Feature Articles

7 Changes to Reduce Spray Costs Immediately
Jon Barber of Spraying Systems Co. in Wheaton, IL, says that the sluggish economy often causes manufacturers to convert their “cost management” programs into “cost reduction” programs.But Barber warns that cutting costs can have a negative impact on products and process quality, and can actually lead to higher scrap rates, costlier product recalls and unhappy customers.

The Challenge of Electroplating Cast Iron Components
Manufacturing from cast materials is a cost-effective method to form complex shaped components.

Making Your Mark
The day may have arrived when finishers can now grab a small electronic device and test to see if the rejects coming back to them were actually finished in their shop, and not, say, in the customer’s second-source finisher.

Tech Notes

Seeing Inside Nooks and Crannies for Auto Corrosion Protection
Fischer Technologies (Windsor, CT), a manufacturer of coating thickness, material testing and material analysis instrumentation, has introduced a new, non-destructive flexible probe which they say can get inside normally inaccessible cavities to get measurements.