a good company culture. (9:20)

Benjamin explains how Tool Life works. The product measures a myriad of factors such as quality, tool changes, and offsets. (14:00)

Benjamin discusses Tool Life’s physical hardware, which the company calls a “machine weather station.” It’s a 4 x 4 box that connects to machine tools via magnets. It collects data with various sensors, which it transmits to a Web-based cloud via WIFI. Each machine requires its own localized box because of the specific data unique to a machine. For instance, Tool Life collects vibration data relating to a bar feed, various inputs of temperature, and cycle time. After all the data is analyzed the user knows the options available to optimize a process. Perhaps the machine is being operated poorly, the company needs to buy higher quality tools, or change the tools more frequently. (15:00)

Benjamin talks about an add-on product to Tool Life called Shop Map 168 that tracks the location of people in a shop and prescribes how to make the shop more efficient. (25:00)

Benjamin York of Theory 168

Benjamin says that after the data is collected and the root cause of the untapped productivity is revealed, most machinists are able to come up with solutions on their own to improve their productivity. Benjamin says he believes that most machinists see themselves as race car drivers who are constantly wanting to get the most out of their equipment. He thinks they will naturally be motivated to make necessary changes in how they operate machines to reach their potential. (28:30)

Noah asks Benjamin how he approaches his own work as far as optimizing productivity when coming up with ideas for products or for his business. He says sometimes it is best to come up with creative ideas with very little structure, however Theory 168 has also implemented various software programs that help its team come up with ideas to fit into specific parameters as well. (32:00)

Benjamin says one interesting thing he learned last week is that people have to “trust that things are going to be ok.” He says that over the last year it has been necessary for people to learn this principle. He says that in the end everyone is going to have to work together to get through the difficult times. (33:15)

Benjamin says he thinks that 2021 will be a big year for having gratitude. He says he is looking forward to life being more fun than it has been lately. (34:35)

Benjamin ends the interview by saying he hopes that improvements in technology will allow more time for people to do the things they want and spend more time with their friends and family. (36:00)

Question: How would you like to become more efficient in 2021?

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What is Winning?

January 13, 2021 • 6 Replies

By Lloyd Graff

What is winning?

We saw one of its faces Monday night when Nick Saban’s Alabama football team annihilated a solid Ohio State squad for Saban’s seventh National Championship. Saban seemed joyful and relieved. He knew he had the superior team and they showed it from the first snap. He acted truly happy for his players, who carried him off the field after they gatoraded him.

In business, winning supposedly comes when you meet a sales goal, move into a new building, or get a promotion. But I find those are rarely moments of elation for me.

Instead they usually feel like “is that all there is?” moments.

The joy I get is in the preparation. It is making the effort to get up the hill, falling down, pushing forward, and falling back again. The thrill comes not from making it to the pinnacle, but from looking back at the struggle and knowing you are almost where you think you want to get to. I have found that reaching the goal often means feeling a letdown.

As I have gotten older, I have come to realize the real prize is not the trophy, the money, the praise. The winning is in being in the moment–of feeling love or gratitude or recovery. Winning also comes from the act of creating something original or delicious or just crazy funny.

A sense of winning comes from helping other people feel better about themselves. The truly successful coach delights in the championship his or her players win for themselves. You can see it in Nick Saban. I saw it watching John Wooden coach UCLA basketball teams to 10 championships in 12 years.

Coach Nick Saban after winning against Ohio State

It is harder to develop the sense of giving and sharing that make team sports so rewarding for participants, and even fans, when players see accomplishments as more of a vehicle to personal fame and even wealth. The truly superb coaches like Saban and Bill Belichick somehow exhibit the charisma and humanity to integrate the stars and the laborers into a common effort.

Personally I feel a sense of winning when I write a blog that feels true to me and says something worth saying. If it is original, has language that flows, and elicits good comments, that’s gravy.

I hope you have found your own personal sense of winning today. It isn’t easy.

Questions: What was your last win?

Will the Browns or Bills win a second playoff game?

Ep. 107 – Reshaping the Supply Chain After COVID-19, with Professor Yossi Sheffi

January 7, 2021 Comments Off

By Noah Graff

Our guest on today’s show is Professor Yossi Sheffi, author of the new book, The New (AB)NORMAL: Reshaping Business and Supply Chain Strategy Beyond Covid-19.

In the interview, Sheffi explains how companies and governments around the world have dealt with the supply chain disruption over the past year’s pandemic. He also gives insight on how people can prepare for the next time the world’s supply chain is turned on its head

Scroll down to read more and listen to the podcast with Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts or your favorite app.

Main Points

Yossi defines supply chain as the series of activities that take a product from the raw material stage to a finished product through a series of transportation, shipping, and creation until it finally reaches the consumer. He says the final stop of the supply chain is the responsible disposal of the product after it has been used. (3:15)

Yossi gives his background. He studied civil engineering in Israel and then came to the United States to conduct operational research at MIT, where he studied network theory. Originally he wanted to utilize his education in the urban planning and transportation sector, but he became frustrated because nobody was applying what he thought were brilliant ideas. Eventually he found an opportunity working with trucking companies, using the same mathematical principles he had researched, in the end saving these businesses a lot of money. From there, he branched out into working with the customers of the trucking firms such as manufacturers, retailers, and distributors to optimize their operations. In the process, he started five companies, which he says were all successful and sold out to larger companies. Yossi said he always returned to MIT because he is passionate about teaching and research. (4:35)

Yossi says the secret to being able to do so many projects is to have a very understanding wife. He credits her with keeping their relationship strong and helping him maintain a good relationship with his kids, despite working more or less 24/7. (6:10)

Yossi discusses some of his past books which cover different aspects of the supply chain. In March of 2020, while he was working on a book about new supply chain innovations, the world was struck by the COVID-19 pandemic. He saw this as one of the most significant historical events in the history of the world’s supply chain, so he stopped working on the book he was writing and wrote the New (AB)Normal from March until August of 2020. He says it was essential to get the book out quickly before COVID-19 became tired, old news. (8:30)

Yossi talks about how the US is still slow in fighting COVID-19. He compares vaccination rates in the US to those in Israel. He says Israel plans to have its entire population vaccinated in two and a half months. At the time of this interview (Dec. 2020) Israel was vaccinating upwards of 150,000 people a day, while his home state of Massachusetts was only vaccinating 30,000 people daily. (9:50)

Yossi says one distinct thing about Israel’s approach to the coronavirus is that its government did not hedge its bets of the efficacy of the vaccines. It assumed the two vaccines based on the mRNA from Moderna and Pfizer were effective and ordered them before they were approved by the FDA. Ironically the country was currently in lockdown at the time of the interview, while health professionals were administering the vaccine from 5AM until 10PM (soon to be 24/7). He says the Israeli government even got some of the ultra orthodox authorities on board with administering vaccines on the sabbath by invoking a rabbinical rule that states life is more sacred than anything else. (11:45)

Yossi compares the supply chain challenges for distributing the COVID-19 vaccine to those in the automotive supply chain. He says that in some ways distributing the vaccine is easier because no one is concerned about minimizing costs. (14:15)

Yossi discusses the bullwhip effect on the world’s supply chain, which was significantly apparent in 2020. He says when estimates for supply and demand become distorted because of a disrupted supply chain, the solution for manufactures to not overreact in their inventory buying is to listen to the final consumer. Thus, even Tier 2 or Tier 3 automotive suppliers should be monitoring car sales to predict upcoming production demand, rather than only listening to what the Tier 1 companies tell them. (16:05)

Yossi talks about China. He says country’s autocratic measures enabled it to quarantine successfully and get the pandemic under control. He says that early on during the pandemic, the Chinese government asked banks to give significant loans to medium and small sized companies. He says the Chinese government preferred to keep companies running rather than give money to individual citizens, while in the US the government preferred to support individuals rather than protect businesses. He says that European countries also preferred to support companies rather than individual citizens during the pandemic. He adds that it’s unclear which approach was the best choice. (19:50)

Yossi shares what he found the most shocking about how the supply chain malfunctioned during the pandemic. He says medical supplies in the United States were terribly low, leaving many hospital workers unprotected. He says the US used to have a strategic reserve of PPEs and other medical equipment, but it withered away during the Obama administration. In his new book, Yossi gives suggestions on how the United States should prepare for a future pandemic, including rebuilding a strategic inventory. He also says hospitals need to be stress tested for crises events, and a medical personnel reserve, much like the Army Reserves should be created. The medical personnel reserve would be comprised of people trained to do basic care. It would free up nurses and doctors to do more difficult work. (24:45)

Yossi gives advice to Tier 2 and Tier 3 manufacturers on how to survive a pandemic. He says they need to ensure they are not too leveraged. He also encourages membership in larger manufacturing associations so they have a voice that represents their types of businesses in Washington. (28:45)

Yossi says he is skeptical that significant manufacturing work in China will return to the US or move elsewhere because it is extremely difficult to replicate the extensive supply chain infrastructure that already exists in China. He says some final assembly of products may leave China, but the parts will continue to be made there. He says this is why it is vital to keep the manufacturing and proprietary knowledge that is already in the United States from leaving. (31:50)

Yossi says that one of the most interesting things he has learned about recently is the COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Israel. He says one key difference between the vaccination process in Israel verses in the US is that in the US patients are required to sign legal wavers to protect against lawsuits, while in Israel just getting in line is considered legally signing off on the procedure. This enables much greater efficiency in the vaccination process. (32:55)

Question: What would you have done differently in 2020?

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Customers For Sale

January 6, 2021 • 5 Replies

By Lloyd Graff

You can’t buy love, so they say. But can you buy a customer? If you can, how do you do it and what does it cost?

This is a question that I think about from a number of angles. One of my jobs at Graff-Pinkert is to help people buy and sell businesses in the machining field. I don’t use the term broker because I see my role not so much as a matchmaker but more as counselor, an advisor to both buyer and seller as they go through the arduous task of developing and completing a transaction that has a decent chance of surviving and possibly even thriving.

I often know both parties interested in a deal. This may be because I’ve been around for a while. Also, my life is more of an open book than most folks in the business because of the blog, magazine, and podcast, and because I care about the people involved almost as much as the fee. This is a good thing because in this field the fees are highly elusive.

People and companies want to buy machining businesses to acquire new customers, sometimes in a field that is unknown to them. If the selling company has a long-term, closely entwined relationship with a client, and the person who built that connection is leaving soon upon closing, establishing a new relationship is not easy. Introductions are helpful, but the team that does the crucial work must believe in the new folks who are buying the business. The acquirers need to show the proper respect for the previous ownership and team, while attempting to discover how they might do things differently and better. They have to anticipate that the staff they inherited are not going to be enchanted with them, particularly at the beginning.

Businesses are often sold because they are old and/or rotting. They have held on to the old customers because of goodwill, inertia, and proximity, but family grievances, age, illness, clients changing ownership, and a myriad of other factors may be hidden by rosie looking cashflow and nice looking machinery and buildings.

Sellers almost always ask too much for what they are selling. They leave it to the would-be buyer to discover the skeletons hidden under the 6061 aluminum chips.

This is where the advisor in the deal may have to become a business therapist, telling both parties to get real if they have any chance to finally make a deal.

You get to a point in a lot of deals where the lawyers have mucked things up to balloon their fees, the accountants have made the numbers hopelessly confusing, neither side trusts the other–usually for good reason–and everybody is tired of one another.

This is when I may actually earn my fee, reminding the seller that they might as well get realistic about what the business is really worth and advising the buyer that every deal has psoriasis, but at least this one has a unique aspect that will make it a winner if they just stick it out a bit longer.

Usually that underlying basic value resides in the customers the buyer will acquire and how they can add their special sauce to make the company even more appealing over time.

Headphone Maker Beats Acquired by Apple

The therapy occasionally works, and sometimes it’s even true. The smart buyers, who have been through the process many times before, know how hard it is to get to the finish line. They will ignore their cautious lawyers and believe in their own conception of value, knowing that a lot of what they thought was valuable will prove to be a dream. But they will make it work anyway.

That’s the deal game, whether it’s Apple buying headset maker Beats for $3.2 billion, or Joe’s Machining Team buying Jimmy’s Machining Team to get Jimmy’s customers.

Question: Can you buy a customer?

2020, Yu Is Gone

December 30, 2020 • 3 Replies

By Lloyd Graff

What do I want to write about in the last blog of 2020? Baseball, naturally.

My Chicago Cubs traded their Most Valuable Player, pitcher Yu Darvish, to the San Diego Padres yesterday for four prospects and a journeyman pitcher. It signaled the end of a six-year streak of playoffs or at least contention, that changed the way the world had always looked at the Cubs as lovable losers. It is likely the stars of the 2016 World Series winning team will be mostly gone soon, perhaps even before the 2021 season begins.

I know you probably couldn’t care less about the ruminations of a lifelong Cubs fan, but the process the team management is going through is what every business owner and virtually every person with a life must go through at various times.

A kid matures physically into an adult. He or she is confronted with a fistful of choices. Who are they? Are they questioning and rebellious, or happily passive? Do they learn new stuff easily, or is school work a strange foreign language? Are they possibly even stuck in the wrong person’s body?

Adults often choose a partner at a young age and discover the choice was a bad one a few years later. A business runs into headwinds because the market for their product shifts, like what happened recently in the oil patch. New technology obsoletes their special knowledge, or political pressure destroys their market as we saw with tobacco.

In a few days we sail into 2021. Uncertain waters for sure. The Cubbies acknowledged that the team they have been for half a decade can no longer win.

The American government will have new management in Washington. A tough year, with everything revolving around a destructive virus, is ending.

How about you? Are you stuck? Or are you feeling agile and motivated? Do you see an interesting, alluring new path, or are you just happy as a daisy sitting right where you are now?

Cubs star pitcher, Yu Darvish

Personally, I’m quite okay at this moment, although the machinery business was a bummer in 2020. Selling multi-spindle screw machines was a dismal path which we have veered from. Lingering too long in that briar patch left us quite scratched up. Getting rid of the players or product that you have won with for many years is tough, like trading your best pitcher for 18-year-old prospects. But it is exciting too. It gives you hope.

When you know in your bones that the old course is a certain loser, the smart thing to do is to study the options, talk to the scouts–and jump.

Happy New Year.

Question: What will you miss about 2020?

Best of Swarfblog: Doing Business With Santa Math

December 23, 2020 Comments Off

By Noah Graff

The Today’s Machining World team are on break for the holidays. Meanwhile, we thought you’d enjoy this blog by Noah Graff from April 2010. We wish you a joyful holiday season, and a safe and happy New Year!

From dreambox.com

I spoke on a panel about the power of social networking and blogs at the Precision Machined Products Association tech conference on Monday. My specific segment was on how best to use videos to promote your business.

The presentation seemed well received by our good sized audience, and at the end we fielded some questions. Someone in charge of marketing at a company attending the conference asked us, “How do I justify to my boss the ROI on having a blog?” We all responded by saying that your ROI from a blog isn’t easily quantifiable, yet that doesn’t mean it can’t be a powerful tool for self-promotion.

Seth Godin’s blog April 27^th (2010) summed it up in an astute way. Godin says that ROI from having a Blog or Forum is like “Santa Math.” It’s not a normal investment like paying for a college degree that could lead to a high paying career.

You have to do a blog because you genuinely want to give to a community of people. Having a great blog or publication takes dedication, care and heart. Those efforts have to be genuine in order to create something that people love and value. This he compares to the way Santa Claus operates. Santa flies everywhere, giving presents and good cheer to people and doesn’t ask anything in return. Doing this he earns trust, friendship and gratitude. Maybe one day he can license his image and make a chunk of change to feed the reindeer and elves. But Santa wouldn’t be the loved icon he is if he was expecting money in return for giving presents to kids and brightening people’s lives.

Question: Does your business have a blog?

Ep. 106 – The Machining World of 2020, with Noah and Lloyd Graff

December 17, 2020 • 8 Replies

By Noah and Lloyd Graff

On today’s show we’re looking back on the year 2020.

Obviously, it was a tough year for the majority of people around the world. Loved ones were taken away, and many businesses couldn’t stay afloat. There were a lot of things that sucked. But there were a few pleasant surprises along the way as well. People adapted, they embraced limitations, and even found new opportunities for success.

Scroll down to read more and listen to the podcast. Or listen on your phone with Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts or your favorite app.

Main Points

Lloyd says that one of the first things that comes to mind when he thinks of 2020 is his fear of getting COVID-19. He says his brain is constantly occupied by considering all of the safety precautions he has to take. (1:55)

Noah says he is tired of everyone talking about COVID-19 almost as much as he is tired of the actual presence of the virus. (2:30)

Lloyd says one interesting trend he has noticed in 2020 is that despite Tesla’s stock quadrupling and the media’s dire predictions about man made climate change, Americans are buying a lot of SUVs and trucks, rather than electric cars. He says this should be a positive signal for the precision machining industry that the internal combustion engine is going to stay relevant for a while. (3:13)

Noah and Lloyd comment about a weak cam multi-spindle market in 2020 and remark that CNC multi-spindles are too expensive for a lot of endusers. (5:10)

Lloyd talks about how the PPP was a successful governmental program despite the fact that some fraudsters took advantage of it. He says the PPP was essential for medium and small companies when business fell apart in April. He says if it had not been for the PPP small businesses would have been decimated and the supply chain would have been in disarray. However, it was not as successful for various small businesses who didn’t have relationships with good bankers. The big question now is if the PPP money will be taxed. This will affect a lot of businesses, including Graff-Pinkert. (5:30)

Noah says used CNC Swiss machines were a very hot item in 2020. Lloyd says companies had great years if they were in the firearms business or doing medical work related to fighting COVID-19. However, medical work for applications other than fighting the pandemic was soft because many medical procedures were postponed while hospitals focused on fighting COVID-19. Also the commercial aerospace business was soft because of Boeing’s internal problems and less people flying. (7:30)

Noah and Lloyd remark that despite the CNC Swiss boom, Graff-Pinkert recently bought several cam multi-spindles including an ACME-GRIDLEY 1-1/4” RB-8 and 1-5/8” RBN-8. Lloyd says that it could be a good year in automotive because of a strong demand for SUVs. (11:15)

Lloyd says a surprising trend in 2020 was that the stock market thrived despite the pandemic. Not only are all the major stock indexes at all time highs, profits for major companies are also expected to be at all time highs. However, this does not include the oil companies, who had terrible years. (12:40)

Lloyd says that using Zoom to communicate with family was something significant for him in 2020. He has not seen has not seen his grandchildren in California for a year, but he feels like he has stayed close to them. (13:40)

Noah talks about he and his wife, Stephanie, moving in with his parents for the month of October while their condo was having work done. The ability for Stephanie to do her work via Zoom made it possible. While Noah went to the office at Graff-Pinkert, Lloyd, Risa, and Stephanie all enjoyed sharing a communal workspace at home. (14:30)

Lloyd says he personally knows many people leaving big cities like New York to move near their parents because the ability to work remotely has enabled them to go wherever they want. He says rent prices in New York are decreasing and real estate markets in places like Phoenix, Arizona, or Boise, Idaho, are booming. (16:00)

Noah says one thing he is looking forward to in 2020 is continuing to produce the Swarfcast podcast. He says it is fulfilling to him to provide listeners with helpful knowledge and entertainment. (18:40)

Lloyd and Noah reflect on whether more young people are going into manufacturing. Noah says he meets a lot of young people when selling machines. Still, he is not sure whether the owners of the companies he meets are indicative of the overall workforce in the machining industry. Lloyd ponders why more African Americans don’t go into the machining business. (19:20)

Lloyd says in 2021 he is looking forward to not talking about COVID-19, not fearing the pandemic, and being together with his family again. (21:30)

Noah says he appreciates that the pandemic has influenced he and his wife to spend more time with his brother and nephew because they have less choices of people to see and activities to do. He hopes they continue to do this after the pandemic ends. (22:00)

Noah and Lloyd discuss their favorite TV shows they binge watched in 2020. Lloyd says Outlander was his favorite show. He also liked The Right Stuff and Tehran. Noah also liked Outlander and Tehran, and lately he has gotten into watching The Mandalorian. (24:30)

Noah and Lloyd end the interview saying that one of the best parts of 2020 was getting to work together—usually. (27:30)

Questions: What are you looking forward to in 2021?

What favorite TV shows did you binge watch in 2020?

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Is It Free?

December 4, 2020 • 4 Replies

By Noah Graff

I was recently listening to a podcast interview with Robert Cialdini, a professor of psychology and marketing at Arizona State and author of best selling books about marketing, Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade and Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.

One of Cialdini’s principles of persuasion is reciprocity, which he says is both hardwired in people and instilled in us by societal norms. He says that when people give to us we have the urge to give back. He quoted a study on the podcast that reported if an owner of a candy shop greets guests with a piece of chocolate they buy 42% more candy than if he gave them a friendly greeting without the free candy.

In Graff-Pinkert’s used machinery business, it’s hard to give customers free samples of machine tools—though it’s not unheard of. It’s more likely to have reciprocity in our business when we work with other dealers. There is an understanding that when one dealer brings you an opportunity to partner on you should try to return the favor down the line.

A few months ago I was talking on the phone to a fellow machinery dealer who in the past I had always enjoyed talking to, but had never done a deal with before. We got on the subject of a book we had both heard about called Dead Wake, which tells the story of the Lusitania sinking. A week later, I received a package from Amazon with the book. He hadn’t told me he was going to send it, he just did. Now I feel like he and I have an interesting bond.

In the case of the book gift, I see it as more than just a gesture to get a reciprocal response. Just because someone sends you a book it’s not a reason to come to them with a machinery deal. But Cialdini has another principle of persuasion—liking. Getting the book made me feel like the guy liked me. Cialdini says that when you feel like someone likes you, you feel comfortable with them and you are more likely to want to do business with them.

I know the guy who gave me the book was not trying to manipulate me. I think he’s just a thoughtful person who probably wants to grow a relationship. What I take from this experience is that if I have even a slight urge to do something nice for someone, no matter who it is, I should stop hesitating and do it.

Question: When have free samples gotten you to buy more stuff?

Best of Swarfcast: Using Blockchain in Manufacturing with Jim Regenor

December 3, 2020 Comments Off

By Noah Graff

Today’s guest on the podcast is Jim Regenor, founder of Veritx, a company which helps clients dramatically reduce lead times and increases readiness for military and airline customers with blockchain technology.

Scroll down to listen to the podcast.

With today’s 3-D printing technology parts can be produced on site so clients don’t need to wait for products to be sent by land or sea. All that needs to be sent is the digital information for how to produce the parts on site. Blockchain insures the digital information is correct.

Main Points

(3:30) Jim gives background on his company Veritx which he established in August of 2019. He characterizes the company’s product as “a digital parts catalog for regulated industries that reduces long lead times and increases readiness for military and airline customers.”

(4:35) Jim talks about a proof of concept with the Department of Defense where blockchain could reduce the lead time for an F-15 part from 265 days down to 6 hours from order to delivery. He says that the United States military still uses some aircraft from as far back as the 1950s, so being able to deliver spare parts efficiently can be difficult when many of the original aerospace suppliers have gone out of business.

Jim Regenor, founder of Veritx

(8:00) Jim gives his background. He spent 31 years as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force. He was on the Security Council for the Bush and Obama Administrations, and he also ran a large logistics operation, with 15 locations in 11 countries across three continents—many of them war zones. He said he was moving roughly 570,000 tons of cargo and about 2 million people a year, and found himself constantly needing spare parts.

(9:25) After he got out of the Air Force, Jim ran the military aftermarket division at a Tier 1 aerospace company called Moog Aircraft Group. The company had acquired a 3-D Printing business in Michigan and realized that 3-D printing would become an enabler for digital 4.0 schema and how industries would interact. This led him to world of blockchain.

(11:00) Jim says that 3-D printing coupled with blockchain enables what he calls the fourth modality of logistics. Instead of transporting physical parts by land or sea, digital information to make the parts is sent on the cloud. Then parts are manufactured on site with 3-D printing. Blockchain enables the information to be sent properly.

(14:10) Jim characterizes blockchain as a distributed ledger. He gives an example of several people in a room in which one person owes another person 10 dollars. Every person records that 10 dollars is owed in their ledgers. If the person who owes money tries to lie and says he only owes 9 dollars, the people in the room have records to prove he lying. This concept means that information can be sent through a decentralized transparent system and cannot be corrupted. All records are transparent so that there is a consensus. For blockchain applications, sometimes hundreds or thousands of computers keep the ledger. This can be used to establish value for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, but it can also work well for other applications such as logistics because it enables people to track the entire lineage of an asset.

(17:20) Jim gives an example of Walmart using blockchain to track the supply chain of its lettuce from harvest to store shelves to combat the E. coli problem last year.

(19:00) Jim says that many companies are using blockchain right now and data can be tracked with user interfaces. He says for the supply chain for aerospace blockchain records the entire process, starting with the initial requirements being sent to a designer. Then each stage such as the design of a part, manufacturing, quality control, etc. is recorded individually. Everything is transparent and correct, insuring a good final product. If people realize there is a design flaw, it is easy to go back and find the mistake because each stage has been recorded with blockchain.

For more information about Veritx go to veritx.co or email Jim Regenor at jim@veritx.co.

Question: What’s your experience using blockchain?

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