We all realize that it goes so much deeper than just the hourly rate of the manufacturing workforce. We have to include efficiency, taxes, shipping, cost of poor quality, lead times, etc. and now that those hourly rates for the employees in these low-cost countries are on the rise it gives us in America the opportunity to take those jobs back.

How do we do this and still remain competitive? By automating, we need to make parts, better, faster and cheaper.

Here is the truth about automation!

You need to automate because your competitors is. Rival producers in this country may not automate, but be sure that companies you’ve never heard of on the other side of the world will. Global competitors are the most likely to steal your next order and those with the leanest, automated manufacturing process will surely grab market share.

The math makes sense. During a period when hourly wages have doubled, the real price of robots has halved. Mass production has pushed down prices, while flexibility and functionality have hit new peaks. Most machines will pay for themselves within two years and give an average service life of 15 years or more.

It’s the right time. Coming out of the recession is a good time to take business from competitors, especially as it is easier to implement new systems when not running at full capacity. There are deals to be done on prices and, when the market improves, you’ll be leaner and more productive.

Cut back labor costs. Automation allows you to take out labor costs from the production process, by using robots to load machine tools, handle raw materials, pick & place components, offload conveyors and replace many manual tasks. They also ease the worry of recruiting, training and retaining labor.

Protect employees’ jobs. Automation shouldn’t be seen as a threat to the workforce, but as a means of becoming more productive and competitive, thereby protecting jobs. Automation increases the revenue generated per employee and allows machine-tenders to be reassigned more demanding tasks.

Robots are reliable. Industrial robots are designed to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with extremely limited downtime. They carry out each cycle precisely as before.

Meet safety standards. Nowadays, health and safety standards mean restrictions on heavy lifting, handling hazardous materials and working in explosive environments for manual workers, with strict legal sanctions for employers. So when the task is potentially difficult or dangerous, a robot can do it instead.

Automation is ‘greener’. Meeting energy reduction and carbon footprint targets are easier, because today’s servo-controlled robots use less power than hydraulic or pneumatic machinery and can operate in darkened or unheated environments.
Robots will also turn off power-consuming peripherals and require less airflow velocity in closed booths.

Reduce material wastage. The extreme precision and repeatability of modern industrial robots leads to far fewer defective parts, minimal scrap and less raw material wastage. Process fluids like paint and coatings are applied accurately, while vision systems will detect faulty products on fast-moving conveyors.

Boost your productivity. Faster cycles times for automated processes and the capacity for robots to work timelessly without any drop-off in performance add up to greatly increased throughput. Unattended lights-out production also extends the working week, without having to take on extra labor.

Work more precisely. Robots can work more precisely than humans, with outstanding repeatability, and can readily cope with the growing miniaturization of parts. That means better finishes, cleaner welds and more accurate positioning, which translate into improved quality and premium prices.

Maximize machine time. The automated handling of machine tools, parts and materials will maximize the utilization of existing machining centers, reportedly by as much as 95%. Using robots to replace manual operators for managing tools and loading or unloading work pieces will enable machines to keep running 24/7.

Save valuable floor space. Industrial robots have increasingly compact bases and working envelopes and can also be installed on the ceiling or walls, saving valuable, industrial floor space. A number of compact robot work cells could also be fitted into the same work area, to increase production capacity without adding heating, lighting and real estate costs.

Flexible Production. Industrial robots increase flexibility in the manufacturing process, whether it’s their ability to handle multiple products in one process, the multi-function flexibility of performing different concurrent tasks or the capacity for reprogramming and deploying as the product mix changes. This in turn helps reduce time-to-market and in-process inventory.

Flexible is better than fixed. Flexible automation is better than fixed or hard automation, because it allows the manufacturing process to be more versatile and agile. Production is moving away from constant, unchanged processes, to greater variety in product lines and shorter life cycles, where the low cost of changeover gives robots strategic value.

Improve your competitiveness. Superior precision and output that is unaffected by tiredness or inattention translate into enhanced product quality and consistency, while increased throughput and energy savings lead to reduced costs. These factors will become increasingly critical in the global marketplace and automation is the gateway to competitiveness.
If not, semi-automate. If you simply cannot justify the cost of full automation, you should at least consider semi-automation, which entails implementing a robot work cell for a specific production process. A strategic, affordable automated work cell can eliminate a production bottleneck, remove a hazardous manual function and cut associated labor costs.

TBD Enterprises LLC is a great way to start and end your automation search. We provide suppliers that are global to support your operations in both the North America and abroad. Robotic automation is not just for the big guys anymore….all size operations can afford to automate.

Please give us a call to support you and show how automation can help you. Visit our contact page at our site to see how http://www.tbdenterprisesllc.com/aboutcontact.html

1. Micro aerial vehicles. Measuring just 13 inches, micro air vehicles are small, but not too small, allowing them to photograph large areas and bring back the footage. The first version created by Honeywell is a bit noisier than military would like and they’re creating a second generation model that will bring back better images and even less detectable sometime next year.2. The X-47B. This is an amazing unmanned aerial vehicle that seems to be straight from the movies. The X-47B is more along the lines of what the future of unmanned warfare will look like, with unmanned vehicles able to carry out missions because they’re equipped with weapons. This one carries up to 4,500 pounds of weapons, making it a deadly weapon that will float around and strike (hopefully) at the right time.



3. Robosoldiers. While the U.S. focuses on unmanned planes, Israel is fixated on the robosolider. They’re combining what they already know about UAVs and implementing “see-shoot” robotic soldiers that are actually trained by military officials in closed quarters. Israel’s ultimate plan is to have the Israel-Gaza border be the first border manned by these robosoldiers.

4. Flying saucers. The Department of Defense claims these smaller UAVs will be optimal during warfare in urban areas. They’re smaller than most aerial UAVs and cost less to produce. It’s battery powered and there are versions being made all over the world, but only prototypes have been tested. Will flying saucers ever make it to actual battle? Maybe, but it seems other models are outdoing the progress made with saucers.

5. MQ-9 Reaper. Here’s another UAV that seems to be plucked from a sci-fi novel. Operated from a satellite link in Vegas, the MQ-9 Reaper is a certifiable bad boy in the world of UAVs. It can pack up to 3,000 pounds of weapons at an altitude of 60,000 feet. The drones on board can carry out missions on their own, but so far the Air Force hasn’t used that feature.

6. S-100 Camcopter. With the help of Schiebel Industries, Boeing has created this compact helicopter for surveillance purposes. It can also carry up to 110 pounds and while it’s suitable for personal use, it was developed with the military in mind. Still, it’s only a matter of time until this technology trickles down to a spy shop near you.

7. Forrester Radar System. This innovative system allows UAVs to gather data when there’s obstruction, such as forests. The Forrester works exclusively with the Boeing A16OT Hummingbird and allows the UAV to detect the enemy no matter how slowly they’re moving, even when masked by trees. For wars had in the jungle, the Forrester will become an invaluable tool and further generations of the system may detect targets under similar hidden circumstances.



8. ISIS Blimp. This is a spy blimp created by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) that flies up six miles in the air, allowing it to avoid combat missiles. The idea DARPA has is to have the ISIS blimp launch and stay in the air for weeks at a time, gathering data. Unlike UAVs that have to be fueled every so often and can only make short trips, the ISIS blimp can be launched and hover over a space virtually unnoticed.

9. UXV Combatant. The UXV Combatant takes warfare out to the high seas. This unmanned ship holds a fleet of drones that can be sent off to battle at any given moment. It’s powered by diesel accelerators and gas turbine, keeping the cost of powering the UXV Combatant low. Created by BAE Systems, this ship is still underway, so feel safe floating in the ocean (for now).

10. The ScanEagle. Created by Boeing, the ScanEagle is intended for unsafe areas. The ScanEagle goes in, surveys the area and brings back data and pictures. The beauty of the ScanEagle is not only the size (about 4×10), but the fact that it can stay in the air working for over 20 hours. It also transmits data back to its base, which can be located a little over 60 miles away from where the ScanEagle travels.

Unmanned warfare is the way of the future. Robots are used in small quantities right now, but nations like the U.S. and Israel are investing big in developing super drones that can outrun and outwit other robots and even humans. Other countries like Austria and Canada are quickly snapping up the unmanned machines that are created. As technology improves, there’s a higher chance of having unmanned warfare fighting our battles and collecting data without sending soldiers into dangerous territories.

Shared with permission from http://www.criminaljusticedegrees.com/robot-wars-10-recent-developments-in-unmanned-warfare-you-havent-heard-about

As North American manufacturers face ever-growing challenges to remain competitive in the global marketplace, they frequently look to overseas sources as a way to cut costs. Although the appeal of low-cost labor may lead a company to implement this course, and it sometimes makes sense, there are numerous other factors to consider. Among them are factory efficiency, inventory requirements, the strength of the U.S. labor force, government support and stability, supply chain strength, and intellectual property protection.

China has become one of the strongest outsourcing locations, but maintaining high product quality can be more difficult when manufacturing there or in other low-wage countries. Moving production offshore adds the risk of currency fluctuations, longer lead times, shipping delays, and loss of control of both the manufacturing process and intellectual property. Counterfeiting is another serious problem, with a $3 billion annual cost to the U.S. automotive parts industry alone. A report by The Boston Consulting Group further points out that lead time, delivery performance and product quality varies widely. According to the report, one U.S. company outsourcing in China received quotes for some parts that varied by as much as 80 percent, compared with variations of two to five percent from United States sources. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing also says that companies investing in the Chinese market underestimate the market situation and fail to perform risk assessment or seek council, as doing business in China may often pose a greater risk. In fact, some investors have fallen into bad business deals, resulting in lost investments.

Automate and Save Your Factory

Outsourcing is seldom an all-or-nothing proposition. According to The Boston Consulting Group, it makes sense to outsource some products or manufacturing processes, including those that require extensive hand labor. However, highly automated manufacturing processes, products that need a final finishing step and heavy products in which labor savings cannot compete for the freight penalty are better located in the home country.

Before abandoning existing plants and shipping manufacturing overseas, a company should consider applying innovation and product enhancing technologies such as automation. This can negate the advantages of low-wage countries. Some manufacturers, in attempting to keep their factories open, express concern that investing in automation could displace workers. However, manufacturers that do not innovate and embrace automation leave themselves open to losing their entire manufacturing site, or even their company, to outsourcing.

The same kind of dilemma played out successfully in the agricultural economy of the last century and in the U.S. steel industry. In 1900, agricultural workers constituted more than 38 percent of employment, compared with about two percent today. Yet, we produce more of the world’s food. Likewise, the number of workers employed by the U.S. steel industry dropped by 74 percent, from 289,000 to 74,000, while output increased by 36 percent, from 75 million tons to 102 million tons.

Automation can directly impact quality and efficiency, increase control and improve viability. Because one robot can perform the work of three to five people, direct labor costs are reduced. This is doubly important because, over the next three decades, 76 million baby boomers will retire, and only 46 million new workers will be available to replace them. Despite this shortage, the demand for labor will continue, and automation provides a solution. An automated facility is designed to manufacture the highest quality products and allow manufacturers to optimize current capital and labor resources. With automation, manufacturers can maintain control of their operations, strengthen North American manufacturing leadership and retain jobs, with significant cost improvements. Of all forms of automation, robotic automation proves to be the most flexible and offers more opportunities for companies to maintain profitability in operations of all sizes.

Efficiency data indicates that automation, robotics and other lean manufacturing operations can enable North American operations to be cost-competitive with countries like China.

As quality and efficiency in production are essential to survival, the focus has already shifted to lean manufacturing and the Six Sigma process. Although many of the other initiatives proposed to improve this country’s manufacturing competitiveness will take years to accomplish, companies can maintain or improve their competitive position by moving ahead now with automation and other lean manufacturing operations.

“Robotics And Automation Can Save Your Factory”, Written by Rick Schneider
President & CEO FANUC Robotics Americas, Inc. Rochester Hills, Michigan

Scanner welding enables highly productive and flexible production line layouts, making welding in series production faster, more accurate, and thus more cost-effective than traditional welding processes.

In scanner welding, beam guidance is performed with mobile mirrors. The beam is guided by changing the angles of the mirrors. A processing field determines which weld can be carried out with the highest dynamics and precision. The processing speed and size of the focus diameter at the workpiece depends on the imaging properties of the optic, the beam incidence angle, the laser beam quality and the material.

Using the method of an additional lens system, the focus point can also be offset in the Z direction, in order to process three-dimensional components completely, without moving either the processing head or the part.

Due to the very fast translation movements, downtime is nearly eliminated, and the laser unit can produce at close to 100% of the available fabrication time.

During welding, the scanner optics can also be guided over a workpiece in conjunction with a robot. This “flying” movement is what inspired the term “welding on the fly”: The synchronization of the robot and scanner optic in real time. The use of a robot increases the workspace significantly, permitting true three-dimensional part processing.

A convenient editor can be used to program a PFO. It can construct and save welding figures on a workpiece.

High-power disk lasers with high beam quality are used as beam sources. One or more flexible fiber-optic laser cables lead the laser light from the laser unit to the processing station.

Spot and seam welding with lasers

With laser welding, you can create single joining spots or weld in continuous wave mode.

The weld geometry describes how the parts fit together. For example, they may overlap or butt up against each other. The mechanical properties are the first thing to consider when defining the weld geometry.

Is a continuous weld required, or will the weld consist of individual welding spots? Is the weld made up of a large number of short lines or lots of small circles? Here, too, the decision of which type of weld to use depends on two important factors: the required strength of the weld and the maximum amount of heat input into the component.

Different kinds of joints require different operation modes of the laser device.

Continuous wave mode
In this mode the laser medium is pumped continuously and emits a continuous laser beam.

Pulsing
In pulsed mode, the gain medium is pumped in bursts to generate short laser pulses. Power, duration and frequency of the laser pulses are important parameters for material processing.

Building shapes out of powder and wire

Deposition welding is a generating process for surface finishing as well as the repair and modification of existing components. Depending on the task at hand, either manual or automated laser deposition welding is used.

Manual laser deposition welding

In the case of manual deposition welding, the welder guides the filler material “by hand” to the area to be welded. A thin wire with a diameter between 0.006 and 0.02 inches is primarily used as filler material in this process. The laser beam melts the wire. The molten material forms a strong bond with the substrate, which is also melted, and then solidifies leaving behind a small raised area. The welder continues in this fashion, spot by spot, line by line, and layer by layer, until the desired shape is achieved. Argon shields the work process from the ambient air. Finally, the part is restored to its original shape by grinding, milling, turning, EDM etc.

When coating the surface, several powder coatings are either melted onto one another or next to one another, as required. The individual welding paths must precisely overlap in order to achieve a texture that is free from errors.

Automated laser deposition welding

In automated deposition welding, the machine guides the filler material to the area to be welded. Although the material can also be a wire, this process primarily uses metal powders. Metal powder is applied in layers to a base material without pores or cracks. The metal powder forms a high-tensile weld joint with the surface. After cooling, a metal layer develops that can be machined. A strength of this process is its ability to build up a number of metal layers.

Heat conduction welding

In heat conduction welding, the laser beam melts the mating parts along a common joint. The molten materials flow together and solidify to form the weld.

Heat conduction welding is used to join thin-wall parts. One example is corner welds on the visible surfaces of device housings. Other applications can be found in electronics. The laser produces a smooth, rounded seam that does not require any extra grinding or finishing. Pulsed or continuous wave solid-state lasers are used in such applications. In heat conduction welding, energy is coupled into the workpiece solely through heat conduction. For this reason, the weld depth ranges from only a few tenths of a millimeter to 1 millimeter. The heat conductivity of the material limits the maximum weld depth. The width of the weld is always greater than its depth. If the heat is not able to dissipate quickly enough, the processing temperature rises above the vaporization temperature. Metal vapor forms, the welding depth increases sharply, and the process turns into deep penetration welding.

Deep penetration welding

Deep penetration welding requires extremely high power densities of about 1 megawatt per square centimeter. In this process, the laser beam not only melts the metal, but also produces vapor.

The dissipating vapor exerts pressure on the molten metal and partially displaces it. The material, meanwhile, continues to melt. The result is a deep, narrow, vapor-filled hole, or keyhole, which is surrounded by molten metal. As the laser beam advances along the weld joint, the keyhole moves with it through the workpiece. The molten metal flows around the keyhole and solidifies in its trail. This produces a deep, narrow weld with a uniform internal structure. The weld depth may be up to ten times greater than the weld width, reaching 1 inch. The laser beam is reflected multiple times on the walls of the keyhole. The molten material absorbs the laser beam almost completely, and the efficiency of the welding process rises. If CO₂ lasers are used for welding, the vapor in the keyhole also absorbs laser light and is partially ionized. This results in the formation of plasma, which puts energy into the workpiece as well. As a result, deep penetration welding is distinguished by great efficiency and fast welding speeds. Thanks to the high speed, the heat-affected zone is small and distortion is minimal. This process is used in applications requiring deeper welds or where several layers of material have to be welded simultaneously.

Hybrid welding

By combining laser welding and one other welding process, special applications for steel construction can be achieved.

Hybrid techniques refer to processes in which laser welding is combined with other welding methods. Compatible processes are MIG (metal inert gas) or MAG (metal active gas) welding as well as TIG (tungsten inert gas) or plasma welding.

An example that illustrates the advantages is in the ship building industry. Large steel plates as long as 65 feet and 0.6 inches thick are welded together. The gaps between the plates, however, are too large for the laser beam to bridge by itself. To get around this problem, laser welding is combined with MIG welding. The laser delivers the high power densities needed for the deep welds and enables high welding speeds. This, in turn, reduces heat input and distortion. Meanwhile, the MIG torch bridges the gap between the parts and closes the joint using filler wire. On the whole, the hybrid technique is faster than MIG welding alone, and the parts are subject to less distortion.

Soldering

In soldering, the mating parts are joined by a filler material, or solder. The melting temperature of the solder is lower than that of the component materials. As a result, only the solder is melted.

The mating parts are merely warmed. Once melted, the solder flows into the gap between the parts and bonds with the surface of the workpiece (diffusion bond). Soldering a joint requires access to only one side of the joint. The thin gap between the components functions like a capillary, drawing the liquid solder into the joint.

The soldered joint is only as strong as the solder material. In a related process called brazing, solders made of copper and zinc can produce joints that are as strong as those achieved during welding. The surface of the solder seam is smooth and clean, forming a nicely curved transition to the workpiece. Since solder seams do not require finishing, they are often used in the automotive industry for making body parts such as trunk lids or car roofs. No processes area required prior to painting except a simple cleaning.

Other applications can be found in mixed constructions. Components made of dissimilar materials often cannot be welded or, if they can, only with limited success due to the very different melting points of the materials. Joining aluminum and steel is one such example. For these and similar joining tasks, soldering is the perfect alternative.

The information shared here is from Trumpf Laser to see more about laser technology and applications visit their website here: http://www.us.trumpf.com/products/laser-technology/solutions/applications.html 

Technology taking jobs is a notion that probably dates back to the invention of the wheel. After all, it took four bearers to carry the Pharaoh and only one to pull a chariot!

The problem is that most people stop thinking after the first domino falls instead of following the path of events further on. Let’s continue down the path: Once the wheel is invented, more people can travel comfortably, goods can be carried farther, better roads are built and commerce thrives. A few bearers of the ruling class have to find new work, the remainder of the world benefits and thousands of jobs are created.

Let’s fast-forward through history and take a look at the tractor. Now it happens that my grandfather bred workhorses. The family oral history has it that, upon the introduction of Henry Ford’s inexpensive tractor in the Twenties, the price of workhorses dropped 10% per week. My grandfather lost his farm, moved his family to Florida where my father at age 14 had the only job in this family of six, delivering newspapers.

However, the advent of the tractor and modern farming techniques transformed the US from a country where 40% of the population needed to farm to one in which 2% of the population could feed the other 98%. This freed a larger proportion of young adults to attend college and start the computer revolution that has created millions of jobs in the U.S. and worldwide.

Did people lose jobs to computers? Yes, a number of secretaries had to upgrade their skills, and executives who refused to learn to type had a tough time of it. But these jobs were replaced by tens of thousands of high-paying software engineering positions, plus computer installers, computer operators, data storage firms and more.

Simplistic thinking visualizes a fixed pool of jobs, with new technology taking some away. In reality, new technologies create new opportunities for our children. In the case of robots, the direct new jobs involve designing, building, programming, integrating, installing, servicing, maintaining, managing and refining the machines.

Robots will enable humans to work in hostile environments where they could never work before: for instance, farming the ocean floor, mining super subterranean excavations, manufacturing in space and in the Antarctic all become realistic endeavors. Building on nano- and cosmic scales begin to become practicable. The limited imaginations that believe jobs will stay the same, except that robots will do them all, should take a look around them.

If it were true that technology makes people poorer, would we not find evidence of that all around us? Technology-poor countries would have full employment and technology-rich countries would have the lowest GDP per person. Instead, in technology-rich nations, so-called “poor” people often own cars and televisions, have a roof over their head and food for their tables.

Of course, anyone can argue that material wealth does not make for spiritual wealth; that’s a matter for philosophers to wrestle with. And certainly there is room for improving systems for helping those in transition between jobs. But finding evidence that technological advance decreases material wealth for the general population is very difficult.

Technology raises the floor for all; it is the great uplifter.

By Jeanne Ditesch, MobileRobots Inc.
Copyright, 2009, used with permission of MobileRobots Inc.

If you work in an American manufacturing company today, you should be worried about your job. I live in Michigan and have witnessed the destruction caused by shuttered factories and jobs shipped overseas. When plants close, whole communities suffer.

With unemployment at about 14 percent or higher in Michigan, it’s not surprising some workers are afraid of robots capable of working seven days a week, 24 hours a day with great accuracy and reliability, capable of performing many tasks better than people.

That fear, so prevalent in the early days of robotics, today is misplaced. What should really give workers pause is when their companies won’t use robots and other automated technologies to become stronger global competitors.

U.S. technology and business innovators recognize that robots in factories have the potential to save and create more jobs than they eliminate. Robots help companies turn out higher-quality and lower-cost goods to compete with those made in China, Mexico, India, or other low-wage nations. They remove people from dangerous and boring jobs they shouldn’t have been doing in the first place, and put them in higher-skilled, higher-paying positions.

New Industries

There’s also a large ecosystem of robotics-related companies in America that employ thousands of people who design, build, program, and service robots and the equipment they work with.

Look at the some of the new industries America wants to develop. To get the desired quality and productivity from plants that produce wind turbines, solar panels, and advanced batteries and the cars they go in, we need robots. They’re just as essential to the successful development of these industries as they are to aerospace, consumer packaged goods, electronics, food, and lab automation.

Look at the new General Motors, whose Buick LaCrosse is built in its Fairfax (Kan.) plant, which contains more than 1,100 robots. GM is now hiring back some laid-off workers to keep up with growing demand for stylish, high-quality new cars.

Or talk to Drew Greenblatt, president of Marlin Steel Wire Products in Baltimore, who pays his workers $30 an hour plus benefits and beats overseas companies that pay much less, thanks in part to investments in robotics technology. In the 12 years he’s owned the wire basket and hook maker, Greenblatt has doubled head count while increasing revenue sixfold. Marlin exports products all over the world, including to Belgium, Poland, Switzerland, Australia, and Taiwan, as a result of the high-quality products his company produces.

U.S. Growth Potential

The first industrial robot worldwide was installed in 1961 at a General Motors plant in New Jersey. Of the more than 1 million robots that work in manufacturing facilities worldwide, only a fifth are in U.S. factories. The relatively low adoption rate of robots in the U.S. is a hopeful sign, since we still have a chance to take advantage of robotics on a broader scale.

Industrial robotics also creates jobs at the companies that build and service the machines. Even though most of today’s industrial robots are built in Japan and Europe, major robotics companies including ABB , Fanuc, Kuka Robotics, and Yaskawa Electric have U.S. divisions. Adept Technology is based in Pleasanton, Calif.

If you count robots working outside factories in fields including medicine, defense, and home maintenance, there are more than 8 million of the machines worldwide. Many leaders in those areas, including Intuitive Surgical Systems (ISRG) and iRobot (IRBT), are based in the U.S.

Robot-building competitions like First Robotics, founded by inventor Dean Kamen, excite today’s students who will become tomorrow’s engineers and entrepreneurs.

There was a saying popular at General Electric (GE) in the ’80s that American industry needed to “automate, emigrate, or evaporate”. In the ensuing decades, we’ve lost too many jobs to emigration and evaporation. I hope more companies will choose to automate before it’s too late.

Let us give you a quick example. Your company is looking for a solution to what they feel is a welding process. The first call may be to a machine builder to help you with your company problem. What do you thing they are going to offer? Most likely a machine that welds!

Next, your company may call a robotic integrator to help with the problem. What do you thing they will be offering? Most likely a robotic welding cell!

Does this now mean that one or both of these is the right solution for your application? Not necessarily!

Here’s another scenario, you want to produce a “widget”, and you go to a metal stamper, what solution will they offer? Why a metal stamping solution of course! But what if you had called TBD Enterprises? We may get you a quoted solution for metal stamping, nylon extrusion and composite. Quotes could be followed up with a prototype of each possible solution proposed, so you and your company can test to insure that you have the “right” solution, not just the only solution a single supplier has to offer.

At TBD Enterprises we look at your problem, help you figure out what the best solution or possible solutions are, match you with a top quality, cost-competitive and customer oriented-supplier to get you the RIGHT solution!

The TBD Enterprises managing partners have nearly 50 years combined experience in metals, plastics, composites, automation, robotics, quality, plant management, engineering, project management, purchasing and machine design and build, we have the experience, the contacts and the drive to help you succeed with your next project.

If we can help you in anyway, please do not hesitate to call or email us!

www.tbdenterprisesllc.com