Not a degreed engineer but been in industry a while now. I have always been curious about how you go about design bolt patters for things like split cases, valve covers, or even basic flange joints. How do you determine how many bolts, what size, and spacing? Is there some rule or formula engineers follow for this?

Received a sales order and the salesman is discussing securing “buy outs and pre-buys” before the process of production continues. Can some explain what this is exactly. Never heard it used on our floor.

Hey All - For entry-level/minimum wage positions in New York State (our minimum wage is $15.50) what's the going rate to pay an agency providing temp workers for basic material handling and packaging roles?

I had someone tell me what the temp agency they use charges them, and I'm trying to reconcile it with what I know to be fully burdened labor rates in several different manufacturing facilities locally. I.e. What they told me is so low I can't make sense of it, or they're not up to date on those expenses.

Thanks All!

Hi everyone,

I'm a college student working on my first hardware product, and I could really use some advice.

I'm designing a pair of electronic gloves where small wires need to be routed from the palm to the top of the glove. To make this work, there need to be internal channels in the glove’s construction for clean and secure wire routing. We're looking at an initial batch of 500 pairs (confirmed by pre-orders).

Here are the two options I’m currently considering:

1) Partially outsource:
Outsource glove sewing to a manufacturer, and then do all the wire routing and electronic assembly in-house. This might be cheaper upfront, but we’re already on a tight margin, and I’m not sure how much we'd actually save.

2) Fully outsource glove assembly (sewing + wiring):
Is it possible to hand over the electronics and wires to the glove manufacturer and have them handle both the sewing and the wire routing (possibly even soldering)? Have you seen factories or production companies that do this kind of integrated textile + electronics assembly?
Also, how much would something like this typically cost per unit? I’m hoping for something around $20 -30 per pair, excluding the cost of the electronic parts themselves (which I'm being quoted $32 per pair)—is that at all realistic for a batch of 500?

My current thinking is that since 500 is a relatively small batch, option 1 might be more cost-effective for now, with the plan to scale up and automate more later. But I’m also aware that my time is a major resource, and I’m not super excited about manually assembling hundreds (eventually thousands) of pairs by hand.

Would really appreciate any guidance or experiences you can share! And please share any manufacturers you may reccomend

Thanks in advance.

Hi all – I'm about to proceed with ordering molds for a new toy I'm manufacturing. I'm working with a sourcing agent in the US and we have a quote from a factory in China, so the next step is a PO for the molds.

I'm new to all of this, and unsure what kind of detail I should include in the PO. Should it include details on the mold itself, mold steel type, other requirements such as putting my company name on the mold, or anything along those lines? Or do I simply reference the quotation # in the PO, and ask that the quote detail those terms?

Thank you!

I’ve used it to make templates, outlines for trainings, and helping with some formulas or coding with excel. Curious how others are using it.

Hey guys I'm a machinist from the mid west and I'm deeply worried that tarrifs just might cause mass layoffs in manufacturing. Like I hope they work out and help boost manufacturing in the USA for now and the foreseeable future. My fellow employees are mixed on tarrifs some think it will help some think it won't at all. Wonder how things will be for many shops short term ? Will layoffs occur in a month or two once margins are totally destroyed? Or will things just be kinda slow for a bit but pickup after a few months ? Very concerned!

I'm looking to expand my headcount by 2, but I want to hire the right people. We currently have a multiple choice mechanical aptitude test, but I would like to replace it with an actual, physical object the applicant would have to manipulate. Something where they are installing bolts that interfere if they do not follow a set of written directions. Or a simple object to bolt together.

Does anyone know of anything out there, or will I have to fab up my own?

I work as a plant manager for a frozen food manufacturing company and I wanted to begin digitalizing our paperwork. It's a lot of batch recording, lot number recording, weight/temperature check, product output logs and other typical manufacturing logs. I was hoping my workers can get ipads at each section, fill out necessary paperwork (going back and forth between forms) and submit them to a cloud online. We were using a Japanese software but the headquarters in Japan decided to cancel the subscription so we went back to the stone age.

Was there a good, entry-level digitalizing software or application I can get to start off? What would you recommend to someone like me who has no programming experience, cause I can use the PC no problem but coding/programming is definitely not in my repertoire. We currently just make forms through excel and print to write on, manually collect at the end of each production day.

We make a fairly simple robotic system and have been going down the road to try and track down REACH compliant components in order to sell a few to European purchasers. Our assembly comprises of custom machined aluminum components which get anodized, some custom made electronics (assembled with purchased parts), and a couple of computers.

We assumed we needed REACH compliant components but this is proving to be a difficult task and very time consuming to sell a couple of assemblies.

For instance, some examples: * we have one small rubber wire grommet for a cable that passes through a panel. We can't find one with REACH unless we buy 1000.
* we have a small .25" x 1" x 3" plated piece used to tension a belt that we buy and it doesn't have REACH * we have small 8" x 11" 'pouch/bag' we use to store tools for the customer that doesn't have REACH

Are we going about this wrong? It just seems for the very few products we sell we'd never get ROI for the effort here?

Really struggling to interpret the guidance I've been finding online as it seems to be for larger companies or for a single article. Our 'article' is assembled from a variety of 'articles'.

If anyone has explored this I'd appreciate any tips! If we have to keep going down this path so be it but it just seems wrong.

With recent Tarriff a massive emphasis is on the fact is to we will create our own job or “Make in america”. I feel like to do that :-

1) Are we prepared to pay for expensive stuff till industry revive itself and manufacturing good can be sold at decent rate that will be cheaper then things that are much expensive with tarrifs ?

2) Speaking of reviving industry do we have enough man power the right amount of skilled worker to revive manufacturing industry?

3) Will we meet global standard of goods like reason why steel and automobile industry declined in first place like I don't know if I have to say this on this sub reddit but both of the industry goods didn't meet quality and cheapness of foreign goods that's why they declined so can we meet the standard on revival ?

4) Would we even have market to sustain it ourselves cause of tarrif bullshit we will be retaliated with more tarrifs thanks to our recent tarrifs so can we even sustain our markets ourselves without exporting ?

My work has been struggling lately with organization in our shop. Delays and errors in our outbound shipping and disorganization on the storage of our products. We have about $30,000,000 in inventory across 4 locations that vary from individualually purchased screws and pins to items that each take up multiple pallet spaces. We are a distributor as well as a manufacturer. In addition to these things we also rent equipment. We use the Epicor P21 system and have implemented some of the WMS systems that they offer. What can we do to identify problems in order to move towards solutions. I think alot of it stems from poor communication from one department to another. I typically work in our logistics department to help manage over seas manufacturing and am not as well versed in the warehousing aspect of things. any help or leads are appreciated. Thanks!

Hi everyone!

I’m starting a small business and I’m looking for a factory in the USA that can manufacture custom dog wheelchairs. The challenge is that I need a manufacturer that can handle small production runs.

Does anyone have experience finding small factories for niche products like this? Any tips on where to start or which types of manufacturers to reach out to would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone,
I’m working on a project that involves mass processing of enamel-coated copper magnet wire, and I’m looking for the most efficient and scalable way to remove the enamel just from the wire tips – enough to solder them to motor terminals.

Here’s what I’ve tried so far:

• Sandpaper – works, but way too slow and inconsistent for bulk
• Burning with a lighter – leaves carbon, inconsistent results
• Soldering iron with flux – sort of melts the enamel, but it’s not clean and too slow for production
• Acetone – doesn’t affect the enamel I'm dealing with

What I need is either:

• A chemical process that reliably strips enamel from the tips without damaging the copper
• An automatable mechanical or thermal method (laser, hot blade, abrasive tool, etc.) that works on thin copper wires (0.2–0.5 mm)
• Ideally something that prepares the wire ready for soldering without needing additional cleanup

This is for connecting wires to small motors, so reliability and solderability are key. Anyone from coil winding, electronics assembly, or similar fields with proven solutions?

Thanks a lot in advance!

Let's say you had a fully functioning metal shop ready to go with raw material and staff.

Is there really ANY product you could start making today that would be priced competitively?

Aren't we just going to absorb 15-25% cost on all goods because domestic production would cost 40%+ more (especially since raw materials are soon going to be an issue)?

I was exploring the vibration sensing and condition monitoring solution providers and I can clearly see some big players in this field - Bently Nevada, Wilcoxon, Shinkawa and others. I am also able to see many smaller manufacturers and solution providers in this space. I also saw on reddit itself that many people commented that many companies view this as a good to have feature and not a necessity.

What are your views on this space? Is this a good space to work in? Do you see this space growing? If yes, what do you think, whether people will consider smaller providers for these solutions or will they go with the giants in this space?

I Manufactured plastic (injection molded) specially bowls and cups from a Chinese factory. I gave Dimensions for the shipping boxes, they confirmed them, then they made them smaller by 7 cm to fit more into the container. They stuffed the products inside too small boxes, taped the boxes shut, and squashed and deformed the product. When confronted over this, they take no responsibility. Their response is, We'll allow a one-time low MOQ for you to buy more from us.... What can I do about this?? Is there no recourse?

We really are trying to reshore components and subassemblies, but every time we investigate something, it ends up costing 4x as much as making or having it made it overseas. So if we bring back American manufacturing, everything is going to cost 4x as much.

Hello,

Does anyone have a US source for a large, custom, steel mold capable of injection molding. Part is 23x14x12". These new tariffs are really going to screw up my loan so trying one last time to see if theres someone stateside that can handle this.

Jidoka, also known as “autonomation,” is a key pillar of the Toyota Production System (TPS). It means “automation with a human touch,” where machines or workers detect problems and stop production immediately to prevent defects from spreading.

It's 4 key based principles:

• Detect abnormalities early before they escalate.

• Stop production when a problem is found.

• Fix the issue immediately to ensure quality.

• Analyze and solve root causes to prevent recurrence.

Toyota revolutionized manufacturing by integrating Jidoka into its system. In Toyota plants, workers pull an Andon cord whenever they notice a problem. This simple action has saved millions by preventing faulty cars from reaching customers.

Toyota revolutionized manufacturing by integrating Jidoka into its system. In Toyota plants, workers pull an Andon cord whenever they notice a problem. This simple action has saved millions by preventing faulty cars from reaching customers.

Hello all,

I'm trying to figure out a better way to collect EPE sheets that are 'released' as we consume assembly parts. It's generally used as protective packaging inbetween layers, wrapped around parts, etc.

These things are basically all over the place, and I'm looking for a quick and easy way the operator can dispose of it.

Right now we have bags in holders on the stations (see pic below) where they can shove them in, which works okay but requires extra steps to get to.

We're doing a test where they just put the packaging back into the box or pallet once the assembly parts have been used up, but that's basically causing a giant mess. The added value we see is to use the return flow of the packaging to also remove waste, instead of having a separate pick-up.

The foam sheets are so light they keep popping back up, as the empty box is (re)moved the foams start flying everywhere, ...

I want to avoid (as much as possible) having extra handling for the operator, so I've discarded (for now) solutions that require something to be placed on top of the box; e.g. a net, a flap to be closed, a weight to keep the foams down, etc.

This seems like such a basic issue that there must be solutions out there, but I guess I'm not using the right search!

Any ideas or functional solutions and references are most welcome!

The old setup:

Edit: added pic of old setup; I'm starting to think I'll need to stick with this setup and just fine-tune it to have smaller bags that can be placed in the boxes.

Hello, I am currently trying to develop a python script to run on a Raspberry Pi. We have an SPI Digital Drop Indicator that we want to use for shop floor operators, to display a green screen on a separate monitor whenever the value on the indicator hits 0. We are using a cable a USB B cable with a button attached to send the data, this button must be hit to send captured data. Does anyone have example code that we could try or is there another way to complete this project without using a python script?