The road from product conception to full production is often full of unexpected obstacles, twists, and turns along the way. A prototype, which you can test in the real world, helps to smooth out that road on a smaller scale. The prototype process allows you to pivot quickly to rectify errors or omissions before…
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The Hitzfield Group is a group of companies that design, engineer and install state-of-the-art building envelopes and structural façade components. They serve a wide variety of industries across the nation and have partnered with companies such as FedEx and Eli Lilly on various construction projects. Estes Design and Manufacturing recently had the privilege of partnering with…
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We are here to help! The COVID-19 virus has brought changes to almost every industry in some form or another as well as disrupted many facets of our personal and professional lives. While many industries have seen rapid declines in business over the last month, other industries have seen spiking increases in demand and are…
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Faster, More Efficient Welding Laser welding isn’t exactly new. After all, it’s been used in automotive manufacturing for many years. Outside of the auto plant, however, laser welding (and its potential for savings) is less familiar. When parts made of thin-gauge sheet metal need nice-looking welds, lasers don’t immediately come to mind; labor-intensive TIG or MIG…
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Although 3D printing is quickly becoming a popular choice for manufacturing, there are times when sheet metal can serve as a better alternative. Depending on your project, sheet metal may be a superior choice over non-metal options or other metal manufacturing processes. But not all sheet metal is created equal. Each material type has…
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Kaizen is defined as the Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement. As a company Estes strives to follow the kaizen mindset instead of just working on “fixes.” Continuous improvement serves as one of the four pillars of our company philosophy, and Estes is constantly looking for ways to improve all facets of the business. To ensure this continuous improvement…
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What is just-in-time (JIT) management strategy and how can it reduce costs? The just-in-time (JIT) management strategy traces back to early in the auto industry, first introduced at the Ford Motor Plant and later perfected by Taiichi Ohno for Toyota as a means to improve operational performance. With JIT, goods arrive exactly when they are…
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Who is Dr. Bobby and how is he having a positive impact on the medical industry? Dr. Babak Hassid, otherwise known as Dr. Bobby, is a New York-based cardiologist at Northwell Health. Not only is he a highly respected doctor, but he is also an inventor. Dr. Bobby realized that there is a problem when…
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44 Years of Experience Working with Sheet Metal Materials When deciding on the right material for your project, trust the experts. They’re out there designing, forming, bending, cutting, and punching various sheet metal materials into the quality parts integrated all around you. Partner with a quality sheet metal fabricator early and get a second opinion.…
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3 Methods of Welding Sheet Metal: Which Do You Need? There are many different methods for sheet metal welding, but the three we are going to discuss are MIG (metal inert gas), TIG (tungsten inert gas), and laser welding. The method used will depend on many factors. Below are things to consider for each of…
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Since early 2018, Estes Express Prototyping has been working in close collaboration with Florence Corporation, a mailbox supplier. Recently, our team interviewed Mike Molt, Florence’s Design Engineering Manager, to learn more about its experience working with Estes. Below are our findings from the interview. Florence Corporation Benefits from Estes’ Cutting Edge Technology and Fast…
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Even as US manufacturing continues to be the global leader for goods produced ($2.3 trillion in 2018), high operating costs threaten that leadership position. To be competitive, it is imperative that manufacturers reduce costs and increase efficiency in their operations. Many companies implement processes such as Six Sigma, lean manufacturing, 5s, and/or Kaizen to increase…
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