This article is the second installment of three articles about Toolmaker Apprenticeships. In the first article, we discussed the basic structure, time, requirements, and expected outcome from an individual’s journey through an apprenticeship. In this post, we’re taking a deeper look at how a Toolmaker Apprenticeship has changed since the 1970s. What has changed? To[…]

In this three part series, we examine the age old approach to job training called the apprenticeship. Through interviews with Toolmakers, Master Toolmakers, current and recent apprentices, we discover what it means to be a Toolmaker Apprentice today and what has changed in the last generation of Toolmakers. What is an Apprenticeship? Wikipedia provides a[…]

In 2012, Evans Tool & Die Shop Supervisor Dick Ankeny was tasked with building a die for one specific part of a robotic surgical instrument. The specifications for the part required tolerances to be within .005”. The part had to be made from stainless steel, because the part itself would actually be inserted into surgical[…]

There is often a disconnect between design and engineering. To illustrate that point, consider an architect who designs amazing buildings that are more beautiful than our wildest dreams! But can those buildings actually be built? The same situation happens all the time in the manufacturing process. That is the challenge of design and engineering. At[…]