The Internet & Metalforming

OSHA...ISO...SBA...contract stampers...PMA...steel suppliers and service centers...tool, die and precision machining sources...new and used equipment...EPA...ANSI...your customers (existing and potential), and present and future competitors. What do all the above entities have in common? They're all found on the Internet, along with much, much more to benefit the metalformer.

by Tom Fleckenstein, Vice President Machine Tools, Inc.
and Harvey J. Arbuckle, Managing Editor

The way we do business will never be the same as it was just two short years ago, when it seemed that growing masses had started tuning in to something most of us knew nothing about. Remember when you realized that you were missing out on something? After being on your toes and keeping up with technology for years and years, the information superhighway was speeding along without you. Where was everyone going?

Who Knew?
Twenty years ago, who would have though that the computer would have such a dramatic role in the everyday operation of a small manufacturing plant, job shop or machine tool distributor? Just 10 years ago the fax machine was getting a foothold in reshaping business transactions and communications.

Moreover, there has been considerable change in the way parts are produced -- JIT, ISO, SPC, CAD and a host of other systems have emerged and been embraced by companies worldwide to help produce parts faster, less expensively and with improved quality. The complexion of business has cycled, and is beginning to change again.

Unless you've been stuck on a life-raft on the ocean or up on top of a mountain for the past couple of years, you've at least heard about the Internet. Newsbytes about this phenomenon can be found virtually anywhere. Articles have been written in hundreds of publications (add one) -- there are even television shows and movies about it.

However, to the vast majority the Internet is some cryptic computer gizmo only for experts and has something to do with games, pornography and generally nothing of any real value beyond entertainment. This couldn't be farther from the truth. in fact, most people don't really know what it is, let alone how it works, and more importantly how to apply it.

Misconception have to be overcome, and a willingness to adapt to the changing business environment must become part of the learning process.

Dayton Rogers' home page gives a complete overview of their services, which include short-, medium- and long-run stampings, precision metal fabricating and laser cutting.

What is the Internet?
In a nutshell, the Internet is probably the most powerful and important technological advancement for business since the introduction of the desktop computer -- some say since the invention of movable type. However, in order to benefit from what it has to offer, a basic understanding of what it is and how it works is essential.

Quite simply, it's the world's largest network of computer networks that can talk to each other using a common language. How large is large? Estimates range from 10 to 15 million computers, with 24 to 40 million users worldwide, with the majority of them right here in the U.S. and Canada.

All it takes is a computer and a modem to add information to the Internet. Having these basic tools you can link your ideas with trillion of other electronically connected ideas. They are contained in a growing web of data with no visible structural support. The World Wide Web.

How big is the World Wide Web? A recent (now outdated) estimate quoted an approximate figure of 900 Terabytes of information available. How big is a Terabyte? It equals about 1 million Megabytes, which equates to about 450 two-page letters. That's a tremendous amount of information.

But don't think everything you can find is text. The Internet also has graphics, software, audio and even video available. The array of what's on-line is staggering, and is currently expanding at a rate in excess of 10 percent per month.

Leaps and Bounds
What's the fastest growing sector of the Internet users? Business and industry by far. Experts predict that in five years, your company's Internet connection will sit right next to the fax machine.

The technology of the Web creates visions of new business for space-age entrepreneurs, who have flocked online to pursue a myriad of opportunities for marketing, selling and servicing new clients in new businesses. However, the opposite may be true for established manufacturers doing business in a traditional fashion. To remain competitive into the future, traditionalists will have to avail themselves to all that the web has to offer, and make it part of the business domain.

Tom Peterson, webmaster, is one of a new breed of cyberspace entrepreneurs whose company, web-worx (http://www.web-worx.com) has grown into a service provider with an in-house team of skilled HTML programmers and designers as well as an overseas consultant.

You might think, "Okay, so it's big and its got all kind of information -- but I'm not a computer expert, so I've got to become one." Not so! Software and technological assistance today gives anybody who can turn a computer on and can read the ability, with practice, to effectively use the information superhighway.

Once a connection is established via telephone modem virtually everything is "point-and-click." The biggest stumbling block for most new users if the apprehension of pushing a button or trying something new. Just keep on thing in mind -- You Can't Break the 'Net. The worst thing that can happen is that you get lost. If so, disconnect and try again.

How Does It Benefit Business?
A complete understanding of Internet benefits can only be realized by learning more about the internet itself and different components. However, it's safe to say that every department in your company can derive some positive result. Free software, instantaneous communications with customers, vendors and business associates, information about competitors, what's going on in the marketplace, industry trends, information about new technology, government regulations and reference date -- all for free!

Your only cost is the hookup charge, which can be as little as $20 a month. The Internet can provide your company with an international presence, and can help establish you as an expert in your given field. The possibilities for benefit in manufacturing are growing daily.

These downloaded (printed) documents only scratch the surface of what is available to the metalforming company after only a few minutes of exploring the Internet. From left, information on two new pavilions: "The Toolroom of Tomorrow" and "Welding, Fastening and Automation" to be introduced at METALFORM' 97; the home page for Galgon Industries, a Northern California metalformer as seen on the Job Shop Network (http://www.jobshop.com), and the first page of a web information search for the 100 sites that scored high after input of the key words "metalforming quality."

Willing to Try?
Don't think the Internet is for your company? You won't really know until you've tried it. Still not interested? Plan on learning about it anyway, because it's not going to go away.

Billions of dollars are being spent by dozens of telecommunications and entertainment conglomerates to develop on-line applications for home and business. And billions more is being spent by the individual states to develop a nationwide high-speed, fiber optic network for increased communication capabilities for schools, business, government and people like you and me.

The Internet is here to stay. Conservative estimated figure that by the turn of the century more than 100 million people will be online, with many looking for a source for their product or service needs. Granted, the real potential for online commerce has not yet been reached, but it is to your advantage to learn about what it is, how it works and what it has to offer. You'll get a jump on your competitors by having conquered the learning curve and realizing its value and applications when the time arrives for you to have a presence in Cyberspace.

You will learn a lot in process and you might even like it. MF

Future articles in The Internet & Metalforming series will examine industry-specific applications of the Web, including search engines and newsgroups, electronic communications, and the use of mailing lists.