At the end of April, I had the opportunity to attend the National Technical Conference sponsored by PMPA. My takeaway from this year’s conference, in addition to listening and learning from the presentations, was that business for the attending shops is good.
Unique to the PMPA Technical Conference is its roundtable sessions. A real-world part is presented, and attendees discuss and decide how to best process the part on various types of machine tools. The “home” shop then presents how the part was actually done. It’s a nifty way to learn processing techniques.
Deciding how to best process a real-world part during a roundtable session.
Examining a real-world part during a roundtable discussion.
During the technical members' tabletop exhibit, vendors and potential customers come together to exchange information about the latest technologies available. It’s a mini trade show for the tech conference attendees.
Exchanging information about the latest technologies at the Technical Members' Exhibit.
Vendors and potential customers discuss the latest products in the precision-machined parts industry.
Technical sessions are used to present a variety of topics ranging from human resources and management tips to technical processing information such as medical part machining, thread whirling and thread milling.