IP Books at Work


IP Attends 2023 SkillsUSA Competition & Honors Winners

Industrial Press Sales Associate and company representative extraordinaire Jana Rahrig attended the 2023 SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference, held from June 19-23 in Atlanta, Georgia. The largest national gathering of America’s future skilled workforce, this annual event brings together thousands of students, instructors, business partners, and administrators to explore, expand, and celebrate the accomplishments of those preparing for careers in trade, technical, and skilled service occupations. To read our full writeup and see pics of 2023 SkillsUSA participants, click here.


Honoring SkillsUSA 2022 Winners

Industrial Press President and CEO Alex Luchars attended the 2022 SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference, held from June 20-24 in Atlanta, Georgia. SkillsUSA is a nonprofit partnership of students, teachers, and industry working together to help develop the skills of America’s future workforce. Serving more than 300,000 students and instructors annually, SkillsUSA works with middle-school, high-school, college, and other post-secondary school students preparing for careers in trade, technical, and skilled service occupations, offering opportunities for learning and growth.

Among its other collaborative efforts, SkillsUSA encourages students through career competitions. Students can compete at local and state levels, and state winners go on to the national championships. In the NIMS CNC Machining Competitions, these top students go head-to-head to determine who is the most skilled.

At right are three SkillUSA champions who received a copy of the Machinery’s Handbook, 31st Edition, as a prize. Congratulations to these winners and all involved in this dynamic program, supporting tomorrow’s leaders of industry!

A Solid Education = A Promising Future

Instructor Shane Albright and PMT 2 students (left to right) Tim Robbins, Joe Meadows, Nadia Handy, Ethan Yentes, Joe Dials, Austin Brown, and Ali Minix.

Warsaw, Indiana, is known as the Orthopedic Capital of the World®. And this has been the fourth successful year of Ivy Tech’s Orthopedic and Advanced Manufacturing Training Center (OAMTC). The students who complete our program will have the knowledge required to get jobs as entry-level machinists when they graduate from high school.

Participants first attend Precision Machining Technology 1 (PMT 1) at the Warsaw Area Career Center, which enrolls students from Tippecanoe Valley, Warsaw, and Whitko High Schools. The 2019–2021 PMT 2 cohort included two young women and six young men (some shown at left), all working to complete a 21-credit Certificate in Machine Tool Technology (MTTC ). One student, Austin Meads (below at right), will be completing the more advanced PMT 3, which includes classroom study and work at a local machinist shop. With this course, he will complete the 31-credit Technical Certificate (TC) and the first year of our Associate of Applied Science (AAS) program. 

In our program, students participate in both hands-on machining and career-enhancing academic studies. For instance, these students will be taking a geometric dimensioning and tolerancing class this summer to increase their knowledge and skill set in this key area. The Machinery’s Handbook is an essential text throughout their coursework.

 Instructor Shane Albright  and PMT 3 student Austin Meads.

Too often we hear about a lack of work ethic in today’s youth, but this group of young men and women makes me optimistic about the future. The need for technically trained machinists is as strong as ever in and around Kosciusko County, and Ivy Tech is proud to help these students grow to become successful adults and valuable employees.

Six local companies and our Community Foundation provide scholarship dollars to pay all associated costs for students attending the program. On behalf of the OAMTC, I want to thank our donor organizations for investing in our students. Thanks, too, to Industrial Press for being a great partner!  

—Tom Till, Director of Advanced Manufacturing, Ivy Tech’s Orthopedic and Advanced Manufacturing Training Center

 Learning at School and in Machine Shops

Instructor and students at Central Westmoreland Career and Technical Center in the Pittsburgh Chapter NTMA Apprenticeship Program use the Machinery’s Handbook in school and shop work.

All of my students here at Central Westmoreland Career and Technical Center, located in New Stanton, Pennsylvania, are fourth-year apprentices in the Pittsburgh Chapter NTMA Apprenticeship Program and are employed at various machine shops in the area, where they receive hands-on training.

Typically, I hand out homework assignments based on information in the Machinery’s Handbook, 30th Edition. Here are some examples of questions I ask:  

Q: As associated with allowances and tolerances for fits, what does “basic size” represent?

A: The basic size of a screw thread or machined part is the theoretical or nominal standard size from which variations are made. Found in the inspection section, page 617.

Q: The CNC coordinate geometry identifies the operator’s understanding of the machine tools. The term covers the relationship of what?

A: The relationship between the machine data, part data, and tooling data, which includes set-up. Found in the machining section, page 1315.

Q. What are the two G commands that can be used to program a multi-start thread?

A: G32 or G76 and other commands can be found in the section on machining, page 1341.

Q: In a weld symbol, what is the purpose of the reference line?

A: This is the basis weld symbol. All other elements are oriented with respect to this line. An arrow and tail are affixed to the ends as applicable. Found in the manufacturing section, page 1539.

— Patrick Smith  (In addition to teaching, Pat also works on tight-tolerance, high-quality machined parts at L&S Machine Company in Latrobe, Pennsylvania; the company has been in business for more than 50 years.)

Designing and Creating a Jet Engine Model

Creating a scale model of the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 turbofan engine, used on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, involved a number of disciplines. I used two books from Industrial Press to learn some of the skills necessary: SolidWorks Basics: A Project Based Approach and CNC Programming Handbook, 3rd Edition. 

The core, cowl, and fan were drawn and sent away for 3D printing. The spinner and exhaust cone were CNC turned. And the base board was CNC milled for the solar panel and wiring channels. The end result is a sleek, solar-powered desk top whirligig. If you want to see it running, click here to view a YouTube video. — Clive Fouché 

Retirement = Doing (and Sharing) What You Love

I am originally from Summerville, a small rural community in the mountains of northwest Georgia. I enjoyed a 28-year career in the United States Air Force, where I served as a pilot, instructor pilot, commander, and systems program manager, retiring in the rank of colonel.

I then joined Northrop Grumman in 1996, following my Air Force career, where I served as Director of Business Development for Directed Infrared Countermeasures Systems and Program Manager for advanced IRCM systems development. I was responsible for the development of IR countermeasures systems for fast jet aircraft. I retired from Northrop Grumman after a 20-year career in the aerospace industry and opened a small shop where I can spend the rest of my days pursuing my lifelong passion of antique car restoration.

I have been restoring cars as a hobby for over 50 years and am now pursuing the continued development of craftsmanship and restoration skills in retirement. I established the Ancient Grease Garage in O’Fallon, IL, and hope to help young people interested in craftsmanship skills and automobile restoration.

I have studied under several expert metal shapers and am currently involved in an apprentice program where I am working to gain craftsmanship skills. I am making most of the tools I use in metal shaping and restoration projects. One of the most useful references that I have was obtained through the Industrial Press. I use Metalworking Doing It Better by Tom Lipton almost daily. I make dies for power hammers and used the process Tom described to make radius dies on a manual Bridgeport mill with excellent results. — Jack Pledger

A Neat Shop Project

I gathered material, parts, and pieces sitting around the shop waiting for their turn to be used in a project, along with two books from Industrial Press: Machinery’s Handbook (I’ve got the Large Print and CD-ROM combo), and Machine Shop Trade Secrets. 

Welder, drill press, lathe, and mill were used to complete it. I used heavy wall steel tubing for the frame. 

Wheels were the most time consuming. The bearings and axles had to be lined up to circumference, and the radius on the anvil wheel had to be charted out like a ball turning. The upper wheel was cut out of 2″ heavy plate with a torch, then turned and bored on the lathe. The anvil screw is from a car jack. I had to make a sleeve for that to fit in 2″ tubing.

Such a neat project that took a couple months off and on to make. Looks and works great. I love it. — Jim Ortman

 Radically Reducing Design Time

Using the skills covered in my book Autodesk® Revit Basics Training Manual, I was able to show a homeowner the finished master bedroom and bath expansion design. My design time was reduced by 50%.  —Brian Clayton

Building Projects to Promote STEM at School

I’m a retired electrician but volunteer at our schools to promote careers in technologies. I design and build school science projects in order to promote STEM subjects in schools. My designs and builds are being used at the university and in our technical academies.

I do everything for free but only ask to be reimbursed for the materials. For these projects, I use my favorite book on my favorite MCAD program: SolidWorks Basics: A Project Based Approach.

A company in Boston recently awarded me a lifetime achievement award of their Premium Program with FEA Simulation and a lifetime of updates. — Richard William

Makerspace Team Making Strides

We have 200 on the team here at Make Salt Lake (our slogan is “Utah’s Premier Makerspace”). Some of the members in the shop got together today to thank you for the books we are using here from Industrial Press. These include the Jig and Fixture Design Manual,  Applied Mathematical and Physical Formulas, Engineers  Precision Data Pocket Reference, and, of course, the Machinery’s Handbook— Tracy Gilmore (far left) & friends at Make Salt Lake

Precision Machining Students at Ranken Technical College, St. Louis, Missouri

This 2014 class of students graduated from a topnotch technical training program with the  professional skills they needed and the Machinery’s Handbook in hand.