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Member Updates from AMT — The Association For Manufacturing Technology

NeWSInside: Market growth heats up 3AMT’s new Shanghai Tech Center 5QuesTek Interview 6

SEPT/OCT 2017

BY PENELOPE BROWN DIRECTOR, MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

In mid-July, AMT heard from several members that they had received a strange email from Doug Woods, with the subject line, “Important infor-mation for all members.” However, the email was not sent from Doug or anyone else from AMT.

The message was the work of a spammer, with the intent to spread computer viruses and malware. Someone likely wrote a custom piece of program-ming to query the member directory on AMT’s web-site and then pull any publicly listed email addresses. While many AMT members use a generic address for their company listing (sales@companyname.com; company@companyname.com etc.), many also list a personal email address.

From there, the spammer created a fake AMT email by copying our logo and pulling a picture of Doug from the internet. They then attached their infected “payload” to the fake email and altered the sender email address to make it appear to be Doug’s. Then off it went to inboxes everywhere.

Members who had a strong spam filtering system in place reported that the fake email was caught

before reaching inboxes. Others, however, that had weak or possibly no spam filtering or email security protection were successfully reached by the spam.

Email scams are nothing new but they are becom-ing much more sophisticated and complex. Spam messages have become more difficult to identify and the dollars involved have become staggering. Accord-ing to FBI investigations, U.S. businesses lose $500 million each year to phishing attacks.

This is not the only scam to affect AMT members. Earlier this year, at least three members were target-ed in a sophisticated scam aimed at businesses that work with foreign suppliers or that regularly perform wire transfers—both common characteristics for many AMT members. While two members caught the scam in time before any money changed hands, the third member lost almost $100,000. Protecting your business and its assets is essential.

Top IT security tips:1. You must have a strong spam filter in place. The

junk folder in Outlook is not a spam filter! Gartner has trustworthy, current information about spam filtering services. Visit www.gartner.com, and search for “spam filter review.”2. Never open attachments from people you don’t

know and/or don’t trust. If you receive an attach-ment from someone who you do know and trust, don’t open it if it appears suspicious. Contact the sender instead. Avoid clicking links in suspicious emails as well.3. Watch for generic requests for information. If a

message seems “off” from prior emails received from a particular sender, proceed with caution. 4. Beware of messages that threaten warnings like

disabled or canceled accounts or anything else imply-ing a need for urgent action. 5. If you receive an email that you feel you can

open but still have suspicions, try opening it on your phone first. It’s less likely to impact your phone than your laptop.6. Review the FBI’s Suggestions for Protection from

their public service announcement regarding Business E-mail Compromise. Visit the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaints Center website at www.ic3.gov, and search for “May 4 2017 PSA” to view the report.

Finally, the most important tip is to do what you are good at doing, but get help when you need it. Make sure you have an IT expert on your staff or a contract with an outside professional service. The risk to your business and assets is too much to leave to chance. n

Proceed with caution: The high cost of email scams

2 AMTNeWS September/October 2017

NeWSAMT NEWSKathy Webster, Manager Media Communications

Amber Thomas, Vice President Marketing & Communications

Penelope Brown, Director Marketing & Communications

Eric Gorte, Digital Media Manager

Cesar Sosa, Graphic Designer

Submit company news articles to: AMTonline.org/membercms

ADVOCACYAmber Thomas 571-216-7448 athomas@AMTonline.org

ASSET MANAGEMENT & OPERATIONSJeffery Traver 703-827-5251 jtraver@AMTonline.org

BUSINESS SOLUTIONS Kim Brown 703-827-5223 kbrown@AMTonline.org

EXHIBITIONS Apply for space at IMTS 2018

Tom Snyder 703-827-5235 tsnyder@AMTonline.org

Mark Kennedy 703-827-5220 mkennedy@AMTonline.org

FINANCE & HUMAN RESOURCESBecky Stahl 703-827-5246 bstahl@AMTonline.org

GLOBAL SERVICES Ed Christopher 703-827-5296 echristopher@AMTonline.org

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGYTim Shinbara 703-827-5243 tshinbara@AMTonline.org

MEETINGS 888-379-4659 AMTonline.org/meetings

MEMBER SERVICESSteve Lesnewich 703-827-5227 slesnewich@AMTonline.org

Melissa Williamson 703-827-5272 mwilliamson@AMTonline.org

MTCONNECT®Russ Waddell 703-827-5258 rwaddell@AMTonline.org

MTINSIGHT

Ian Stringer 703-827-5209 istringer@AMTonline.org

SMARTFORCE DEVELOPMENTGreg Jones 703-827-5203 gjones@AMTonline.org

STRATEGIC ANALYTICSPat McGibbon 703-827-5255 pmcgibbon@AMTonline.org

Member Updates from AMT — The Association For Manufacturing Technology

SEPT./OCT. 2017

The Association For Manufacturing Technology ©2017 7901 Jones Branch Drive, Suite 900 n McLean, Virginia 22102-3316703-893-2900 n Editor@AMTonline.orgContact AMT: Penelope Brown, 703-827-5275, pbrown@AMTonline.org

This October, Haas Automation, Inc. will once again host HaasTec 2017, a four-day open house at its headquarters and manufacturing facility in Oxnard, Calif. Scheduled for October 10–13, the event will include machine demos, factory tours, a catered lunch, and more than 36 exhibitors from major tooling, workholding, and CAD/CAM manufacturers showcasing their products. HaasTec 2015 drew nearly 3,300 attendees from 48 countries, and this year’s event promises to be even bigger and better. Registra-tion for HaasTec 2017 is free at www.HaasCNC.com. Click on the HaasTec 2017 banner. SMTCL announced the development of a new

horizontal turning center, the EHC125300. This machine demonstrates SMTCL’s commitment to United States’ job shop customers by allowing them to get a large high-quality machine tool at a cost-effective price. SMTCL’s National Sales Representative, Chad Turner stated, “Previously, major companies were not able to outsource large turning work because many job shops did not have the machine tools to do the work accurately or cost-effectively.” Customers can find out more about this machine or get a price quotation by contacting their local SMTCL distributor.

Greenerd Press & Machine Company, Inc., announced it is now a Tier Ⅰ Industrial Authorized Robot Sys-tem Integrator of FANUC America Corporation, the industry's leader in automated manufacturing equipment. The new partnership gives Greenerd full access to the comprehensive offerings of FANUC Robots including all models, training, and support, providing state-of-the-art automation solutions in short time frames. (http://www.greenerd.com/)

Greenerd has a long tradition of designing, engineering, and manufacturing customized hydraulic presses with product handling solutions. The FANUC Robots partnership gives Greenerd the ability to offer its customers the best possible automated product handling solutions, including cells with a single robot, as well as complex work cells with multiple robots.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Atlas Technologies announced the completion of an extensive Mold & Die Storage System for a North-west U.S.-based major aerospace manufacturer. The project installation was finalized in August 2017.

The unique storage racking system is engineered to customer specifications to assist with increas-ing production demands moving into the future. The system will function in coordination with the customer’s current mold & die methods and equipment, and is configured to conform to the existing floor plan in the facility. Atlas Technolo-gies designed the storage system to accommodate a maximum die and mold weight capacity up to 66,000 lbs., with varying weight restrictions among the numerous racking tiers.

Atlas Technologies has been an established pro-ducer of automated solutions for the past 50 years.

EHC125300

NYMAT Machine Tool, the Haas Factory Outlet for Upstate New York is celebrating Manufac-turing Day by inviting various local high school and technical students to a program entitled, “Career Paths in Manufacturing.” To be held at the Haas Factory Outlet in Fairport, N.Y., on Wednesday, October 11, this event will expose students to career paths such as:

• Precision machining, moldmaking and tool & die

• Design and programming with CAD/CAM

• Service and maintenance technicians• Logistics and supply chain management• Industrial sales and management• Instructor and training in manufacturing

education Students will receive brief lectures and

examples of what each career path entails, with STEM training a common theme. They will observe turning and 5-axis machining demonstrations and lunch with industry and educational representatives.

For invitations, contact Jim McGaffin at: jmcgaffin@nymat.com

Ledvon

HEIDENHAIN Corporation hired Gisbert Ledvon to focus on business devel-opment of their CNC machines. Ledvon will lead a team of 5-axis machining, program-ming and technology specialists at HEID-ENHAIN’s North American subsidiary in Schaumburg, Ill.

In June, Jet Edge joined the portfolio companies of Spell Capital Partners, a Minneapolis-based private equity group.

Jet Edge is being led by Steve Murray, a tenured Spell Capital Operating Partner. “Jet Edge has phenomenal global brand name recognition and is considered the premium system in the water jet cutting industry.”

Jet Edge carved their niche in the waterjet industry through ultra-high-pressure waterjet pumps, rang-ing from 36,000 psi to 90,000 psi. These pumps are incorporated into 3 and 5 axis, high precision motion systems for production environments and into mobile cutting systems for site-specific cutting and surface cleaning. Jet Edge prides itself on its product quality and design flexibility to maximize the users required performance in aggressive environments.

September/October 2017 AMTNeWS 3

PAT MCGIBBONVice President, Strategic Analytics

MARKET DATA REVIEW

“Yesterday’s

science fiction

movie is closer

to a reality in

the auto industry

than anywhere

else in our

customer base.”

✔

Summer winds blowing warmer order levels In generalMarket growth continues to pick up the pace according to both members and the USMTO numbers posted at the beginning of August. Members shared that the rate of change has picked up but that it is still not evenly spaced across customer markets by industry.

Customers are reported to be more difficult in negotiations on terms and the need for additional information is trumping delivery. Members reported that they be-lieve that terms and additional information have dragged out the placement of orders until late in the month. Financing has also played a role in delaying or lengthening the closing orders process. As a result, orders have tended to bunch up at the end of the month. Quotation activity is rising faster than orders are being placed, which mem-bers have said is encouraging those closing rates to improve modestly. This supports the USMTO data and our favorite pundits who have raised their forecasts.

USMTO data support members, reports that increased order activity has not developed evenly across their customer industries. Several of the key industries are lagging the general trend significantly, such as the oil and gas equipment indus-try. Orders from this sector have trickled upward but clearly are not supporting a sustained recovery. Mining, off-road, and construction (MOC) is experiencing a sim-ilar pattern although there is a bright spot in this sector’s story: capacity utilization has been dismal, but the MOC utilization rates have broken the 55 percent utiliza-tion rate and is climbing rapidly.

Mining, off-road & constructionNot only is the capacity utilization rate on the rise, but in a recent conversation with economist Eli Lustgarten, he explained that there is reason to be optimistic about

the growing health of the MOC sector. He pointed to a lower than traditional threshold on capex spending based on oil prices. He shared that prices as low as $50–$60 per barrel would drive increases in demand for new equipment. Operational improvements will be a key incentive in new investments followed by increased speed and capacity.

Oil and gas equipment hit bottom earlier this year and is on the mend, though at very slow growth rates. This stands in contrast to the mining and off-road industry, which is bottoming out and will have a more rapid expansion. While iron and steel supplies are still at levels that make further mining less attractive, those elements essential to the electrification of the world are experi-encing an explosion in demand. On the top of that list is copper. One recent example seen at a presentation recently noted that just 15 years ago a car typi-cally had 55 pounds of copper, while hybrids of the 2010 era and forward had 110 pounds, and that totally electric cars will have 165 pounds of copper. As the electronics and software (including artificial intelligence) share of the value of a car continues to increase, so will the need for copper, platinum, and gold.

The real star on the horizon for this sector is the construction equipment industry. Inventories have made significant adjust-ments, and production rates have been up over the past several months. The real kicker for this sector will come when Congress

enacts legislation to address the deplorable condition of this nation’s infrastructure from roads and bridges, to the power grid and rail system. This program will represent billions of dollars in spending over a significant number of years.

AutomotiveYesterday’s science fiction movie is closer to a reality in the auto industry than anywhere else in our customer base. That could be more of a horror film than sci-fi for our industry because the auto sector and its suppliers represent between 20 and 30 percent of all orders annually. Autonomous

vehicles may still be a decade or two from representing a significant percentage of the 750 million vehicles in the United States, but electrified and electric cars are much nearer to becoming a force in the market mix. Cheap oil may have had a significant impact on the trend in buying SUVs/trucks rather than lighter cars (see graph) but it hasn’t slowed the development of alterna-tive fuel vehicles. They are coming and that means internal combustion engines will see their share of new car sales begin to fall. It will be by fractions of a point at first before picking up speed in the 2025 time frame when the car industry is likely to next revisit drive train investments or their elimination.

Germany’s Federal Council this past fall passed a resolution urging the EU to ban sales of internal combustion engines after 2030 and Volvo has vowed to go all electric by 2019. Charles Chesbrough, auto analyst with Cox Automotive Inc., will be expanding on these issues and their impact on capital spending at GFMC 2017. To register for the conference, visit AMTonline.org/GFMC.

If you have any questions about the information represented in this article don’t hesitate to contact Pat

McGibbon at pmcgibbon@amtonline.org or call 703-827-5255.

Segment Business Conditions Status Notes

Manufacturing Technology Business Conditions � Mfg tech orders are on the upswing

Durable Goods Manufacturing Business Conditions Several key industries are lagging but mfg is still growing

Economic Indicators Summary Status Notes

Purchasing Managers Index PMI hasn't been this high since end of 2014, which was peak of mfg technology orders

Capacity Utilization for Mfg. Capacity utilization continues to wobble its way upward

Orders for Mfg. Durable Goods � Paris Air Show can take credit for the 7% jump in July

Housing Starts Housing starts continue to be a strong point in the indicators

30 Yr. Mortgage Rate � Rates continue to be low compared to historical averages

Consumer Sentiment � Consumer sentiment bounces in the 90s which is a positive sign

MBI � New to the 10 indicators - closely related to mfg tech orders and has been more than 50 since January

Light Vehicle Sales � Sales have slowed to less than a 17 million annual unit pace

Baltic Dry Index Index is soft but improving

Restaurant Performance Index � Sitting just above 100, the index rests at the lowest value that still represents a signal for healthy business levels

U.S. sales of light vehicles

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

Total Light Vehicles — seasonally adjusted at annual rates (Millions)Light Trucks — seasonally adjusted at annual rates (Millions)Autos — seasonally adjusted at annual rates (Millions)

June-17

Dec-16

Jun-16Dec-15

Jun-15Dec-14

Jun-14Dec-13

Jun-13Dec-12

Jun-12

4 AMTNeWS September/October 2017

PETER EELMANVice President,Exhibitions

EXHIBITIONS

“Thousands of

IMTS items are

part of personal

histories and

careers in this

business.”

MTINSIGHTEconomic Trends is now on MTInsightThe MTInsight team is excited to announce that a new Economic Trends app is now available through MTInsight, an online business intel-ligence tool delivering knowledge that leads to informed decision-mak-ing and increased productivity. Access is free for AMT members.

The Economic Trends app will provide users with the latest eco-nomic data most relevant to the manufacturing technology market. It’s your one-stop shop for understanding trends in overall manufacturing, but also the ability to hone in on specific customer industries as well.

Key indicators include:• Industrial Production & Capacity Utilization• Purchasing Manager’s Index• Durable Goods Orders• U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders (USMTO)• Construction Spending• Consumer SentimentIf you are already an MTInsight customer, you can login to your

existing MTInsight account and locate the Economic Trends app under “My MTApps.”

If you aren’t currently using MTInsight, we urge you to take a look. You can activate your MTInsight account by logging into www.mtinsight.org with the same username/password you use on AMTonline.org.

MTProspects will be decommissioned on October 6, 2017After careful consideration, AMT has decided to discontinue MTProspects in favor of providing AMT members with more customized research solutions.

Going forward, AMT wants to assure you that you’ll receive the most relevant information with more personalized service by submitting your requests to AMT’s Strategic Analytics team at industryintel@amtonline.org or call 1-800-544-3597.

The MTInsight team looks forward to introducing new applica-tions to help improve your daily business life.

What is MTInsight?MTInsight is AMT's in-tuitive, online business intelligence tool, which leads to informed deci-sion-making and increased productivity. MTInsight is based on three key elements: dynamic software, AMT's experience and analysis, and our unique data warehouse — all of the informa-tion AMT tracks on your markets, benchmarking surveys, indus-try trends, your competitors, customers and supply chain.

ECONOMIC TRENDS

IMTS history – It’s personal! It is an honor for me to be able to join the ranks of monthly columnists for AMT News. As most of you know, IMTS produces its own scheduled newsletters and publi-cations and while we will continue those, it will be my pleasure to contribute some insights from the show world in general and IMTS in particular. Entering my 22nd year at AMT and my (gulp!) 38th year of IMTS participation overall, I am continually struck by the way IMTS marks career paths in the manufacturing technology industry. This is not only true here in the United States, but globally as well. How many times have you heard “My first IMTS was” or “This is my XXth IMTS” as you talk with your col-leagues about your industry experiences?

This was brought home to me on a recent visit to our fellow trade association partner, the China Machine Tool & Tool Builders Association, more commonly known as CMTBA, to meet with their new president, Mr. Mao Luofeng. AMT is partnering with CMTBA in the introduction of a new show in China, The China Chongqing Internation-al Machine Tool Show, this November 13–16. Bill Herman, AMT’s Director of Internation-al Shows and Sponsorships, and I attended a planning meeting with CMTBA staff. As day one of our two-day meeting concluded, the conversation turned to “My first IMTS,” with staff on both sides relating their personal stories. As we reconvened for the next day’s meeting, we were astounded to be greeted by CMTBA’s Vice President, Mr. Wang

Liming, proudly displaying his official t-shirt from IMTS1996! The photo is a real slice of IMTS history, featuring the long retired IMTS robot hand, retired globe graphics and retired IMTS type font. On a personal note, as that was my first IMTS as an official AMT employee, I had a hand (not the robot hand) in the design of that t-shirt. A modest supply of about 500 shirts sold out a little more than halfway through the show, strictly by word of mouth sales in the show office at IMTS.

Since then, thousands of shirts, hats and other memorabilia have become

standard IMTS items and a scant few, such as Mr. Wang’s t-shirt, are part of personal histories and collections of ca-reers in this business. Do you have some stories and/or IMTS treasures? Drop me a note at peelman@amtonline.org and we will feature some of the best in our IMTS 2018 materials.

For more information on the CCIMT Show, visit CCIMTShow.com.

And remember, the 2018 edition of IMTS is just a year away, September 10–15, 2018. Visit IMTS.com for details!

Mr. Wang Liming, Vice President – CMTBA shows off his IMTS 96 shirt at CMTBA’s offices in Beijing, China, August 24, 2017.

September/October 2017 AMTNeWS 5

“AMT's

International

Technology

Centers can

help increase

your sales in the

growing global

marketplace.”

EDWARD CHRISTOPHER Vice President, Global Services

GLOBAL SERVICES

AMT’s Shanghai Tech Center is moving

As many of you know, AMT will soon have a new address for our Shanghai Tech Cen-ter (STC) in China. In 2004, AMT opened its first foreign Technology and Service Center in Shanghai’s Waigaoqiao Pilot Free Trade Zone. For more than a decade, AMT’s Shanghai Tech Center has helped more than 100 AMT member companies increase their sales and distribution in Chi-na. Many have “graduated” from the STC and left after a sufficient incubation period to establish their own offices and factories. Others have stayed with us at the center from the start, recognizing inherent benefits and efficiencies.

In 2014, STC’s 10-year lease expired and the landlord was unwilling to renew it. The area has become a retail commercial center with the STC space earmarked for a supermarket. Additionally, local market rental rates have doubled since the lease began. AMT took the inevitable move as an opportunity to find a location better suited to the nature of our members’ businesses, and design a new Tech Center in line with their changing needs.

The industrial park selected, the Shanghai Waigaoqiao International Machine Tools Center (iMT), will comprise about 30 acres (12 ha) and encompass more than a mil-lion square feet (100,000 m2) of buildings. iMT will be China’s largest showplace and support center for the best of the world’s advanced manufacturing technology. The entire development is dedicated to man-

ufacturing technology companies and organizations. It is located just a few miles from our current location within the same Free Trade Zone.

Moving will take place the first week of October with the new offices officially opening Monday, October 9. If you are a STC participant, we sent you a STC Mov-ing Manual that contains the information you need for a smooth and successful move. The manual contains information about the new STC:

• maps and directions• floorplans and summaries of the layout• new office pricing structure and selection

forms• logistic information• forms regarding phones, moving boxes,

parts and demo equipment• an overall timeline and checklistWe are very excited about the new

location and facility, and are dedicated to making the move as hassle free as

possible for our members. If you have never used the STC, it is a very

cost effective and efficient way to get started in China. AMT’s local team can provide you with commercial and service offerings designed to develop and grow your sales in this dynamic market.

AMT’s International Technology Cen-ters in China, India, Mexico, and Brazil allow our members to have a local pres-ence in those countries at a fraction of the cost of “going it alone.” We also have an office in Poland to assist our members in developing business in the European markets. Reach out to us anytime to learn more about how we can help you increase your sales in the growing global market-place!

Want to know more about AMT's Tech Centers? Contact Ed Christopher at EChristopher@amtonline.org

or 703-827-5296 or Marcel Beraud at MBeraud@amtonline.org or 703-827- 5216.

Shanghai Tech Center (STC) Demo Area

Shanghai Tech Center (STC)

Shanghai Tech Center (STC) Lobby

6 AMTNeWS September/October 2017

TECHNOLOGY

STEPHEN LAMARCA Manufacturing TechnologyAnalyst

QuesTek Interview

QuesTek Innovations, LLC specializes in the computational design and accelerated qualification of ultra-high performance alloys specifically developed for individu-

al customer needs utilizing Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME). Material and process development and validation are as expensive and time-consuming as the are valuable and necessary. ICME is a computational approach to more affordably and quickly bring solutions to market. Tim Shinbara, AMT’s Vice President Technology, took the opportunity to talk with Jeff Grabowski - Manager of Business Development for QuesTek, about the ICME process, intellectual property apropos to materials develop-ment, and where ICME can go in the future.

Q: What role does ICME play in your development process (impacts to cost, time, material readiness)?

A: ICME technologies allow for mate-rials to be designed much more quickly, at a lower cost, and arrive at a more optimal material performance versus traditional trial-and-error methods. For example, we recently spoke with a major alloy producer that brought a new material to market. To develop that material, they melted five-pound batches of 100 different chemistries, heat treated all that materi-al, machined it and tested it. It was time consuming and costly, and in the end, simply chose the best performing alloy. With ICME technologies, we can theo-retically screen thousands of chemistries and subsequent heat treatments using our proprietary databases and models to arrive at perhaps three high, potential combinations. In our laboratory, we then melt samples about the size of your finger tip, heat treat them and then look at the microstructure to see what phases are present and measure the hardness as a proxy for strength. We may then do a final design iteration and place an order with an outside vendor for a 30-pound melt to measure mechanical properties and optimize the heat treatment. There are significant time and cost savings, and the properties of the material in the end are much improved over legacy alloys that our designs are replacing.

Q: Talk a little bit about how ICME is utilized.

A: QuesTek’s biggest commercial suc-cesses to date have been in using ICME to design a family of ultra high-strength and performance Ferrium steels licensed to Carpenter Technology. These are being used in demanding applications such as Air Force and Navy jet landing gear, next-gen-eration helicopter transmission gears, and on several flight-critical components on SpaceX’s successful Falcon and Dragon programs. The beauty of ICME is that it is material agnostic, meaning it can be used across alloy systems from aluminum to tungsten. It is also process agnostic so we can use it for casting, forging, and additive manufacturing processes. When we do a materials design project for a customer, we

work closely to understand their perfor-mance requirements such as strength, frac-ture toughness, and corrosion resistance, and use the appropriate models to come up with concepts and a design. We also always consider the manufacturing path to ensure that the material we are developing can be processed in existing equipment and require no major capital investments.

We also have a number of projects bringing major step changes to the per-formance of materials in the automotive, energy, oil, and gas industries. These pertain to distribution tubulars, low-cost, high-performance gear steels for automo-tive transmissions, high-temperature Al alloys for cylinder head blocks in cars, and low-cost, high-performance single crystal nickel alloys for industrial gas turbine blades for increased energy efficiency.

Q: How did you get into the develop-ment space for additive?

A: We have been modeling and design-ing materials using ICME for 20 years for traditional manufacturing paths such as forging and casting. We saw the potential to use our capabilities to design materials tailored for AM but had several years of rejected proposals because people didn't want to look at new processes and new materials at the same time. Now everyone sees the problems with using off-the-shelf legacy alloys in additive processing. For example, the aluminum alloys industry uses in additive are Al-Si-Mg because they can be processed without cracking, but unfortunately have limited strength. The high-strength 6061 and 7050 alloys crack during printing. We have projects that use ICME to design high-strength but also highly printable aluminum alloys. We have been funded 18 projects to resolve the material challenges in additive in Al, Ti, Ni, Cu, Fe and W systems and have several new alloys we will be bringing to market over the next 12–18 months.

Q: How do you work out intellectu-al property rights with your cus-tomers? Have you had any trouble retaining the rights to patents and licenses with government contracts such as Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)?

A: The short answer is that we are very flexible when it comes to IP. The gov-ernment contracts we receive (including SBIRs) allow us to file for and own the patent on the materials and technologies that we develop. Often in commercial projects, we have already filed for IP protection in the topic area, or at least have documented novel and innovative microstructural concepts, before starting a project. We have delivered alloy designs where customers have preferred to keep the invention as a trade secret rather than file for patent protection. In cases where a company has funded us to design an alloy, QuesTek is the inventor but we are open to having them as the assignee in return for an application success fee and/or royalty.

Q: Are there large gaps, monumen-tal advances, or obvious next steps to improve ICME technology?

A: There is a NIST-sponsored case study on the successful and rapid design and deployment of our Ferrium M54 steel and the factors slowing the ICME process in a small business environment, which are often gaps in funding. We are also exploring strategic corporate partnerships that would compensate these factors and help accelerate the design process.

QuesTek co-founder and Chief Sci-ence Officer Dr. Greg Olson added, “As a partner in the NIST-sponsored CHiMaD Materials Design Center supporting the national Materials Genome Initiative, we are exploring numerous new method-ologies of so far unproven merit which could enhance our ICME approach. This includes techniques for high through-put theory and experiment to efficiently expand fundamental genomic databases, and hybrid data analytics that combines new data with prior knowledge to expand predictive mechanistic models. Our strat-egy is maximum use of previous data with minimal need for new data.”

What is ICME? Integrated Computational Materials En-gineering (ICME) combines bedrock com-putational physics and informatics with systematic experiments and advanced manufacturing to reduce the cost, risk and cycle time for new product development. It merges a top-down approach using state-of-the-art informatics tools to mine an extensive database on materials, product properties and manufacturing process performance with bottom-up multiscale modeling based on first principles.

—Lockheed Martin Corporation

September/October 2017 AMTNeWS 7

MTConnect is the communication standard of choice for manufacturing.

Digital manufacturing depends on data from a diverse set of industri-al equipment on the factory floor. Uniform, robust communications are part of the necessary infrastructure for modern business systems and 21st century analysis and deci-sion-making.

For more information, visit www.mtconnect.org

TAKE A DEEP DIVE

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Don’t underestimate workholding’s impactBY JAMIE SCHWARZ PRESIDENT, BISON USA CORP.

In today’s ultra-competitive manufac-turing industry, planning workholding in conjunction with a machine tool purchase has become more important than ever. Gone are the days of or-dering a machine, having it installed, and then mounting whatever work-holding is laying around the shop on the machine.

Machine tools are a manufacturer’s most important investment outside of good employees, but it is only a portion of the equation. Sure, it gives you lightning fast speeds and feeds, high accuracy, outstanding repeat-ability and high-end programing capability, but that machine tool is only as productive as the workhold-

ing that is used. The importance of proper workholding should not be underestimated. The right workhold-ing takes the machine tool from good to great, allowing it to work to its full potential.

Consider two competing manufac-turers with the same model machine. The machines are identical but their performances are not. What makes one more cost-effective and produc-tive than the other? The difference is in the process. Advancements in workholding technology have made it possible to greatly improve a process, yielding superior results compared to an identical machine without the technology. The proper workholding can be the difference in profitability and winning that next job.

Workholding affects a great num-ber of areas in the manufacturing

process, though its importance is too often overlooked. Improving the process in any or all these areas can lead to lower production costs and more machine tool uptime, which is ultimately what every manufacturer is chasing.

The next time you purchase that new, faster, higher accuracy, more complex CNC machine tool for hundreds of thousands of dollars, look at the whole process and con-sider what the proper, much smaller workholding investment could do for your company’s bottom line. It is a small part of the overall process but it can make a large impact on your business. I encourage you to reach out to one of our industry’s many workholding experts to learn more about the positive impact it can make on your manufacturing process.

6 advantages of workholding:

1. Set-up time: Faster set-up times allow the machine tool to be used more hours of the day. Every manufacturer knows if you aren’t making chips, you aren’t making money.

2. Cycle time: Reduction in cycle time per part can be reached by presenting multiple parts at a time to the tool thus increasing throughput.

3. Scrap: Quality workholding that is repeatable and clamps a part rigidly and accurately reduces scrap parts leading to improved profitability.

4. Reduced operations: Proper workpiece clamping and presenta-tion to the tool can lead to more operations in one clamping. This reduces part handling and increases accuracy resulting in increased throughput and improved part quality.

5. Part loading: Automated workholding makes it possible to achieve faster and consistent part loading. This can lead to higher quality parts as well as reduction in machine downtime.

6. Flexibility: Workholding doesn’t have to be dedicated. Modern workholding allows multiple part types to be clamped with the same base workholding system. This increases machine capabilities and the ability to take on other profitable jobs.

8 AMTNeWS September/October 2017

PENELOPE BROWN Director, Marketing and Communications

FOR UPCOMING ANSI B11 AND ISO MACHINERY SAFETY MEETINGS, GO TO www.b11standards.orgContact Dave Felinski, B11 Standards, Inc., at dfelinski@b11standards.org for updated information.

MFG ADVOCATE

What can we do to save a workforce in decline?

“What we want to call ‘blue-collar jobs’ are on the way out.”That was a quote from Kipp Glenn, a worker at Carrier’s factory in Indianapolis, in a recent article from the Washington Post. Glenn assembled furnace doors but said his knees ached from long shifts where he was standing on a concrete floor all day. Nervous about the prospects of automation taking over more jobs, and with Carrier announc-ing layoffs to its U.S. workforce, Glenn decided not to wait for a pink slip and joined many of his colleagues in taking a buyout.

It's unclear if Glenn’s position would have been eliminated, but he’s not alone in factory workers who are leaving the manufacturing workforce. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more factory workers have left their jobs voluntarily than have been fired or laid off since January. With manufacturers posting 390,000 unfilled openings in July 2017, perhaps the bigger problem isn’t just those who leave, but the much larger masses who are never found in the first place.

Take the story of Tenere Inc., a con-tract manufacturer in Dresser, WI, that recently made the news when they moved to automate their factory after finding the local human workforce so unreliable. Faced with 132 unfilled job openings, many of the candidates that did arrive were not up to the required standards. A staffing professional

tasked with finding employees for Tenere noted that potential workers lacked basic professionalism — they appeared unmo-tivated or arrived for interviews in torn, stained clothes. They complained that they couldn’t take personal calls during their shift. Even after taking on a job, some of them had to be dismissed because they showed up to work under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Assembly line no-shows were not just frequent but routine, creating strain on the employees who did arrive for work.

Unfortunately, this type of situation is becoming more commonplace in middle America. Aging baby boomers are dealing with health issues like diabetes, coronary disease and osteoarthritis. Even more dangerous, the opioid crisis is rampant in these areas. According to a recent report by Goldman Sachs, opioids have become a key factor in why “prime age” workers, mostly men, are unable or unwilling to find work. A study from former White House econo-mist Alan Krueger showed that 1.8 million workers are out of the labor force for rea-sons listed as “other” (not retired, in school, disabled, or caring for a loved one).

From a business perspective, it might be easy to say that automation is the answer to keep factories afloat. But that’s oversim-plifying the issue, as many companies still find automation too expensive to deploy on a wide scale and not practical for some

applications. And from a human perspec-tive, we are in a crisis among the workers of America. The human being is still the lifeblood desperately needed in manufac-turing. Innovation continues to be a sole product of the human mind, and without it, our industry will not remain competitive, end of story.

As AMT members, you are seeing this firsthand every day. The harder question is: What’s the answer? If there are opportuni-ties but few willing to take them, how can we pull this culture out of its downward spiral? As an entire segment of our population goes on struggling, how can people be brought forth to engage again? One part of the solution is through students and other young people who are considering their future ca-reer path. AMT’s Smartforce initiative offers information and resources about engaging with young people – mentorship, appren-ticeships, and other ways to raise student interest and awareness for advanced manu-facturing. The industry must make an effort to reach out to these future professionals, in partnership with government and academia.

The American workforce is making a tectonic shift. Unless we can find a way to reframe the narrative, the results — and human cost — could be catastrophic.

This issue isn’t going away. Email me your thoughts at pbrown@AMTonline.org.

September/October 2017 AMTNeWS 9

GREG JONESVice President, Smartforce Development

SMARTFORCE

At the center of the Google memoBy now, you are probably familiar with the former Google employee James Damore’s memo on diversity in the workforce and the fallout of what was meant to be an internal Google document.

Strip the divided politics from the national conversation that ensued because of the memo, and we are left with one very neces-sary central point of discussion about diver-sity in the workforce: jobs and the widening skills gap. Faced with a lack of qualified candidates for open positions, especially as it is impacting the manufacturing industry, we must be inclusive of every part of our potential workforce.

According to a 2015 study by Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute, while wom-en make up 47 percent of the U.S. labor force, they represent just 27 percent of the manufacturing workforce. The percentage of women who have leadership roles in our industry is also less than in other industries.

At the same time, we are failing as a na-tion in educating underserved and underrep-resented communities in STEM subjects and in recruiting minorities to our industry in tangible numbers. While studying at college, black and Latino students represent fewer than 20 percent of those studying STEM courses, but according to the U.S. Depart-ment of Labor, minorities make up less than 5 percent of the STEM-based workforce.

By some estimates, the skills gap could grow to a shortfall of two million workers by 2025 because of baby boomers retiring combined with increases in new products and innovations in technologies. These technologies that can and will require us to retool education and training programs and methodologies.

Now more than ever, it is imperative that we double down on the following solutions for our industry to remain competitive in recruiting the next generation workforce:1. Start early: Evidence demonstrates

that students who are exposed to proj-ect-based learning early in their education are more inclined to continue a STEM pathway. Talk to your local education leaders and government officials about policy solutions that engage and inspire K-12 students, like Project Lead The Way (www.pltw.org).2. Be a mentor: Volunteer in your local

robotics program or start a program if none exist in your community. Internship and apprenticeship programs for post-sec-ondary students are another way to find and train your next-gen workforce. Make sure that your company is using every edu-cation pathway available for recruitment.3. Participate in outreach pro-

grams that open your doors to your community: Host a Manufacturing Day

event at your facility, and consider an open house or tours this October. Find out more at www.mfgday.com. MFG Day is October 6, but events can take place anytime.4. Support organizations which ad-

vocate for underrepresented commu-nities: Encourage your staff to join and become better acquainted with Women in Manufacturing (www.womeninmanufactur-ing.org), the Manufacturing Institute’s Step Ahead program, the Society of Women Engineers (www.swe.org), the National Association for Black Engineers (www.nsbe.org), Latinos in Science and Engineering (mymaes.org) and others.

The Smartforce Student Summit at IMTS 2018 is AMT’s biggest opportunity to change perceptions about careers in manufacturing and to encourage young people to seek an education in STEM and a career in our industry. Students who attend the summit get a first-hand, inter-active, and engaging experience with the latest innovations in manufacturing. They’ll be introduced to the leading STEM organi-zations, as well as technology leaders in our industry, such as you!

For more information, contact Greg Jones at gjones@amtonline.org, 703-827-5203 or for more

frequent updates about Smartforce Development, follow @GregoryAJones on Twitter.

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Attention CMTSE’s: If you earned your CMTSE credential or were last recertified in 2014, renewal of your professional designation is due by November 1, 2017.

Why wait? Get it done today! Recertification is easy. Go to www.CMTSE.org, scroll down, select the “Recertify Today” button and follow the system prompts.

To log in, make sure you have a current account on www.AMTonline.org, which will also allow you to access your CMTSE account. If you need to create one, it is free and takes only a couple of minutes.

Complete the online form reporting the 27 Professional Development Points (PDP’s) needed to recertify, submit the form along with the related fee, and you are done!

Questions? Contact Clara Mora, Smartforce Certifications Manager at 703-827-5276 or by email at cmora@AMTonline.org.

It’s time for CMTSE Renewal!

10 AMTNeWS September/October 2017

ROAD WARRIOR

STEVE LESNEWICH Vice President, Member Services

NICK SHELTON Owner, VP Sales and Marketing, Shelton Machinery

D17: We met in St. Louis, and what an event it was This September, St. Louis, “the Gateway to the West,” was also the Gateway to D17, “Where Distributors Connect.” On September 13–14, distributors, builders and suppliers came together to learn new sales techniques, find out what’s trending in new technologies, learn which industries are hot and which ones are not, and to network with peers — key to a conference like D17. This was the second edition of our distribu-tion-focused conference, and I’m pleased to say that it was a fantastic event where every-one walked away with ideas and practices they could use right away.

Here’s a snapshot of this year’s event: Bill Graham of Graham Corporate Com-munications: It’s a new era in sales. Now the customer must trust and work closely with the sales professional. If you are not likeable to the customer, you will have two strikes against you before you even get to the plate. Bill taught attendees “likeability” skills to make your job more enjoyable and, in turn, make you more successful in sales.

Independent consultant and speaker Joe Thomas: Joe was a hit at D15 and once again made a big impression at D17 when

he talked about his “A2-I2” sales technique, “Answer Appropriately and Inquire Im-mediately.” Several AMT members have commented that, with practice, “A2-I2” is a great tool. At D17, Joe discussed A2-I2 as well as another hurdle we all face, “How to Focus on Customer Needs and Write Emails that Don’t Get Ignored.”

Distributor/Builder Panel Discussion: Ralph Hegman, former owner of Heg-man Machinery and past Chairman of the AMTDA, facilitated a lively discussion on the “Guidelines for Successfully Sharing Digital Information.” The panel included distributors and builders, who all discussed how data has become king and how to over-come the challenges of sharing data.

Networking Reception: In this three-hour event, everyone had a chance to catch up with old friends and colleagues, meet new attendees to both the conference and the industry, discuss the topics of the day, and enjoy plenty of food and drink. Just like at D15, attendees said that the networking was one of the most valuable aspects of D17.

Laurie Harbour, President and CEO of Harbour Results Inc.: Back by popular demand, industry expert Laurie peered into

her crystal ball and shared what she sees as the big changes coming in the auto industry. She also discussed what is happening in the medical, energy, aerospace and heavy equip-ment industries.

Dave Burns: An experienced entrepre-neur in additive manufacturing, Dave talked about the latest technologies and explained the landscape and how can you monetize the opportunities in AM.

Inspirational speakers John O’Leary: An incredible story triumph over tragedy and perhaps the most highly rated session at D17, John talked about the choices he made after a house fire left him with burns on 90 percent of his body when he was just nine years old. As a great story teller with a sense of humor, he took everyone through his “Seven Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life.” His story was a message of finding possibility in the present and living boldly, and even included some musical entertainment as he shared his talent for playing piano – despite missing many of his fingers as a result of his injuries.

We thank the attendees who joined us and the sponsors who made it possible. Thanks for all for helping us make a fantastic D17!

Expect value from distributors before, during, and after the sale The sales process for many products, including machine tools, has changed. Thanks to easy access to information, customers who want to purchase a new machine today can narrow their choices to a few machines that will meet their needs before ever speaking with an actual sales person. After just a few clicks on a computer mouse, these customers can quickly research and compare data and machine specifications from several build-ers. They can also easily find and read reviews or social media posts from other manufacturers who are already using the machines to learn more about the pros and cons of each.

With so much information readily available, many customers enter the sales process much more knowledgeable about a machine’s capabilities. As a distributor, one place where we can really add value during the pre-sale phase is when we work with customers to develop complete solutions that will serve their existing and future needs.

Increasingly, customers look to their distributors not only for value before and during the sale, but also after the sale.

Today, customers demand much higher levels of service and support from their distributors. These customers want to partner with distributors to achieve pro-ductivity and profitability goals, especial-ly as part designs become increasingly complex and machine tools more sophis-ticated. They expect the distributor to understand their challenges and provide full turnkey support for automation and workholding solutions, preventive main-tenance, applications engineering and after-warranty service.

Customers often find that contracting with their distributor for many services has a greater impact on their business’s bot-tom line than adding more manpower. For example, we have a large customer in the automotive industry that purchased a new machine dedicated to the production of a specific part. That customer opted to con-tract with us for six months for application engineering support to develop the pro-gramming and complete machine set-up rather than hire a full-time engineer. This flexible staffing solution eliminated the risk of hiring an employee that might not be needed after initial setup is complete.

We also have customers who contract with us for maintenance services. Fre-quently, we hear about the challenges they face finding and retaining qualified main-tenance staff, or that they really don’t need a full-time employee for the task. A service contract with us guarantees qualified tech-nicians work on their machines and helps reduce their overhead, as they only pay for the labor hours and services they need.

The value we add for our customers also translates into value added for the machine tool builder. Our ability to pro-vide higher levels of service and support, reduces a machine tool builder’s need to incur additional overhead employing additional engineers to support their customers. Instead, they can focus their re-sources on designing new technologies and continuing to build high-quality machines.

As the sales process constantly evolves, we anticipate customers will continue to look to their distributors for higher levels and new types of service and support throughout all phases of the sale. One thing is clear: as a distributor, our role remains to add value to the machine tool supply chain.

September/October 2017 AMTNeWS 11

AMBER THOMASVice President,Marketing and Communications

ON GOVERNMENT

“Our outdated tax code is too

complicated and puts American

workers at a disadvantage.”

— House Speaker Paul Ryan

Tax reform next on the agendaThe winds have shifted in Washington since Congress returned from the month-long summer break. There is a new sense of urgency to get something done from both sides of the aisle. It a true that it took an act of nature to bring the parties together, but it took an act of bipartisan-ship to enact a disaster relief package that included: a down payment for rebuilding after the hurricanes, a short-term spend-ing deal to keep the government open through December, and a three-month increase in the debt ceiling necessary to fund the spending.

Surprisingly, the negotiators of the $15.25 billion agreement were the Presi-dent and the top two Democratic leaders in Congress: Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi. That angered some Republicans who wanted longer budget and debt ceiling extensions. Neverthe-less, the bill passed Congress and was signed by President Trump just days after Congress returned from recess. That’s a big turnaround from what we’ve seen the first eight months of the year. But will the momentum continue?

The deal afforded Congress a three-month window to make a dent in the ambitious agenda set forth by the GOP leadership after the election. There is a long list. Some big ticket items – lower taxes and comprehensive tax reform; improvements to the Affordable Care Act; immigration reform; and an infrastructure plan – could win some bipartisan support but not as it stands now.

New OpportunityWe will likely see at least some action

on tax reform before the end of the year. The House Republican leadership is moving forward with a plan based on the

framework built and supported by Speak-er Ryan. The proposal outline was just released the House Ways & Means Com-mittee. The outline is intended to generate discussion and raise the possibility of com-promise between different factions of the majority party. A bill will be introduced based on feedback from the outline. In the meantime, President Trump is negotiat-ing with Democrats to gain support from moderates for reform.

Prospects for passage of any major tax bill by the end of the year are still daunting. If Republicans intend to move a bill with no Democratic support, that will also require Congress to pass a budget – an achievement that’s happened once in the last eight years. To get Democrats to go along will require major compromise from both sides.

I want to urge all of you to get involved in the tax reform effort. Give the House Ways & Means Committee the feedback that it is asking for regarding the impact of tax policy on manufacturing and how to better level the global playing field for U.S. businesses. You can also write me at athomas@amtonline.org, I want to hear from you!

Thanks in advance for being an en-gaged member. Our industry needs your voice to make change happen.

Check out House Speaker Paul Ryan’s Made In America video at www.speaker.gov.

Letter to the Editor: Responding to the July/August AMT News “On Government” column: I must admit that I find some humor in the silly discussions about tax reform. The federal government is currently outspending tax receipts at the rate of $3 billion dollars per day! What we are in desperate need of is not tax reform but spending reform. In less than 10 years, the three great sacred cows of the federal government (Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security) will consume 100 percent of federal revenues. As a nation, we seem to be unable to have a rational discussion about that fact.

Part of the problem is that we have had a single political party since the 1960 election. That single party does pretend to be two for the entertainment of the masses but there is only one real party. The “repeal” of the Affordable Care Act fiasco should have made that fact evident to anyone who is paying any attention whatsoever. I am confident that even “big government” James Madison would be horrified if he could see what the small town on the Poto-mac has become…

Best Regards,N. FranksAMT Member

MForesight: releases cyber security recommendation A new report from MForesight issues five recommendations for meeting the cybersecurity challenges of manufacturers: 1. Create public-private partnership focused on manufacturing supply chain

cybersecurity2. Establish a federal research initiative to address both near- and long-term

cybersecurity challenges and opportunities3. Establish manufacturing industry-specific ISACs/ISAOs to facilitate anony-

mous reporting (from vulnerabilities to best-practices)4. Establish an executive-level working group to provide a strong industry voice to

advocate for and motivate industry action to strengthen cybersecurity5. Develop a comprehensive framework specifically for manufacturing supply

chain cybersecurityMForesight is the voice of the national advanced manufacturing community,

providing government, academia and industry with information and analysis about emerging technologies, workforce training, and opportunities for public-private partnerships that strengthen U.S. competitiveness. MForesight is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST).

For a copy of the report, visit www.mforesight.org.

Questions about export licensing?

Paul Freedenberg, Ph.D., is a former Under Secretary of Commerce

for Export Adminis-tration and noted D.C.

trade expert. Paul’s support on trade issues

is a free benefit to AMT members.

Contact Paul at phf0217@gmail.com

or 703-395-6499.

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