Quality at KMM begins long before a part reaches the shop floor. Estimator Joshua Brodbeck uses decades of grinding experience to predict risks and ensure every job starts with accuracy and confidence.
What does it really mean to pursue a career in manufacturing?
For some, it’s about being a maker. Working with your hands, turning handles, punching code and cutting metal to bring an idea into reality.
For others, it’s about pushing technology to its limits and expanding the boundaries of what’s possible. Solving problems no one has cracked yet and removing barriers to commercialization for the next great advancement for society.
And for a few, it’s about shaping the future itself. Taking a concept that can change lives and making it real.
The manufacturing landscape is evolving fast. Designs once considered “too complex to machine” are now standard requests. As components get smaller and performance requirements grow tougher, traditional machining centers struggle to keep up. The smarter move? 13-axis Swiss screw machining, which delivers the accuracy, flexibility, and efficiency modern programs demand.
When you derive purpose and meaning from a job well done and you know your contribution really matters, quality becomes more than a process. It becomes personal.
Have you ever broken a supplier?
Such a shame! You didn’t mean to. They gave you everything you could ask for: great communication, excellent problem solving, the desire to work together to overcome obstacles, fantastic quality. It’s a homerun. Until it’s not. Something gradually shifts. The quality dips. Lead times slip. You know them, and you know they’re trying to get back on track. But they can’t keep up.
A better title for this blog might be – “How an O-Chem Lab Class That I Took in 1986 Changed My Life”. I bet that’s not something you saw coming from a life-long manufacturing guy.
When a supply agreement is written with mutual respect, it sets the tone for innovation, agility, and long-term partnership. When it’s written to control, it quietly undermines trust before the first part ever ships.
Have you ever wondered why some companies say “yes” when everyone else says “no”?
Your design is strong, your concept viable. But manufacturer after manufacturer turns you down and you’re worried you may be headed back to the drawing board. Then, you find your ‘ace in the hole’ that not only says yes, but confidently yes. What gives them the ability to get something over the finish line when others can’t or elect not to?
Think of it like sharpening a pencil without gripping it tightly, instead, letting it settle naturally against the grinding wheels. The result? Unmatched precision and flawless symmetry, critical when manufacturing components where lives depend on fractions of a millimeter.
MedTech products, especially those used in sensitive medical applications, require an environment that meets strict quality standards. This is where Class 8 cleanrooms come into play.
