Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders

Kennametal isn't showing up to IMTS with another wall of cutting tools. They're building a working custom motorcycle shop in the middle of the West Building—and they plan to cut chips, build a bike, and give that bike away before the show ends. Kim Wilson, Global Director of Marketing Communications, and Matt Jacques, Global Brand and Creative Services Manager at Kennametal, join us for a look behind the curtain at what it takes to build an IMTS experience this ambitious. The concept started taking shape during IMTS 2024 and grew through collaborations with custom motorcycle builder Carey Hart, machinist Satya Krause, artist Taylor Schultz, and several Kennametal customers. Inside the Next Level Shop, those customers will machine real components using Kennametal tooling—including parts destined for a customized Indian Sport Chief. Attendees can watch live demonstrations, bring application challenges directly to the Kennametal team, explore its digital machining capabilities, and enter to win the completed motorcycle. But this episode isn't only about building an unforgettable booth. It's about replacing the traditional trade-show pitch with real conversations. Kim and Matt explain how Kennametal is training its team to begin with a manufacturer's challenges—not a product catalog—and help customers uncover opportunities around productivity, tool life, applications, and digital machining. Visit Kennametal in Booth #431800 in the West Building, Level 3 , to experience the Next Level Shop, see live machining demonstrations, and enter to win the custom Indian Sport Chief. What's Covered in this Episode (0:00) Nick's fifth baby is due the Tuesday of IMTS, and his attendance is still up for debate (2:26) Kim Wilson and Matt Jacques on their roles (and the IMTS that doubled as Matt's first day) (5:43) Metal Mania in 2024 and why Kennametal had to come back looking different (7:20) How the Next Level Shop theme morphed into a full custom motorcycle build (9:08) Taylor Schultz, Satya Krause, and Carey Hart putting their hands on the booth concept (10:34) From giving away a machine in 2024 to giving away a bike built in the booth (13:15) Win a fully tooled SVM 4100 from MakingChips, DN Solutions, and Kennametal (14:02) A 100 by 60 booth, project sheets, and leaning hard on the EWI relationship (16:49) An in house design team taking over all the creative for the first time (17:47) Why so many IMTS booths run the same branding show after show (19:23) Racks of tooling versus something a shop owner can stand and watch (20:19) The 2024 lesson: cutting chips at a show takes about a year of prep (21:19) Elevate, powered by AMT and Women in Manufacturing, during IMTS 2026 (22:12) Customer demos from Spire Motorsports, Purdue students, and Tim Drinkwater (23:26) Partnership in practice: tooling up the mini tombstones in the Hennig booth (26:04) Two huge giveaways happening on Friday the 18th (28:45) A Monday announcement and a first to market additive technology launch (29:44) Find Kennametal tooling at 14 different booths in the South Hall (30:20) First timer advice: comfortable shoes, hydration, and map the show before you go (33:04) Who trains the booth team and how the floor gets divided up between them (35:35) Ask questions and be human, because nobody wants to be pitched at (37:42) Take your shop to the next level with DN Solutions (38:54) ProShop's booth staffed with 40 customer ambassadors (41:48) Does a booth theme actually stick with a shop owner two years later? (44:32) What they're most excited about, and what's keeping them up at night Resources Mentioned Kennametal MakingChips Machine Giveaway IMTS Elevate at IMTS 2026 DN Solutions ProShop ERP Superfeet Connect with Kim Wilson and Matt Jacques Connect with Kim on LinkedIn Connect with Matt on LinkedIn Kennametal Kennametal at IMTS 2026: Booth 431800, West Hall, Level 3 Connect with MakingChips www.MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube

Most machine shops start thinking seriously about workforce development when they already need someone. A machinist quits, capacity jumps, the backlog grows, and suddenly finding skilled people becomes an emergency. MSP Manufacturing has taken a very different approach. Johnny Goode joins Paul and Brooke to explain how MSP has spent years building relationships with high schools, apprenticeship programs, students, parents, and the broader manufacturing community. Now, as the company experiences more than 50% revenue growth, that investment is starting to pay off. We dig into ROI Uplands, a regional program connecting high school students with real employers, and what it actually looks like to bring 16- and 17-year-olds into a working machine shop. Can apprentices contribute meaningfully in an environment where quality, safety, and precision matter? How much training does it take? And what happens to your culture when young people become a regular part of the team? We also get into the bigger problem facing manufacturing: many students and their parents still have no idea what these careers actually look like. Johnny, Paul, and Brooke talk about the earning potential hiding inside modern manufacturing, why exposure needs to start long before graduation, and what shops can do to help create the next generation of machinists instead of waiting for someone else to do it. What's Covered in this Episode (0:00) Why these apprentices hold themselves to a higher standard than anyone sets for them (2:17) Reintroducing Johnny Goode and getting a snapshot of MSP Manufacturing (4:11) 30 employees, six apprentices, and 50% revenue growth without adding bodies (5:30) How ROI Uplands links nine counties of Indiana high schools to local employers (7:51) Take your shop to the next level with DN Solutions (9:05) Eagle Manufacturing and the student-run businesses taking real jobs from industry (10:35) Interview day, the draft, and the state reimbursing half of apprentice wages (11:55) A three-to-two tuition deal that sends students into the workforce with zero debt (13:04) Brooke on steamfitting, welding, and the year of college she'd take back (14:47) 500 applicants, 100 placements, and why Indiana is ahead of the curve (16:14) What happens to culture when apprentices are the children of your employees (17:57) Win a fully tooled SVM 4100 from MakingChips, DN Solutions, and Kennametal (18:44) Why people apply to MSP when there are no job postings anywhere (20:38) What MSP does to support their community (21:40) The Band-Aid analogy: keep patching the wound or repair it (23:42) What a day actually looks like for an apprentice on the floor (26:09) What success looks like: Hiring for culture fit over subject matter expertise (29:10) Why students are choosing manufacturing internships (31:05) Countering the stigma that the trades are the fallback option (33:42) The $180,000 setup programmer nobody talks about (36:00) Reality-based AI for the factory floor at the IMTS Industrial AI Conference (35:19) AI as a force multiplier, not a people replacer (37:26) Why schools turn down free software, and what ProShop does instead (42:12) Advisory boards, wait lists, and the tech school near Tulsa with no students (45:33) Reaching third graders before anyone tells them what a machinist is (50:07) What gives Johnny the most hope for the next generation Resources Mentioned ROI Uplands Eagle Manufacturing (Brown County High School) ProShop ERP DN Solutions Kennametal Conexus Indiana MakingChips Machine Giveaway IMTS IMTS Industrial AI Conference Titans of CNC Connect with Johnny Goode Johnny Goode on LinkedIn MSP Manufacturing Connect with MakingChips www.MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube

A lot has changed since the last time we pulled up chairs around the Boring Bar. For our fourth edition, eight manufacturing leaders joined us in the MakingChips studio ahead of the IMTS pre-party to talk about where the industry is headed and, after a couple pours, where they think it should be headed. AI takes over the conversation early. How fast is it really moving into manufacturing? What happens when it can quote jobs, write code, capture tribal knowledge, or help program a part? Where does the human still matter? And are we actually prepared for the power, infrastructure, workforce, and even educational questions that come with all of it? Then we turn the question back on ourselves. If you were starting a machine shop in 2026, knowing everything we know now, would you build it the same way? What would you invest in first? What kind of equipment would you buy? How would you think about automation, people, capacity, specialization, cash flow, and the growing list of incentives available to manufacturers? Along the way, we get into what's driving demand right now, why data centers suddenly matter to machine shops, what manufacturers should be watching at IMTS, and whether the next generation of shops will look anything like the ones we grew up around. As usual at the Boring Bar, there are strong opinions, questionable jokes, bourbon, gin, and a few detours we definitely didn't plan. Pull up a chair. What's Covered in this Episode (0:00) The fourth edition of the Boring Bar, back in the MakingChips studio + introductions (5:43) IMTS 2026 registration is running ahead of 2018, the largest show on record (6:36) The IMTS pre-party, the rally car, and what the night is really for (7:44) What's changed for everyone since the last Boring Bar (9:27) Data centers: Are they the engine behind this year's growth? (12:43) The 37 minute AI prompt that produced a consultant grade report (13:30) Hallucinations, beach reads that did not exist, and why you verify (18:39) Training on AI, where it's going, and why everyone needs to embrace it (25:33) The stage zero most shops skip: Security, then application (26:48) How quoting has been compressed from days to minutes (28:19) The IMTS Industrial AI Conference and the Industrial AI Arena (29:28) The IMTS Job Shops Workshop and the AI for the job shop session (30:36) ProShop goes AI first, plus native machine monitoring, AI quoting, and Chip (33:21) Programming a part with AI after 30 years away from it (37:00) Capturing tribal knowledge so each job teaches the next (42:21) The machine tool giveaway with DN Solutions + Kennametal (42:38) The big question: how would you start a machine shop today (47:49) Invest in infrastructure first (digital and physical) (55:25) What will be your guiding metrics? Availability, performance, and quality (57:34) Run the shop lights out yourself, then replicate yourself with each hire (1:04:05) Three business skills for a new shop: cash, capacity, and credits (1:06:15) $3,500 per apprentice, plus the tax tools that arrived in July of 2025 (1:09:20) The Lights Out guest with a fab shop, a water plant, and a coal mine (1:15:32) The comp sci grad who chose trade school over a job AI could take (1:22:12) Generation CNC: teenagers buying their first machines (1:23:34) Math as a barrier, and why we should not exclude kids (1:26:48) The importance of Oscar Mike and Manufacturing Pathways (1:28:45) Machine giveaway: DN Solutions, Kennametal, SMW Autblok, and Martin Trunnion Tables Resources Mentioned IMTS 2026 IMTS Industrial AI Conference IMTS Student Summit DN Solutions Kennametal ProShop ERP SMW Autoblok Hennig CLA AMT The $3,500 Apprenticeship Incentive Oscar Mike Foundation Manufacturing Pathways Consortium Connect with Our Guests Connect with Larry on LinkedIn Connect with Bonnie and MC Connect with Jennifer Connect with Mike Connect with MakingChips www.MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube

Website traffic is falling across the board, and it's tempting to read that as a marketing problem. It usually isn't. AI summaries now answer the generic top of funnel questions people used to click into your site to answer, so the casual browsers never arrive. The visitors who do show up are the ones already deciding whether you're a fit. That changes what a manufacturing website is for. A list of machines, materials, and certifications was fine when buyers were willing to dig. Now they want a specific answer to a specific question, and if your site makes them hunt for it, they'll go back to Google or ChatGPT and get an answer from a source you don't control. We talk with John Greeley of Navu about what shops should actually do about it, and a lot of it isn't what you'd expect. Old content that used to sit harmlessly on your site is now working against you, because LLMs read your whole site at once and stop citing you when they find pages that disagree with each other. Less content with more depth beats the old habit of publishing a page for every possible search term. The other half of this is labor. The questions landing in your info inbox are usually answered somewhere on your site already, and they're pulling SMEs and owners off the work that actually moves the business. John walks through a real buyer journey where the ninth question was a technical spec buried on page 193 of a PDF, and the tenth was how to talk to sales. Nobody on that team spent a minute on it until the lead was qualified. Brooke also joins us in the host seat for the first time and gives the Gen Z read on all of it, which mostly comes down to letting people find what they need before anyone tries to sell them something. What's Covered in this Episode (0:00) Brooke steps into the host seat, and John introduces Navu (6:38) Take your shop to the next level with DN Solutions (7:50) What a single line of JavaScript can tell you about visitor behavior (10:35) About 37% of users who eventually convert used the chat along the way (11:42) Why traffic is down but conversions aren't (13:26) How LLMs read your entire site at once and punish conflicting answers (16:17) Less content, more depth, and a ruthless pruning habit (17:35) Your site's unanswered questions as a canary in the coal mine (20:14) What buyers actually asked Mike when Hill rebuilt its site (22:15) Why the old pop up chatbots earned their bad reputation (24:42) More than 60% of buyers now start their research in a chat interface (26:16) Turning AI buzzwords into outcomes at the IMTS Industrial AI Conference (27:04) Labor savings is how most customers justify the spend internally (28:50) The landing page listings and a conversation about instant gratification (32:12) Quote response time as the number one factor in winning or losing work (35:13) The real user journey and the questions that you see (38:30) Brooke on why her generation would rather research than call (42:27) Salespeople querying the site mid call instead of chasing down an SME (44:31) Kennametal's Next Level Shop at IMTS 2026 (45:34) Get started and build a custom demo at navu.co/makingchips Resources Mentioned DN Solutions IMTS Industrial AI Conference , Wednesday September 16, South Building Check out the Kennametal booth at IMTS 2026, the Next Level Shop, booth 431800 in the West Building, level 3 Connect with John Greeley Email John Greeley: john@navu.co Navu Connect with MakingChips MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube

Six jobs waiting on a first article means six spindles sitting still. That is the math Mike lives with at Hill, running around 58 jobs a day where nearly every one needs an internal or external first article before parts can ship. When inspection becomes the constraint, good parts pile up behind paperwork, and paperwork does not make chips. This week we sat down with Mehul Shah, co-founder of Ground Control, a company building what he calls mission critical software for highly regulated manufacturing. His thesis is simple. Aerospace, defense, medical, and semiconductor shops are drowning in Excel and pen-and-paper workflows, not because the people are behind the times, but because software was never really built for the shop floor or for the weight of ITAR, DFARS, and CMMC. Ground Control started with one hairy, everyday problem: first article inspection reports. We get into how their software reads decades-old, hand-drawn prints that trip up ordinary OCR, balloons the drawing, fills out the AS9102, and pushes clean data straight into ProShop with a single click. It is the kind of automation that turns a shop's worst bottleneck into a task almost anyone on the team can run. We also talk about why now is the moment for this, from reshoring and record defense budgets to the labor math that says we cannot hire our way through the coming surge. Mehul shares how a 15-person team just earned FedRAMP certification, why AI lets them do the work of a company twice their size, and what their new contract review product does to catch a buyer's price change buried in a six-figure PO before it becomes a costly mistake. If your inspectors are your constraint and your smartest people are stuck on manual data entry, this one is for you. What's Covered in this Episode (1:02) Meet Mehul Shah, co-founder of Ground Control: Why Mehul chose manufacturing (5:20) Why manufacturing runs on Excel, and the real reason software never fit the shop floor (6:04) ITAR, DFARS, CMMC, CUI, and the infrastructure tax on regulated software (9:07) Mission critical software and the three tests Ground Control uses to pick a workflow (10:43) Invest in yourself first with ProShop ERP (12:19) Finding the wedge, and why first article inspection was the obvious first product (13:49) How first article really works at Hill, and why it becomes the daily bottleneck (15:53) Why the FAI is critical, process verification before you can ship and collect (16:35) Why now, defense budgets, the SpaceX IPO, the space race, and reshoring (18:29) LLMs let manufacturers build in-house, and when it still makes sense to buy (19:30) Build on standards and a solid data heartbeat, then augment with AI (21:07) A rocket ship, 200-plus customers in two years, including five public companies (22:18) Growing into demand and the hard part of turning down the wrong work (23:39) The seven habits of highly effective work holding with SMW Autoblok (24:22) Avoiding the solution looking for a problem, and how the idea took shape (25:53) Building GroundControl from the ground up and becoming compliant (28:07) The importance of trade shows and building in-person relationships (31:55) The story behind the name Ground Control (and a nod to Major Tom) (35:20) Turn AI buzzwords into outcomes at the IMTS Industrial AI Conference (36:06) Developing out the GroundControl software and finding their MVP (39:32) The ProShop integration: One click from ballooning to master process control (42:39) AI will not replace you, but the person using AI might (46:30) Introducing contract review and catching PO errors (49:37) The visitor check-in system (ITAR sign-in without the 20-year-old paper pad) (52:16) What Mehul is most excited about, FedRAMP, and the road to IMTS Resources Mentioned Ground Control ProShop ERP SMW Autoblok IMTS Industrial AI Conference Connect with Mehul Shah Connect with Mehul on LinkedIn GroundControl Connect with MakingChips Website On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube

Most shops treat lean like a poster on the break room wall. Andrew Henry runs it like a competitive weapon. He built Henry Holsters into a company that ships around 55,000 orders a year, most of them the same day they come in, without stacks of work in process piling up on every bench. We caught up with Andrew at the Summit on the Summit, and the conversation kept circling back to one idea: The waste hiding in your shop usually is not the machine, but everything happening around the machine. He walks us through the custom vacuum former he eventually scrapped for parts, the moment "Two Second Lean" flipped a switch in his head, and the shift to one-piece flow that changed how his team works. We also dig into how he is putting AI to work right now, not someday. Re-pricing a newly acquired customer's parts in an afternoon instead of weeks. Scanning thousands of lines of inventory to surface dead stock and ERP errors. Using it as a sparring partner to keep high-stakes customer emails firm but professional. And yes, spending an afternoon fighting with a coding tool just to understand what it can actually do. There is a bigger theme running underneath all of it. Ten years after a lot of us met at our first IMTS, the shops that keep showing up, keep learning, and keep trying things are the ones still standing. The ones who decided they were too busy to leave the shop are a different story. If you have ever told yourself you do not have time for a morning meeting, a trade show, or an afternoon with a new tool, this episode is a friendly shove in the other direction. What's Covered in this Episode (1:26) Meet Andrew Henry of Henry Holsters, a lean guru and Workflow automation fan (2:40) Why Andrew bought a Matsuura MX-420 PC10 and what sold him on Hennig's Workflow (3:46) Ten years since our first IMTS: who grew, who is gone, and why (5:25) The pace of change, when 5-axis, automation, and AI all hit at once (8:06) A gondola conversation on why he cannot afford to skip summits and trade shows (9:53) IMTS Industrial AI Conference: reality-based AI for the factory floor (10:40) "I do not have time…"and why that thinking is backwards (12:47) Using AI to re-price a newly acquired customer's parts in an afternoon (16:31) Turning AI loose on inventory data to find dead stock and ERP errors (18:22) Making people show their work with AI as a required thinking partner (20:25) AI as a diplomat for high-stakes, antagonistic customer emails (24:08) Take your shop to the next level with DN Solutions (25:20) Andrew Henry's accidental path to a CNC shop (27:37) Buying a Matsuura for injection mold work and foundational problems to tackle (29:26) The dream of closed-loop, self-correcting machining (33:03) People should not wait on machines, the chaku-chaku principle (33:55) Twin Table Brother cells, vacuum fixtures, and the case against batching (38:58) Find manufacturing leaders who actually fit with Hire MFG Leaders (39:27) Make-to-stock, make-to-order, and any color as long as it is black (40:20) What FastCap taught us and going all in on one-piece flow (44:23) Ownership and pride when one person makes the whole part (45:47) Triag Swiss Modular and machinists who own their machines (46:48) Why you cannot get everyone bought in (and why it's okay) (48:25) How the morning meeting really works, the cobra effect, and why bad incentives break your culture (52:41) The eight wastes, and why seeing the problem beats memorizing the acronym (54:05) "I can't" versus "how could we," closing the gap without hearing no (55:53) Andrew's Lean Built Podcast and the LinkedIn AI slop problem Resources Mentioned Henry Holsters Lean Built Podcast IMTS Industrial AI Conference DN Solutions Hire MFG Leaders Book: Two Second Lean Triag Swiss Modular Connect with Andrew Henry Henry Holsters Connect on LinkedIn Connect with MakingChips Website On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube

Every shop owner knows the workforce problem by heart. The trades got denigrated, tech ed programs got gutted, and a whole generation of kids never found out that a manufacturing career was even an option. We have all heard that speech a hundred times. What we rarely hear is a practical, repeatable way to actually fix it. In this GenCNC series episode, we sit down with two people who built one. Dave Hataj is the second-generation owner of Edgerton Gear and the founder of Craftsman with Character, a semester-long program that pairs job shadowing with a character and worldview curriculum. Courtney Silver runs Ketchie in North Carolina, where she and her husband Andy took Dave's curriculum and launched their own version, Opportunity Knocks. The through line is simple. Kids are starving for two things, purpose and community, and the shop floor is one of the best places on earth to give them both. Dave shares how a 2014 experiment with ten students grew into a Navy-funded program running across multiple states. Courtney shows why it is far less of a lift than you would think, roughly two hours a week for fourteen weeks with a handful of students. We also get into the payoff owners do not expect. Reverse mentoring from young employees, a culture where machinists suddenly want to be on camera, productivity that climbs year over year, and stories like Miguel, a first-generation immigrant who fell in love with the trade, worked six to ten in the morning before school, and just bought his first home. If you have ever done a plant tour for a school and wondered whether it actually mattered, this one reframes the whole thing. As Dave puts it, we make gears as a vehicle to invest in people. What's Covered in this Episode (2:48) Dave on the origins of Craftsman with Character as a second-generation owner of Edgerton Gear (7:02) The Navy's two million dollar, three-year contract to take the program national (8:30) Inside the Craftsman Code, from I'm not the center of the universe to the world needs me (10:30) Why you need to head to Kennametal's booth at IMTS (11:37) Courtney on discovering Dave's work during COVID and launching Opportunity Knocks (15:25) Why it's not a big lift: twenty team members, six students, two hours a week (17:11) Continuous improvement: field trips, supply chain tours, and a Mastercam capstone part (23:31) Reverse mentoring and the young energy that re-energizes the team (24:40) Twelve years of rising productivity from more engaged, purpose-driven employees (26:17) The DN Solutions install video shot by interns (and a new content culture) (29:26) Breakfast, gratitude, and the lesson on showing up on time (30:30) Turn website visitors into buyers with Navu's AI chat (31:42) Learn more about Miguel, a first-generation immigrant who fell in love with the trade (34:10) Break room culture and crews that stick around after shift (37:01) From feeling less than to finding a joyful place to belong (39:16) The mindset flip: we make gears as a vehicle to invest in people (40:07) Get in the room: the Job Shops Workshop and reception at IMTS (40:58) Miguel buying his first home, and the ripple effect on a community (42:56) How to start, facilitator and mentor training, plus a track for shops without a school partner (45:00) Manufacturers as an army that can heal society by being the hero for one kid (48:52) Practical encouragement to start now Resources Mentioned Craftsman with Character Edgerton Gear Ketchie The Craftsman Code by Dave Hataj Machine Shop Mastery, Episode 106 with Dave Hataj Kennametal Navu IMTS Oscar Mike Foundation Connect with Dave Hataj & Courtney Silver Dave Hataj, Edgerton Gear Craftsman with Character Courtney Silver, Ketchie Connect with MakingChips Website On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube

IMTS is 1.2 million square feet spread across six days, and the average visitor only spends about 2.7 of them on the floor. That math is exactly why walking in without a plan means seeing a fraction of what you came for. In this episode we sit down with Bonnie Gurney and Michelle Edmondson from AMT, the team that builds IMTS, to talk through how to actually get value out of the biggest manufacturing show in the country. We're about six and a half weeks out and registration is running 29% ahead of 2024, so the energy is real. Bonnie and Michelle break down what's new for the 100th anniversary show: the 10 technology sectors, the Industrial AI arena with 40 first-time exhibitors, a bigger defense presence, and a conference lineup, from Elevate to the job shop and LATAM tracks, that too many people still treat as a hidden gem. We also make the case for why you should go even if you're not buying this year. As Mike puts it, you don't have time not to go. You go to see the solutions you'll need in two or three years, the way he spotted a machine tending robot in 2018 and finally bought it in 2022. And this year, a plan-my-route feature built into the floor plan app is a genuinely practical use of AI. There's plenty happening on the floor too, from the main stage schedule and the 100-year history of the show to the machine tool we're giving away with DN Solutions and Kennametal. Mostly, though, this is a conversation about showing up prepared and getting the most out of your days in Chicago. If you're heading to IMTS 2026, this is the planning conversation to hear first. Come find us in the Hennig booth, and let's make some chips. What's Covered in this Episode (0:00) Why every visitor needs a game plan before the doors open (1:21) Six and a half weeks out, with registration up 29% over 2024 (3:25) The scale of IMTS: 1.2 million square feet and 500-plus semis a day (7:56) The August 5th pre-IMTS party for Oscar Mike and the Manufacturing Pathways Consortium (10:04) Elevate: powered by AMT and Women in Manufacturing (10:56) What's new: the 10 technology sectors that map the show floor (13:00) Why the conference and education lineup is the show's hidden gem (17:58) Learn more about Elevate, the Women in manufacturing conference (20:45) Kennametal's Next Level Shop and a bike giveaway on the show floor (21:47) 100 years of IMTS, from a 62,000 square foot science fair in 1927 (27:06) The main stage schedule: capital decisions, AI, and the coolest stuff we saw (28:31) How the machine giveaway works: register, collect chips, earn entries, win Friday (31:09) Find your next leader with Hire MFG Leaders (31:38) Why "you don't have time not to go" is the real case for IMTS (35:47) A practical AI use case: let the floor plan app build your route (37:48) Poll your team: What should you look for at IMTS? (39:17) The biggest changes coming to IMTS 2026 Resources Mentioned IMTS 2026 Register for the IMTS machine giveaway: https://www.makingchips.com Hire MFG Leaders Elevate, powered by AMT and Women in Manufacturing DN Solutions Oscar Mike Foundation Manufacturing Pathways Consortium Connect with Bonnie Gurney & Michelle Edmondson IMTS AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology IMTS on LinkedIn Connect with MakingChips Website On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube

Most machine shop owners spend twenty years learning the lesson Stone figured out before he turned 21: get great at one thing, and say no to almost everything else. He bought his first CNC at 15 to make knife handles, started taking billable work at 19, and now runs a precision shop in North Phoenix that goes after the tight-tolerance medical work a lot of shops won't touch. This one is part of our GenCNC series, and our co-host Nush, who's part of this generation herself, jumps in with the questions the rest of us wish we'd asked at that age. We get into how he actually built it: growing on cash flow and machine loans instead of outside investors, learning to program after hours with a tool and die mentor, and figuring out how to price work when you're brand new and have no idea what the market will bear. Stone's edge isn't a secret process. It's consistency, a refusal to send anything out of spec, and a willingness to take on parts he doesn't yet know how to make. He's also refreshingly honest about the parts nobody posts. The crashes, the jobs that go sideways, the days the whole thing feels like it's crumbling. His answer is mentors, a tight network of shop owners who actually pick up the phone, and the discipline to keep the lows from getting too low. Whether you're thinking about starting a shop or you've run one for thirty years, there's something here. Know where to spend money and where not to. Build a small team of people you can pay well. And find the niche where being excellent actually pays. That's making chips. What's Covered in this Episode (0:52) Kicking off another GenCNC episode with co-host Nush (1:29) Meet Stone: from reselling balisong knives and 3D printing to buying a Tormach 440 at 15 (4:21) Quitting two jobs to go all in at 19 (and quickly building a team) (6:41) Solve your biggest headache with CLA (7:50) Funding growth through profit and machine loans, not investors (11:04) Moving out of the garage and into a commercial space (12:11) Learning to program after hours with mentor John Schaefer (13:34) The art and science of quoting and pricing work (16:25) Focus on what you're good at instead of chasing every job (18:16) Why consistency and never shipping out-of-spec parts wins customers (21:45) Why young entrepreneurs need to be on LinkedIn (23:17) The opportunity gap and getting young people into manufacturing (25:27) How Stone started building his team (and who does what) (27:15) Find people who actually fit with Hire MFG Leaders (27:44) The process of hiring employees (and the paperwork that comes with it) (30:01) How saying yes to jobs you don't know how to do can pay off (32:25) It's never too late for a mentor—at any stage of your career (36:45) Success is perseverance and the mental game, not just great parts (39:44) Advice for young shop owners: know where to spend money (42:15) Expanding to a bigger building and going after big work with a VF-9 (43:20) Take your shop to the next level with DN Solutions (44:33) The five-year vision: five employees, twelve machines, automation (53:00) Why 100% inspection and a CMM are worth it Resources Mentioned ST1 Precision ProShop ERP Xometry Tormach Haas Automation Saunders Machine Works CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen) Hire MFG Leaders DN Solutions Connect with Stone ST1 Precision Connect with MakingChips Website: www.MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube

Most shop owners have stood in front of a shiny new machine and felt the pull. Buy it, and the work will come. Tim Drinkwater of Accurate Machine Products has lived both sides of that bet, the one that nearly buried him and the one that showed up as a free machining center. This conversation sits right where two of our current series meet: Gen CNC, where we talk to founders who started young, and our workforce development series. Tim started his shop in a garage in 2007, and he's blunt about how a young founder should spend those first dollars. Cash is worth more than tools you don't need. Customers come before capability. And sometimes buying an existing shop beats building one from scratch. We also get into the mistake that can quietly kill a shop. Tim bought a brand new lathe for a firearms customer who never signed a contract and then walked away. Mike shares the flip side he keeps running into, walking through shops with gorgeous, idle equipment bought on a customer's promise that never turned into a purchase order. One of those build-outs is the reason a whole company ended up for sale. Then there's the fun part. Tim won a DN Solutions SVM 4100 in the DN and Kennametal giveaway, put it to work on challenging tool steel parts, and liked it enough to go buy a second one. There's another machine giveaway coming at IMTS this year, and you can get in on it at makingchips.com/giveaway . The back half is all about people. When applicants dried up, Tim went straight to the high schools, joined the Craftsman with Character program, and stopped using the word machinist because most students have no idea what it means. It's the same thing we keep coming back to on this show. The parts matter, but the people are what carry a shop into the next generation. What's Covered in this Episode (0:00) A machine giveaway teaser, and why Tim's story matters (1:31) Starting Accurate Machine Products in a garage in 2007 (3:22) What the shop makes, from jet ski parts to finish packaging (4:43) Advice for young founders: cash beats tools you don't need (8:00) eBay machines and the leap to the first brand new machine (9:16) A new lathe, a firearms customer, and no contract to back it up (11:31) Beautiful equipment gathering dust: the shop that went up for sale (13:51) Take your shop high-end with DN Solutions (15:02) Winning a DN Solutions SVM 4100 in the DN and Kennametal giveaway (16:45) Turning the win into S7 tool steel work and a 4+1 upgrade (17:57) Buying a second SVM 4100 and standardizing on one control (20:21) Dial in your workholding with SMW Autoblok (21:10) DN service put to the test: the contactor gremlin (23:18) From zero applicants to working with the youngest generation (24:56) Youth apprenticeships and rebranding machinist to precision metal cutting (28:38) Rhett's story: four years, his own key, and a CMMC future (30:38) The industry needs accountants and coders, not just machinists (33:53) Invest in your leadership at Elevate during IMTS 2026 (34:45) Getting your crew and local students to IMTS (40:39) MakingChips at IMTS 2026: find us in the AME/Hennig booth Resources Mentioned DN Solutions Kennametal SMW Autoblok Dave Hataj with Craftsman with Character Elevate powered by AMT (IMTS 2026) IMTS MakingChips Machine Giveaway Connect with Tim Drinkwater Accurate Machine Products Tim Drinkwater on LinkedIn Tim@ampcnc.com Connect with MakingChips www.MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube

AI is going to be everywhere at IMTS this September, and if you walk the floor without a filter, it'll make your head spin. So we brought in someone whose whole job is helping manufacturers tell the real thing from the marketing fluff. Ryan Kelly, VP of Technology at AMT, joins us to break the noise into something usable. He walks through a simple way to sort every AI claim you'll see into three layers: the hyperscalers and cloud platforms laying the foundation, the AI native tools that couldn't have existed a few years ago, and the embedded AI features showing up as new buttons in the CAD, CAM, and ERP systems you already run. Then we get into physical AI, the part that actually matters for a machine shop. It's the loop that takes information from the physical world, lets an AI reason on it, and sends a decision back to the machine or the robot in close to real time. Nick's tool load monitoring, Paul's native machine monitoring in ProShop, Mike's managing 60 jobs a day by exception, they're all versions of the same idea. The catch is data. If the grammar of your data isn't good enough, the AI will hand you an answer you can't trust. Ryan also previews what AMT is building at the show: a new Industrial AI Arena with 32 exhibitors, a one day Industrial AI Conference focused on the factory floor instead of TED-talk futurism, and an Emerging Technology Center where, alongside Oak Ridge National Lab, they'll be making and flying drones right off the line . Three quadcopter models, a fresh one every couple of minutes, with the ability to change the design on a dime and ramp right back into production. Whether you're already wired up or still getting your data in order, there's something at IMTS for wherever you are on the journey. Take stock of your readiness before you go, bring your real problems to the vendors, and you'll come home with something you can use on Monday. That's making chips. What's Covered in this Episode (0:00) Drones that fly themselves right off the assembly line (2:11) Ryan's back: the tariff comment that drew hundreds of responses (4:40) Boost spindle uptime without adding headcount with the Hennig Workflow (5:40) Meet Ryan Kelly of AMT, and why this year feels like AI-MTS (7:16) A filter for the floor: the three layers of AI at IMTS (11:42) Turn AI buzzwords into outcomes at the Industrial AI Conference at IMTS (12:30) How to shop for AI: bring your problem, not your intimidation (13:58) Inside the new Industrial AI Arena: 32 exhibitors and the ETC (17:15) Know your AI readiness before you walk the floor (19:41) Why it's worth seeing tech you're not ready for yet (21:37) Two frameworks: the data-to-application stack and the part lifecycle (23:13) Automation everywhere, and what physical AI actually means (27:14) The human body metaphor: sensors, feedback loops, and real-time decisions (31:52) The real challenge isn't robots, it's the data and its semantics (33:40) ProShop's machine monitoring: what people say vs what machines say (37:52) Reach true high end machining with DN Solutions (39:03) The two dangerous extremes: blindly trusting AI vs writing it off (40:48) Managing by exception: AI flags the few jobs that need you (42:44) Reflexive factories and capturing shop floor knowledge for AI (47:35) Inside the ETC: making and flying drones live with Oak Ridge National Lab (53:50) Register at IMTS.com and find us live in the Hennig booth (339133) Resources Mentioned Hennig Workflow Automation System DN Solutions Register for IMTS 2026 (September 14-19, Chicago) Connect with Ryan Kelly Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn AMT, The Association for Manufacturing Technology IMTS Connect with MakingChips Website On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube

Getting laid off twice early in your career could make you crave stability. It did the opposite for Brian Balthasar. After two rounds of corporate layoffs, he decided that starting his own machine shop was the safer bet. This is another one of our Gen CNC conversations. Brian founded Balthasar Industries in 2022, and he just bought his first building in North Tonawanda, New York. We walk through the leap: buying a mill and a lathe before he had customers, learning that the sales cycle can run a year or more, and finding out how fast the costs that have nothing to do with machines pile up. Some of the most useful parts are about money. The SBA 7(a) loan that got him started, the tooling and support gear that blew past every budget, and why his original business plan turned out to be 10 to 20 percent right. We add the rule every shop owner learns eventually: plan on it costing twice as much and taking twice as long, then pressure test that plan against the worst case. We also get into growing past a one person shop, standardizing on DN Solutions, and building a tech stack in the right order, with connectivity first. Brian shares the CAM path that let him run a shop knowing only basic G code, and where he wants to take the business next, from complex turning and mill turn work to the optics, aerospace, and defense jobs around Buffalo. Underneath all of it is an idea we keep circling back to. Growth is a calculated risk. You run the numbers, decide how much risk you can live with, and then, as Brian puts it, burn the boats and go. There's also a DN Solutions machine giveaway coming at IMTS this year, and you can sign up at makingchips.com/giveaway. What's Covered in this Episode (1:57) Learn more about Brian Balthasar and his journey in manufacturing (4:56) Why starting a shop felt less risky than another corporate job (6:22) Take your shop high-end with DN Solutions (7:35) Buying machines, hunting for customers, and learning sales (10:41) The startup costs nobody budgets for (15:04) Plan on twice as long and twice as much, then pressure test it (16:11) Boost spindle uptime with the Hennig workflow automation system (17:03) Buying the building and adding a third machine (18:33) Financing gear and getting a line of credit before you need it (21:09) Win a DN Solutions SVM 4100 at IMTS 2026 (22:37) The SAE effect and the community that shapes young founders (26:19) Growing past a one person shop and protecting your balance (27:48) Invest in yourself first with ProShop ERP (29:24) Building the tech stack in the right order, connectivity first (34:19) The CAM journey and running a shop on basic G code (36:06) Where the equipment is headed and a wild GM grinder story (39:34) Positioning for optics, aerospace, defense, and AS9100 (44:36) Closing advice: decide your risk threshold and burn the boats Resources Mentioned DN Solutions Hennig Workflow Automation ProShop ERP IMTS Bryce Barnes: The Tech Stack Advantage Connect with Brian Balthasar Balthasar Industries Balthasar Industries on LinkedIn On Instagram On Facebook Email Connect with MakingChips www.MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube

Most machine shops judge a good day by spindle time. If the machines are cutting, we're making money. If they're sitting still, something must be wrong. But what if keeping capacity open for the right customer is actually part of the product? That question kicks off our conversation with strategist Kaihan Krippendorff, who we met at MFG 2026 in Fort Lauderdale. Kaihan's big idea is that value is moving closer to the moment and place where it is needed. For machine shops, that means reshoring, faster turnaround, stocked material, flexible capacity, automation, and being the supplier customers call when a problem cannot wait. We talk about why customers are rarely just buying a part. They are buying uptime, speed, confidence, and the ability to avoid a production nightmare. That shift changes how a shop should think about pricing, customer relationships, and where it can create value beyond the machine. We also get practical about what this could look like on the shop floor: having material ready, showing available capacity online, and recognizing when a $200 part becomes a $2,000 solution because the customer needs it immediately. The future may not belong to the biggest shop or the cheapest shop. It may belong to the shops that understand urgency, move quickly, and become harder for customers to replace. Because it is not the big that eat the small. It is the fast that eat the slow. What's Covered in this Episode (1:06) Recapping MFG 2026 and welcoming Kaihan Krippendorff (2:02) Kaihan's two worlds: strategy thought leadership and the Outthinker think tank (4:02) The game is changing, and proximity is the new playbook (5:15) Reshoring, the end of globalization, and the rising cost of distance (6:39) Take your shop high-end with DN Solutions (7:52) "Jobs to be done": sell the outcome, not the part (11:21) Storch Magnetics: one lobbyist out-sold the whole sales team (12:26) Tooling vending machines and the $8 stadium water bottle (14:06) The weekend rush job: a $200 part worth $2,000 by Monday (15:52) Distributed 3D printing, zero marginal cost, and selling uptime (18:32) A 2026 prediction: AI gets arms and legs (21:04) Reinvest in yourself first with ProShop ERP (22:43) Coca-Cola Freestyle: create the value after demand shows up (24:57) Low Country Aerospace and buying raw material smarter (27:25) Sell results, not atoms: the Uber and Domino's lesson (29:04) Putting open capacity online and a distributed network of shops (32:08) Connecting directly to customers and ProCNC's 2004 head start (35:36) Why categories are powerful and time splicing for quick response (37:15) Stop getting burned by recruiters: Use Hire MFG Leaders (38:29) Segmenting customers by who values speed most (42:09) Riches in the niches and the rise of the mega factories (44:48) What a typical shop can do now: the nine Ps checklist Resources Mentioned DN Solutions ProShop ERP Hire MFG Leaders SendCutSend Arbill Storch Magnetics Quickparts 3D Printing Low Country Aerospace The End of the World Is Just the Beginning Fast Formulator Connect with Kaihan Krippendorff Connect on LinkedIn Kaihan.net Outthinker Proximity by Kaihan Krippendorff Connect with MakingChips Website: www.MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube

Everybody in manufacturing knows the skills gap is real. Far fewer people are doing anything about it. That tension runs through this entire conversation, and it's why we're glad to have Kyra Tillman back on the show as part of our workforce development series. Kyra runs BTM Industries, a small job shop in Woodstock, Illinois, and she's a driving force behind the Manufacturing Pathways Consortium, a group of more than a hundred McHenry County manufacturers, every local high school, and dozens of community partners who decided to grow their own talent instead of fighting over the same shrinking pool. The numbers back it up. This year 186 students applied for the summer internship program and 85 got placed, with grant funding covering 85 percent of their wages. We get into the parts most people skip. How do you actually build an internship that works when your team is already slammed? Why do so many shops still say they don't have time for an inexperienced kid? And how did this group push back on a new Illinois foreign language requirement that would have gutted high school manufacturing programs, and win? There's a bigger idea underneath all of it. The shortage isn't only a skills gap, it's an opportunity gap. Most students have no idea these careers exist, and the fix isn't complicated. Open your doors, bring kids in, and let them try the work. Whether you run a shop, sit on a school board, or just want to see your community thrive, this one's a blueprint you can copy. What's Covered in this Episode (0:00) Why workforce development gets its own series, and welcoming Kyra back (1:56) Kyra's path to owning BTM Industries, a third-generation Woodstock job shop (4:13) MPC: 100+ manufacturers, every local high school, one focus: the talent pipeline (5:59) Why it works: stop playing the victim and do something about it (8:48) Inside the summer internship program: 186 applied, only 85 placed (10:53) Building a real intern plan instead of winging it (15:16) It's a manufacturing experience, not a polished college internship (16:15) CLA: helping manufacturers find millions in savings and revenue (17:23) Nick's intern Peter and the value of learning what you don't want (20:00) Why this program is oversubscribed when others can't fill seats (22:40) The funding model: grants cover 85 percent of intern wages (25:16) Saving CTE programs from Illinois's new foreign language requirement (27:45) IMTS Job Shops Workshop and Networking Reception, September 15 (28:39) Putting machined parts on guidance counselors' desks (32:46) Connecting with students who don't yet know what they like (35:00) It's an opportunity gap as much as a skills gap, so open your doors (36:42) Scaling means hiring beyond the shop floor, from coders to accountants (40:09) Why we love the quality of SMW Autoblok workholding (41:36) The results so far: 400+ interns, 46 now working in manufacturing (44:00) Help solve the problem: Let's get more manufacturers involved (47:15) How to replicate this: start with your local schools (49:30) Summer events, the Rockford party, and an IMTS kickoff Resources Mentioned Manufacturing Pathways Consortium CLA IMTS SMW Autoblok Connect with Kyra Tillman Manufacturing Pathways Consortium BTM Industries Connect with MakingChips Website: https://www.MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube

Keith and Patrick Lee didn't start their machine shop with a giant facility, a full team, or a fleet of high-end equipment. They started with a Tormach in a one-car garage, a willingness to learn, and the belief that if they kept showing up, solving problems, and doing what they said they would do, they could build something real. In this episode of MakingChips, Keith and Patrick share the story behind their South Jersey machine shop, from discovering CNC through high school STEM projects and YouTube videos to slowly building the business on nights and weekends. Keith brings the hands-on machining background, including time in the Air National Guard and aerospace manufacturing, while Patrick brings a mechanical engineering background and experience in heavy construction operations. Together, they've had to figure out not just how to make parts, but how to build a business from scratch. Their journey is full of the kind of lessons every shop owner can relate to: learning CNC by doing, finding early work through Xometry, using LinkedIn to build real customer relationships, deciding when to invest in equipment, and building processes before hiring or automating. They also talk openly about what it's like to work with a sibling, how they handle disagreements, and why "family before the business, family after the business" has become a guiding principle. What sets Keith and Patrick apart isn't flashy equipment or decades of experience. It's their ethos: ownership, duty, discipline, honesty, and a commitment to bringing honor back to American manufacturing. They want to build a shop that treats customers like partners, pays skilled people well, and proves that doing the right thing still matters. What's Covered in this Episode (0:00) Keith's "fake it till you make it" CNC job story (0:47) Keith and Patrick Lee's origin story in manufacturing (STEM, John Saunders, and more) (3:47) Launching the business and building out the shop themselves (4:48) First real machines and early customers: Xometry to get started, then upgrading to a Haas mini mill and Prototrack lathe scored at auction (6:29) Take your shop to the next level with high-end DN Solutions Machining (7:40) Current equipment: multiple Haas machines and why standardizing on one brand makes sense at this stage (8:23) Learning CNC: Keith's self-taught journey through YouTube, a year at a job shop, and why high-mix/low-volume is the best education (12:00) Customer acquisition and sales challenges they're tackling (13:55) What actually works on LinkedIn: personal content, authentic connections, and targeted warm outreach to local companies (17:42) Networking group: Brett Lister's local machinist community and how generously this industry shares (19:12) Your buyers have technical questions. Navu delivers reliable, accurate answers. (20:25) Building a process from scratch: why developing process is harder than improving one; the need for standards before automation or hiring (23:09) QMS and documentation: how they built their QMS, use travelers and job sheets, and adopted Infab ERP (25:42) Knowledge retention challenges: capturing speeds, feeds, and setup know-how before the next hire (28:03) Delegate and elevate: having Patrick program and set up jobs as a test run for future onboarding (30:15) Brand and values: ownership, duty, discipline; what actually sets a two-Haas shop apart in a crowded market (33:00) High say-do ratio: doing what you say you will do as the primary differentiator; treating customers like family (36:55) Check out the Hennig Workflow (an automated pallet delivery system) (41:31) General vs. niche: why being a general job shop makes sense at the start; focusing on milling in a specific size range as a core competency (43:44) QMS as foundation for certification: AS9100 vs. ISO 9001; getting into aerospace overflow work first before pursuing the cert (48:09) Closing advice: working with a sibling means family before business and family after business (49:38) Starting a shop: do it before it is too late; it takes twice as long and costs twice as much, and neither is a reason not to (50:39) Gates's Law: overestimate what you can do in one year; underestimate what you can do in five Resources Mentioned Tormach Haas Automation Xometry NYC CNC (John Saunders) — YouTube DN Solutions Navu Hennig Workflow Automation The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber Connect with Keith & Patrick Lee Liberty Manufacturing Keith Lee on LinkedIn Patrick Lee on LinkedIn Connect With MakingChips www.MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube

Some shop owners are born into machining. Others stumble into it through YouTube, side jobs, and a little bit of "sure, I think we can fit that D11 dozer cylinder on the mill." Leighton Hill's story has a little bit of all of it. In this episode of MakingChips, we continue our Gen CNC series with Leighton Hill of Hillco, a young shop owner from the Kansas City area who grew up around manual machines, learned CNC through hands-on experimentation, and is now building a real business from nights, weekends, Facebook groups, local relationships, and whatever work comes through the door. Leighton shares how his dad's hobby shop sparked his interest in machining, why he originally had no interest in CNC, and how a used Hurco mill changed the direction of his life. From a cramped two-car garage to a 40x60 shop, he's been slowly turning a family passion into a serious business opportunity. We dig into the realities of starting small: pricing jobs without overcomplicating it, finding work through word of mouth, learning from YouTube, quoting overflow work, considering job boards, and deciding when it makes sense to invest in new equipment. Leighton also talks about his goal of going full-time, possibly moving into a larger shared shop, and eventually building a small team around production and aerospace work. Because if you're not learning, quoting, building relationships, and making chips, you're not making money. Segments (0:00) How a Facebook machinist group unexpectedly led to a real customer (0:35) Introducing Leighton Hill of Hillco and the Gen CNC series (2:16) Leighton's journey from manual machining to learning CNC (7:02) Starting Hillco as a side business and building momentum (8:55) Expanding into job shop work and growing into a 40x60 shop (10:20) Why we love the quality of SMW Autoblok's workholding (11:06) Hillco's current machine lineup and capabilities (13:10) Learning machining through YouTube, mentors, and hands-on experience (16:40) Finding early work through word of mouth, neighbors, and Facebook groups (18:19) Considering job boards and overflow work as a learning opportunity (21:13) How Leighton approaches pricing, quoting, and simple job estimating (23:46) Exploring AI-assisted quoting and CAM tools like Toolpath (29:02) Why we created Hire MFG Leaders (and why you should use it) (30:34) Starting the LLC with low overhead and support from family (32:12) Thinking through ROI before investing in a CNC lathe (33:26) Leighton's goal to take Hillco full-time within the next year (36:35) Taking on any work early, then learning what to specialize in (37:27) Why walk-in repair work can lead to long-term production customers (41:54) Get a free report of sales opportunities in your area from FacturMFG.com/chips (43:00) Advice for young machinists who want to get started (44:55) Leighton's five-to-ten-year vision for Hillco (47:19) Building credibility with a website, Google profile, and customer reviews Resources mentioned on this episode Why we love the quality of SMW Autoblok's workholding Why we created Hire MFG Leaders (and why you should use it) Get a free report of sales opportunities in your area from FacturMFG.com/chips TITANS of CNC Toolpath CloudNC Connect With MakingChips www.MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube

In manufacturing, everyone talks about the skills gap. Fewer people talk about the relationships, systems, and long-term commitment it takes to solve it. In this episode of MakingChips, we continue our GenCNC series by exploring a powerful partnership between Northridge High School and JD Machine, a collaboration that is creating a steady pipeline of young manufacturing talent and proving that workforce development doesn't happen by accident. Kurt Jensen has spent more than two decades teaching and inspiring students, but his machining program at Northridge High is unlike most. Built from scratch just six years ago, the program now serves nearly 100 students and gives them hands-on experience with machining, programming, inspection, and real-world manufacturing concepts. Through relentless recruiting, industry partnerships, and a passion for exposing students to the trades, Kurt has created a program that students actively seek out. On the industry side, Matt Wardle of JD Machine shares how workforce development has become one of the company's most important strategic systems. From registered apprenticeships and structured career pathways to internships and community involvement, JD Machine has spent decades investing in people rather than waiting for talent to appear. The result is a workforce pipeline stronger than ever in one of the most competitive hiring markets manufacturing has faced. Together, Kurt and Matt demonstrate what happens when educators and employers stop operating independently and start working toward a common goal. The conversation explores apprenticeship models, mentorship, recruiting strategies, soft skills development, and practical ways every shop can support local manufacturing education. Whether you're an educator, employer, parent, or industry advocate, this episode offers a blueprint for building the next generation of manufacturing talent. Segments (0:00) Mike celebrates his son's graduation and entry into manufacturing (1:43) Introducing Northridge High School and JD Machine's workforce partnership (3:13) Matt Wardle's journey building JD Machine through apprenticeship programs (5:40) Kurt Jensen's machining program and serving nearly 100 students (7:13) Check out the Hennig Workflow (an automated pallet delivery system) (8:04) Why Northridge's machining program continues to attract strong student demand (10:53) The importance of exposing students to manufacturing career paths (12:41) Building a machining program from scratch inside a public high school (14:26) How JD Machine supports schools and develops long-term talent pipelines (17:06) SkillsUSA competitions and strengthening industry-education partnerships (19:04) Convincing school leaders to invest in manufacturing education (21:06) How ProShop can help you achieve on-time delivery (25:22) Curriculum design, machining pathways, and Titans of CNC integration (28:03) How portfolio-based learning helps students land manufacturing jobs (30:01) Announcing A to Z Magazine's 40 under 40 issue (35:21) Why young people are rediscovering skilled trades and hands-on careers (39:01) Inside JD Machine's apprenticeship model and workforce development system (46:10) Teaching work ethic, accountability, and soft skills alongside machining (55:05) Why today's younger workforce gives manufacturing reasons for optimism (56:31) Why we created Hire MFG Leaders (and why you should use it) (57:00) Practical ways employers can support local manufacturing programs (1:00:05) Becoming a cheerleader for manufacturing careers and workforce development (1:03:31) The growing challenge of finding future machining instructors (1:06:10) Why consistent workforce investment pays off over the long term Resources mentioned on this episode Matt Wardle from JD Machine Kurt Jensen with Northridge High School Check out the Hennig Workflow (an automated pallet delivery system) Get a free guide to help you achieve on-time delivery at ProShopERP.com/95 SkillsUSA Competitions A2Z Manufacturing Magazine: How to nominate someone for their 40 under 40 Get a copy of A2Z Magazine Connect With MakingChips www.MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube

Recorded live from the Toolpath Machining Summit at Mammoth Mountain, this episode of MakingChips explores what happens when software thinking collides with modern manufacturing. We sat down with SendCutSend founder Jim Belosic and CNC leader Phil Linscheid for a conversation about speed, automation, growth, and the changing realities of manufacturing in America. What started as frustration sourcing one-off sheet metal parts has evolved into one of the industry's most talked-about manufacturing companies. Today, SendCutSend is processing tens of thousands of orders every month across multiple facilities, all while challenging long-standing assumptions around quoting, inventory, lead times, staffing, and scalability. But underneath the growth is something even more interesting: a company culture built around adaptability, curiosity, and a willingness to rethink everything. Throughout the episode, we dig into how SendCutSend approaches manufacturing differently. Instead of trying to be everything to everyone, they've focused on simplifying processes, automating aggressively, and creating systems that remove friction for customers. Jim and Phil explain why many traditional machine shop habits no longer make sense at scale, and why the future may belong to manufacturers who are willing to specialize, collaborate, and move faster. We also explore what this shift means for the broader manufacturing industry. Are companies like SendCutSend replacing traditional shops, or creating opportunities for them to evolve into something more specialized and valuable? From hiring philosophies and leadership lessons to AI, automation, and "Home Depot for manufacturing," this conversation challenges the industry to think differently about where manufacturing is headed next. Segments (0:00) Recording live from the Toolpath Machining Summit at Mammoth Mountain (0:49) Why intentional industry events create deeper manufacturing conversations (2:38) Introducing SendCutSend and the company's rapid growth trajectory (4:01) The original problem that inspired the creation of SendCutSend (5:28) Early mistakes, learning manufacturing from scratch, and adapting quickly (10:15) Scaling to hundreds of employees, multiple facilities, and massive order volume (12:25) Why SendCutSend focuses on creating talent instead of recruiting it (14:07) Hiring for enthusiasm, grit, and culture fit over manufacturing experience (16:41) Why we love SMW Autoblok for workholding products (17:54) Can outsiders successfully buy and grow manufacturing companies? (19:51) Why great machinists don't always become great managers (23:13) Building career paths for both technical experts and people leaders (24:47) How complementary leadership styles drive growth and innovation (28:25) Get a free report of sales opportunities in your area from FacturMFG.com/chips (29:30) Breaking down the SendCutSend workflow from upload to shipped part (33:35) Simplifying manufacturing to improve speed, accessibility, and affordability (35:40) Why customer experience became SendCutSend's biggest growth engine (37:44) Inventory strategy, automation, and scheduling at scale (41:52) Standardized tooling, machine utilization, and operational discipline (48:51) Why culture is the foundation behind the company's success (50:21) Check out the Hennig Workflow Automated Pallet delivery solution (51:14) The vision for becoming a "Home Depot for manufacturing" (53:30) How traditional machine shops can evolve alongside industry disruption (58:24) Jim's advice for smaller shops? Say "no" more often - get a longer clip of this (1:01:07)) Why AI and manufacturing disruption are impossible to ignore (1:04:57) Leadership lessons on decision-making, pivots, and learning quickly (1:07:30) Protecting culture while scaling at hyper-growth speed Resources mentioned on this episode SendCutSend Connect with Jim on LinkedIn Connect with Phil on LinkedIn Why we love SMW Autoblok for workholding products Get a free report of sales opportunities in your area from FacturMFG.com/chips Check out the Hennig Workflow Automated Pallet delivery solution Connect With MakingChips www.MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube

What happens when a young woman with zero machining experience gets handed the keys to two CNC mills and told, "Figure it out"? For Melissa Ramos, it became the start of a journey that's equal parts grit, creativity, community, and stubborn determination. In this episode of MakingChips, we sit down with the founder of M95 Machining to unpack how she went from crashing machines, crying in shop bathrooms, and being dismissed in trade school… to building a respected machining brand with a massive social media following and partnerships across the industry. Melissa shares the real story behind learning CNC machining from the ground up, the pressure of working alongside her father, and the moments that nearly made her quit. But this conversation goes far beyond tooling and G-code. It's about building a business while building confidence. Melissa opens up about the challenges of being a woman in manufacturing, the ugly side of internet criticism, and why storytelling and content creation have become just as important to her business as making parts. From balancing customer work and brand partnerships to literally moving into the shop to chase bigger goals, her story captures the modern reality of manufacturing entrepreneurship. The episode also dives into automation, mentorship, social media, family dynamics, and Melissa's vision for creating a safe learning space for women entering the trades. Whether you're a shop owner, aspiring machinist, parent, or someone trying to carve out a path in manufacturing, this conversation is packed with honesty, perspective, and a refreshing reminder that there's no single blueprint for success in this industry. If you've ever wondered what the next generation of manufacturing leadership looks like, this episode delivers a pretty compelling answer. Segments (0:00) The MakingChips crew welcomes Melissa Ramos to MakingChips: GenCNC (2:17) Melissa shares how her dad introduced her to CNC machining with two Haas mills (4:33) Melissa discusses the challenges of being a woman entering manufacturing (6:04) Melissa opens up about her negative trade school experience and being dismissed by an instructor (8:29) How a group of classmates helped her learn programming despite lack of support (10:01) Discovering Fusion 360 and teaching herself CAM programming (11:56) Learn more about IMTS 2026 (and why you should join us) (13:14) Building M95 through family connections, word of mouth, and social media (15:52) Melissa discusses workload balance, shop growth, and finding ideal customers (17:50) Balancing machining work with growing content partnerships and brand opportunities (18:32) Why Melissa prefers prototype and quick-turn work over repetitive production (19:30) Lessons learned from a difficult automation experience with a robot cell (22:08) Melissa shares the story of meeting her boyfriend through tooling recommendations (22:55) Paperless Parts uses secure AI to take busy work off your estimators (24:07) The influence of Melissa's father and the family dynamic behind the business (26:24) Why Melissa's dad originally brought machining in-house (29:53) How social media unexpectedly transformed into a business opportunity (32:53) Why you should listen to the Lights Out Podcast (33:20) Melissa explains why she's moving into the shop to focus fully on growth (37:07) Melissa reveals her vision for a women-focused manufacturing meetup and mentorship space (38:42) Advice for young people entering manufacturing and entrepreneurship (39:43) Where to connect with Melissa Ramos and M95 Machining online Resources mentioned on this episode 12. Inspiring a New Generation of Female (and Male) Machinists Learn more about IMTS 2026 (and why you should join us) Paperless Parts uses secure AI to take busy work off your estimators info@M95Machining.com Connect with Melissa on LinkedIn M95 Machining on YouTube M95 Machining on Instagram Connect With MakingChips www.MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube

What if the future of your machine shop isn't just faster spindles or more automation—but an entirely different way of making parts? In this episode of MakingChips: Generation CNC, we sit down with David Bamforth of Renscott Manufacturing, a young entrepreneur who's not just building a shop—he's redefining what one can be. By combining CNC machining with metal additive manufacturing, David has positioned his company at the intersection of two worlds, creating a powerful competitive edge in aerospace, defense, and spaceflight. But this didn't start with a master plan. Like many entrepreneurs, David began with curiosity, a willingness to take risks, and a mindset of figuring things out as he went. Over time, that evolved into something much more intentional: a clear strategy to move beyond being "just another job shop" and instead own the full lifecycle of complex parts—from printed blank to finished, mission-critical component. What makes this approach so compelling is the problem it solves. Many companies can print parts. Many shops can machine them. But very few can do both well. Even fewer understand how to bridge the gap between the two. That's where Renscott has carved out its niche, simplifying supply chains, improving reliability, and creating real value for customers operating at the cutting edge. If you've been thinking about how to differentiate your shop—or where the industry is heading next—this episode offers a clear look at why additive manufacturing isn't just a trend. For shops willing to embrace it, it's a strategic advantage. Segments (0:00) Light banter, missing co-host, and intro to the Gen CNC series (1:32) Meet David Bamforth: From automotive work to aerospace, spaceflight, and defense (4:46) Early curiosity: how tinkering and "How It's Made" shaped his path (6:04) Engineering school, co-ops, and exposure to large-scale manufacturing (8:32) Buying the first Haas machine and launching the business with no roadmap (9:49) Why we love Paperless Parts for your quoting workflow (11:01) The "build it and they will come" philosophy—and learning the hard way (13:55) Self-funding the business, family support, and building a leadership team (16:49) The cool part of the Co-op that David participated in (18:59) What formal manufacturing education did (and didn't) teach (21:36) How additive manufacturing became a strategic differentiator (27:13) Why we love SMW Autoblok for workholding (27:56) The long-term vision: becoming additive-first with machining support (30:22) Real-world applications like internal cooling channels and complex geometries (32:34) Building the additive business like a startup within the company (34:25) Comparing labor, cost, and efficiency: additive vs. subtractive (38:15) Automation strategy across five-axis machining and robotics (40:02) Running an advanced shop as a young entrepreneur (41:23) Hiring ahead of growth and building a 5-year plan (42:41) Why you need to check out the Hennig WorkFlow (43:35) Overcoming (or avoiding) the "young founder" credibility challenge (46:01) Branding, culture, and connecting with modern manufacturing customers (49:03) Advice for young entrepreneurs: experience, cash, and patience (51:44) The importance of networking and building industry relationships Resources mentioned on this episode Rennscot MFG Connect with David Bamforth on LinkedIn Why we love Paperless Parts for your quoting workflow Why we love SMW Autoblok for workholding Why you need to check out the Hennig WorkFlow NYC CNC John Grimsmo Connect With MakingChips www.MakingChips.com On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube