Month: September 2011

Manufacturing Technology Orders Exceed Forecast

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Up 102.9% from 2010

July U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $506.97 million according to AMTDA, the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association, and AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology.

This total was up  7.3% from June and up 92.7% when compared with the total of $263.14 million reported for July 2010.

With a year-to-date total of $2,975.10 million, 2011 is up 102.9% compared with 2010.

“The manufacturing beat goes on! Machine tool sales continue to exceed forecasts for 2011,” said Peter Borden, AMTDA president. “The stock market’s volatility and the traditional summer slowdowns as budgets are depleted were no match for the ongoing demand to get new machines into production as soon as possible. This pace will slow; but for USMTO 2011 so far, there are no signs of what we hear on the nightly news.”

On a regional basis sales in the  Northeast region were $58.38 million, down 17.9%  compared with the $71.08 million total for June but up 11.3% when compared with July a year ago. The year-to-date total of $434.97 million is 63.6% more than the comparable figure for 2010.

Orders in the Southern region totaled $75.03 million, 13.4% more than June’s $66.19 million and 191.3% more than the July 2010 total. With a year-to-date total of $381.76 million, 2011 is up 79.6% when compared with 2010 at the same time.

Midwest Region manufacturing technology orders in July stood at $159.26 million, 1.0% more than the June total of $157.62 million and up 70.2% when compared with last July. At $1,016.66 million, the 2011 year-to-date total is 138.5% more than the comparable figure for 2010.

And the Western region’s sales hit $107.31 million in July, 108.2% more than the $51.55 million total for June and 252.6% higher than the tally for July 2010. At $355.14 million, 2011 year-to-date is up 102.3% when compared with last year at the same time.

In the Central region sales totaled $106.98 million, down 15.2% from June’s $126.14 million but up 75.7% when compared with the July 2010 figure. The $786.57 million year-to-date total is 103.6% higher than the total for the same period in 2010.

From Industry Week Sept. 12, 2011

Move over, Magnetic Boy: there’s a new hero in town

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Ah-CHOO!

Magnetic Boy, the subject of a few earlier articles of mine (see “Practical Uses for Magnetic Boy in the metal industry” and “An Update on Magnetic Boy“), as well as the subject of international attention for his supposedly magnetic properties, has in recent weeks been given a run for his money. Money is something he should have plenty of, since he could just go beach-combing for buried treasure whenever he’s short on cash, and return home with a bounty of gold doubloons stuck to his chest – but I digress. As if it’s not bad enough that insinuations of fraud and “fake” continue to circulate, including accusations of our wonder-boy being just “plump and sticky” rather than being a true prophet of a new age, he has also had to put up with other relatively plump and sticky copycats trying to steal his spotlight by claiming – and demonstrating — their own magnetic powers. Maybe it’s something in the water, but all of these Magnetic Boys seem to hail from somewhere in the Eastern European area. Or maybe it’s simply a geographic hotbed of X-boys, spawned from the high ratio of radioactive exposure this geographical area has seen in the last generation.

Be that as it may, there are two individuals whose own talents frankly surpass those of Magnetic Boy. The first is a 20 year-old Chinese man by the name of Wu Zhilong, who can make bowl-like objects suction to his belly so firmly that he can actually pull a car –loaded with 12 people – from them. Unlike Magnetic Boy and his copycats, this guy doesn’t claim to have any magical properties at all, other than incredibly strong stomach muscles. Apparently, he “accidentally” discovered this power back in 2008, but he didn’t start using it to drag vehicles down the street until this year. I do wonder how he “accidentally discovered” that he could drag incredibly heavy objects by attaching them to a bowl suctioned to his stomach. I mean, what? – “There I was one day, kicking back and minding my own business, when a large metal bowl which just so happened to be attached to an anvil fell onto my stomach…” Zhilong’s dream is to be in the Guinness Book of World Records. If I had his power, my dream would be to have my own tow truck business. You can see his amazing feat for yourself in this video right here.

But in my opinion, this next gentleman really does take the cake: he can sneeze bullets. Darco Sangermano is an Italian from Turin– so we already know he’s either a total mama’s boy or a super macho man, or a combination of the above. (And yes, I am allowed to say this because I am very happily married to a wonderful Italian man from Modena). In any case, our friend Darco happened to be taking a stroll in downtown Naples with his girlfriend during a rowdy New Year’s celebration, when he was hit in the temple by a .22 caliber stray bullet. The bullet went through the right side of his head, behind his eye socket and then lodged somewhere in his nasal passage.

Bleeding heavily but not dead, Darco was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. While waiting to be seen by doctors (excuse me? He was SHOT in the HEAD and he had to wait to see a doctor? What kind of medical emergencies do they HAVE in Naples anyways?), he suddenly sneezed – and the bullet shot out of his right nostril. Darco went on to make a full recovery. The fact that he has a pretty big nose may have helped. I’m not sure a .22 caliber bullet would even fit through my right nostril. Which doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be trying right now, if I happened to have a .22 caliber bullet handy.

A man who thwarts death after getting shot in the head, and then casually sneezes out the bullet in the waiting room of the hospital. WOW. Now that’s a MAN. That’s Italy’s answer to Chuck Norris. That’s the “je-ne-sais-quoi” X-factor that just makes a woman swoon and another man nervous. That’s right up there with the goose who lays the golden egg, except the male version.

Move over, Magnetic Boy. I, for one, have a new hero.

-Anja Wulf

Whatever you need, copper’s got it!

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“Find a penny, pick it up. All day long you’ll have good luck”.

The use of copper in metal manufacturing goes back further than any other metal, except for iron and gold. Not only is it an excellent conductor, but it is pretty, malleable, easy to work with and even has anti-microbial properties, making it far better suited for plumbing than, say, lead pipes. And although the use of copper for pipes continues to this day, copper pipes are kind of boring to read about unless you are in the business of selling, manufacturing, buying or stealing them (and yes, the rate of copper theft continues to rise proportionately to its steady increases in value – which is an alarming rate, as far as its theft goes).

Much more interesting are the many magical properties copper has been attributed with over the last 11,000 years or so. It seems that pretty much any disorder, ailment or unwanted condition can be improved or cured with copper. The fact that copper does in fact have anti-microbial properties, works well as a fungicide, and is even an essential trace nutrient makes its magical claims even more interesting, since some of them may very well have some sort of basis in fact and science.

If everything written on the subject is to be believed, a partial list of copper’s magical and curative properties include the following:

  • Copper is the metal of Aphrodite, or Venus, depending on which name you prefer. Either way, copper is the metal of the Goddess of love, beauty and fertility. If you wear copper on the opposite side of your dominant hand, it can be a very effective love charm – especially when combined with emeralds (you know a particularly clever woman must have thought up that last part!)
  • Fact: copper is an effective spermicide. The majority of IUD’s, the oldest and most effective birth control method on earth, are made of copper even to this day. It could be reasoned that if copper’s ability to prevent pregnancy was known about thousands of years ago, this may have strengthened if not given rise to the association of copper with love and fertility.
  • As early as 2400 BC, ancient Egyptians used copper to sterilize wounds and drinking water, as well as for the treatment of headaches, burns and itching. Based on copper’s actual properties, chances are that these treatments were in fact effective.
  • Around 400 BC, Hippocrates used copper to treat leg ulcers associated with varicose veins. If I knew how, and if I had varicose veins, I’d try it out right now, but alas, all I have to offer is this titillating factoid.
  • Ancient Aztecs fought sore throats by gargling with copper mixtures. This gives me hope that copper may also help prevent the end of the world, as predicted by the Aztec calendar to occur in 2012. I’m not exactly sure how this all connects or if there’s any logic to it, but then again the Aztecs were very mysterious in general. In any case, gargling copper on the End of Days can’t hurt, and may actually prevent Armageddon. Any takers?
  • Many arthritis sufferers wear copper bracelets to relieve pain.
  • Copper is said to have a revitalizing mental effect by stimulating energy flows, thereby overcoming lethargy. It is also said to improve one’s powers of communication, channeling, cleansing and self esteem.
  • Physically, copper is said to improve blood circulation, increase energy, detoxify, reduce inflammation, stabilize metabolism and improve oxygen use.
  • Anyone who takes themselves seriously while waving sticks around in the air and casting spells will tell you that copper is like, totally the best metal for magic wands, because it is an excellent conductor of “all different types” of energy.
  • If you do happen to be in possession of a magical copper wand, you can use it to heal any part of your body by touching it with copper, which will “re-balance” that part of your body and make it all better. This may possibly be almost as effective as when mommy kissed your boo-boo and made it better, but sadly I was unable to find a single scientific study to back this up.
  • Pure copper can be worn to prevent illness and to encourage healing in general because it balances the polarities in one’s body. Anyone worthy of the title “Wiccan” knows this to be indisputable fact. Be warned, however, that a possible side effect can be that you also turn into a turbo-charged version of Austin Powers – with or without the additional supplementation of emeralds.
  • Copper also attracts good luck and money. Proof of this is a fact that every American child knows: “If you find a penny, pick it up. All day long you’ll have good luck” (a long time ago, when our government wasn’t yet bankrupt, pennies were originally made of 100% copper. If the government had picked up pennies instead of thrown them away, it wouldn’t be broke). So if you really play your cards well, you will be lucky in love, super healthy, your polarities will be balanced and you’ll be filthy rich – in which case you’ll probably lose the copper and trade it in for lots of gold. And diamonds. And a Rolex or two. Because one Rolex is never enough to keep you balanced and happy and successful and lucky in love and rich…

That sums up some but not all of the magical properties of copper. By now, I have pretty much talked myself into taking a trip to the plumbing section of the nearest hardware store so I can buy a copper “amulet” for my own personal use. So if you see someone running around with a copper mechanical sleeve clamp hanging off their neck, you’ll know who started that trend.

-Anja Wulf