Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders

Every shop owner knows the workforce problem by heart. The trades got denigrated, tech ed programs got gutted, and a whole generation of kids never found out that a manufacturing career was even an option. We have all heard that speech a hundred times. What we rarely hear is a practical, repeatable way to actually fix it.
In this GenCNC series episode, we sit down with two people who built one. Dave Hataj is the second-generation owner of Edgerton Gear and the founder of Craftsman with Character, a semester-long program that pairs job shadowing with a character and worldview curriculum. Courtney Silver runs Ketchie in North Carolina, where she and her husband Andy took Dave's curriculum and launched their own version, Opportunity Knocks.
The through line is simple. Kids are starving for two things, purpose and community, and the shop floor is one of the best places on earth to give them both. Dave shares how a 2014 experiment with ten students grew into a Navy-funded program running across multiple states. Courtney shows why it is far less of a lift than you would think, roughly two hours a week for fourteen weeks with a handful of students.
We also get into the payoff owners do not expect. Reverse mentoring from young employees, a culture where machinists suddenly want to be on camera, productivity that climbs year over year, and stories like Miguel, a first-generation immigrant who fell in love with the trade, worked six to ten in the morning before school, and just bought his first home.
If you have ever done a plant tour for a school and wondered whether it actually mattered, this one reframes the whole thing. As Dave puts it, we make gears as a vehicle to invest in people.
What's Covered in this Episode
(2:48) Dave on the origins of Craftsman with Character as a second-generation owner of Edgerton Gear
(7:02) The Navy's two million dollar, three-year contract to take the program national
(8:30) Inside the Craftsman Code, from I'm not the center of the universe to the world needs me
(10:30) Why you need to head to Kennametal's booth at IMTS
(11:37) Courtney on discovering Dave's work during COVID and launching Opportunity Knocks
(15:25) Why it's not a big lift: twenty team members, six students, two hours a week
(17:11) Continuous improvement: field trips, supply chain tours, and a Mastercam capstone part
(23:31) Reverse mentoring and the young energy that re-energizes the team
(24:40) Twelve years of rising productivity from more engaged, purpose-driven employees
(26:17) The DN Solutions install video shot by interns (and a new content culture)
(29:26) Breakfast, gratitude, and the lesson on showing up on time
(30:30) Turn website visitors into buyers with Navu's AI chat
(31:42) Learn more about Miguel, a first-generation immigrant who fell in love with the trade
(34:10) Break room culture and crews that stick around after shift
(37:01) From feeling less than to finding a joyful place to belong
(39:16) The mindset flip: we make gears as a vehicle to invest in people
(40:07) Get in the room: the Job Shops Workshop and reception at IMTS
(40:58) Miguel buying his first home, and the ripple effect on a community
(42:56) How to start, facilitator and mentor training, plus a track for shops without a school partner
(45:00) Manufacturers as an army that can heal society by being the hero for one kid
(48:52) Practical encouragement to start now
Resources Mentioned
Craftsman with Character
Edgerton Gear
Ketchie
The Craftsman Code by Dave Hataj
Machine Shop Mastery, Episode 106 with Dave Hataj
Kennametal
Navu
IMTS
Oscar Mike Foundation
Connect with Dave Hataj & Courtney Silver
Dave Hataj, Edgerton Gear
Craftsman with Character
Courtney Silver, Ketchie
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IMTS is 1.2 million square feet spread across six days, and the average visitor only spends about 2.7 of them on the floor. That math is exactly why walking in without a plan means seeing a fraction of what you came for. In this episode we sit down with Bonnie Gurney and Michelle Edmondson from AMT, the team that builds IMTS, to talk through how to actually get value out of the biggest manufacturing show in the country.
We're about six and a half weeks out and registration is running 29% ahead of 2024, so the energy is real. Bonnie and Michelle break down what's new for the 100th anniversary show: the 10 technology sectors, the Industrial AI arena with 40 first-time exhibitors, a bigger defense presence, and a conference lineup, from Elevate to the job shop and LATAM tracks, that too many people still treat as a hidden gem.
We also make the case for why you should go even if you're not buying this year. As Mike puts it, you don't have time not to go. You go to see the solutions you'll need in two or three years, the way he spotted a machine tending robot in 2018 and finally bought it in 2022. And this year, a plan-my-route feature built into the floor plan app is a genuinely practical use of AI.
There's plenty happening on the floor too, from the main stage schedule and the 100-year history of the show to the machine tool we're giving away with DN Solutions and Kennametal. Mostly, though, this is a conversation about showing up prepared and getting the most out of your days in Chicago.
If you're heading to IMTS 2026, this is the planning conversation to hear first. Come find us in the Hennig booth, and let's make some chips.
What's Covered in this Episode
(0:00) Why every visitor needs a game plan before the doors open
(1:21) Six and a half weeks out, with registration up 29% over 2024
(3:25) The scale of IMTS: 1.2 million square feet and 500-plus semis a day
(7:56) The August 5th pre-IMTS party for Oscar Mike and the Manufacturing Pathways Consortium
(10:04) Elevate: powered by AMT and Women in Manufacturing
(10:56) What's new: the 10 technology sectors that map the show floor
(13:00) Why the conference and education lineup is the show's hidden gem
(17:58) Learn more about Elevate, the Women in manufacturing conference
(20:45) Kennametal's Next Level Shop and a bike giveaway on the show floor
(21:47) 100 years of IMTS, from a 62,000 square foot science fair in 1927
(27:06) The main stage schedule: capital decisions, AI, and the coolest stuff we saw
(28:31) How the machine giveaway works: register, collect chips, earn entries, win Friday
(31:09) Find your next leader with Hire MFG Leaders
(31:38) Why "you don't have time not to go" is the real case for IMTS
(35:47) A practical AI use case: let the floor plan app build your route
(37:48) Poll your team: What should you look for at IMTS?
(39:17) The biggest changes coming to IMTS 2026
Resources Mentioned
IMTS 2026
Register for the IMTS machine giveaway: https://www.makingchips.com
Hire MFG Leaders
Elevate, powered by AMT and Women in Manufacturing
DN Solutions
Oscar Mike Foundation
Manufacturing Pathways Consortium
Connect with Bonnie Gurney & Michelle Edmondson
IMTS
AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology
IMTS on LinkedIn
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Most machine shop owners spend twenty years learning the lesson Stone figured out before he turned 21: get great at one thing, and say no to almost everything else. He bought his first CNC at 15 to make knife handles, started taking billable work at 19, and now runs a precision shop in North Phoenix that goes after the tight-tolerance medical work a lot of shops won't touch.
This one is part of our GenCNC series, and our co-host Nush, who's part of this generation herself, jumps in with the questions the rest of us wish we'd asked at that age.
We get into how he actually built it: growing on cash flow and machine loans instead of outside investors, learning to program after hours with a tool and die mentor, and figuring out how to price work when you're brand new and have no idea what the market will bear. Stone's edge isn't a secret process. It's consistency, a refusal to send anything out of spec, and a willingness to take on parts he doesn't yet know how to make.
He's also refreshingly honest about the parts nobody posts. The crashes, the jobs that go sideways, the days the whole thing feels like it's crumbling. His answer is mentors, a tight network of shop owners who actually pick up the phone, and the discipline to keep the lows from getting too low.
Whether you're thinking about starting a shop or you've run one for thirty years, there's something here. Know where to spend money and where not to. Build a small team of people you can pay well. And find the niche where being excellent actually pays. That's making chips.
What's Covered in this Episode
(0:52) Kicking off another GenCNC episode with co-host Nush
(1:29) Meet Stone: from reselling balisong knives and 3D printing to buying a Tormach 440 at 15
(4:21) Quitting two jobs to go all in at 19 (and quickly building a team)
(6:41) Solve your biggest headache with CLA
(7:50) Funding growth through profit and machine loans, not investors
(11:04) Moving out of the garage and into a commercial space
(12:11) Learning to program after hours with mentor John Schaefer
(13:34) The art and science of quoting and pricing work
(16:25) Focus on what you're good at instead of chasing every job
(18:16) Why consistency and never shipping out-of-spec parts wins customers
(21:45) Why young entrepreneurs need to be on LinkedIn
(23:17) The opportunity gap and getting young people into manufacturing
(25:27) How Stone started building his team (and who does what)
(27:15) Find people who actually fit with Hire MFG Leaders
(27:44) The process of hiring employees (and the paperwork that comes with it)
(30:01) How saying yes to jobs you don't know how to do can pay off
(32:25) It's never too late for a mentor—at any stage of your career
(36:45) Success is perseverance and the mental game, not just great parts
(39:44) Advice for young shop owners: know where to spend money
(42:15) Expanding to a bigger building and going after big work with a VF-9
(43:20) Take your shop to the next level with DN Solutions
(44:33) The five-year vision: five employees, twelve machines, automation
(53:00) Why 100% inspection and a CMM are worth it
Resources Mentioned
ST1 Precision
ProShop ERP
Xometry
Tormach
Haas Automation
Saunders Machine Works
CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen)
Hire MFG Leaders
DN Solutions
Connect with Stone
ST1 Precision
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Website: www.MakingChips.com
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Most shop owners have stood in front of a shiny new machine and felt the pull. Buy it, and the work will come. Tim Drinkwater of Accurate Machine Products has lived both sides of that bet, the one that nearly buried him and the one that showed up as a free machining center.
This conversation sits right where two of our current series meet: Gen CNC, where we talk to founders who started young, and our workforce development series. Tim started his shop in a garage in 2007, and he's blunt about how a young founder should spend those first dollars. Cash is worth more than tools you don't need. Customers come before capability. And sometimes buying an existing shop beats building one from scratch.
We also get into the mistake that can quietly kill a shop. Tim bought a brand new lathe for a firearms customer who never signed a contract and then walked away. Mike shares the flip side he keeps running into, walking through shops with gorgeous, idle equipment bought on a customer's promise that never turned into a purchase order. One of those build-outs is the reason a whole company ended up for sale.
Then there's the fun part. Tim won a DN Solutions SVM 4100 in the DN and Kennametal giveaway, put it to work on challenging tool steel parts, and liked it enough to go buy a second one. There's another machine giveaway coming at IMTS this year, and you can get in on it at makingchips.com/giveaway.
The back half is all about people. When applicants dried up, Tim went straight to the high schools, joined the Craftsman with Character program, and stopped using the word machinist because most students have no idea what it means. It's the same thing we keep coming back to on this show. The parts matter, but the people are what carry a shop into the next generation.
What's Covered in this Episode
(0:00) A machine giveaway teaser, and why Tim's story matters
(1:31) Starting Accurate Machine Products in a garage in 2007
(3:22) What the shop makes, from jet ski parts to finish packaging
(4:43) Advice for young founders: cash beats tools you don't need
(8:00) eBay machines and the leap to the first brand new machine
(9:16) A new lathe, a firearms customer, and no contract to back it up
(11:31) Beautiful equipment gathering dust: the shop that went up for sale
(13:51) Take your shop high-end with DN Solutions
(15:02) Winning a DN Solutions SVM 4100 in the DN and Kennametal giveaway
(16:45) Turning the win into S7 tool steel work and a 4+1 upgrade
(17:57) Buying a second SVM 4100 and standardizing on one control
(20:21) Dial in your workholding with SMW Autoblok
(21:10) DN service put to the test: the contactor gremlin
(23:18) From zero applicants to working with the youngest generation
(24:56) Youth apprenticeships and rebranding machinist to precision metal cutting
(28:38) Rhett's story: four years, his own key, and a CMMC future
(30:38) The industry needs accountants and coders, not just machinists
(33:53) Invest in your leadership at Elevate during IMTS 2026
(34:45) Getting your crew and local students to IMTS
(40:39) MakingChips at IMTS 2026: find us in the AME/Hennig booth
Resources Mentioned
DN Solutions
Kennametal
SMW Autoblok
Dave Hataj with Craftsman with Character
Elevate powered by AMT (IMTS 2026)
IMTS
MakingChips Machine Giveaway
Connect with Tim Drinkwater
Accurate Machine Products
Tim Drinkwater on LinkedIn
Tim@ampcnc.com
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www.MakingChips.com
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AI is going to be everywhere at IMTS this September, and if you walk the floor without a filter, it'll make your head spin. So we brought in someone whose whole job is helping manufacturers tell the real thing from the marketing fluff.
Ryan Kelly, VP of Technology at AMT, joins us to break the noise into something usable. He walks through a simple way to sort every AI claim you'll see into three layers: the hyperscalers and cloud platforms laying the foundation, the AI native tools that couldn't have existed a few years ago, and the embedded AI features showing up as new buttons in the CAD, CAM, and ERP systems you already run.
Then we get into physical AI, the part that actually matters for a machine shop. It's the loop that takes information from the physical world, lets an AI reason on it, and sends a decision back to the machine or the robot in close to real time. Nick's tool load monitoring, Paul's native machine monitoring in ProShop, Mike's managing 60 jobs a day by exception, they're all versions of the same idea. The catch is data. If the grammar of your data isn't good enough, the AI will hand you an answer you can't trust.
Ryan also previews what AMT is building at the show: a new Industrial AI Arena with 32 exhibitors, a one day Industrial AI Conference focused on the factory floor instead of TED-talk futurism, and an Emerging Technology Center where, alongside Oak Ridge National Lab, they'll be making and flying drones right off the line. Three quadcopter models, a fresh one every couple of minutes, with the ability to change the design on a dime and ramp right back into production.
Whether you're already wired up or still getting your data in order, there's something at IMTS for wherever you are on the journey. Take stock of your readiness before you go, bring your real problems to the vendors, and you'll come home with something you can use on Monday. That's making chips.
 
What's Covered in this Episode
(0:00) Drones that fly themselves right off the assembly line
(2:11) Ryan's back: the tariff comment that drew hundreds of responses
(4:40) Boost spindle uptime without adding headcount with the Hennig Workflow
(5:40) Meet Ryan Kelly of AMT, and why this year feels like AI-MTS
(7:16) A filter for the floor: the three layers of AI at IMTS
(11:42) Turn AI buzzwords into outcomes at the Industrial AI Conference at IMTS
(12:30) How to shop for AI: bring your problem, not your intimidation
(13:58) Inside the new Industrial AI Arena: 32 exhibitors and the ETC
(17:15) Know your AI readiness before you walk the floor
(19:41) Why it's worth seeing tech you're not ready for yet
(21:37) Two frameworks: the data-to-application stack and the part lifecycle
(23:13) Automation everywhere, and what physical AI actually means
(27:14) The human body metaphor: sensors, feedback loops, and real-time decisions
(31:52) The real challenge isn't robots, it's the data and its semantics
(33:40) ProShop's machine monitoring: what people say vs what machines say
(37:52) Reach true high end machining with DN Solutions
(39:03) The two dangerous extremes: blindly trusting AI vs writing it off
(40:48) Managing by exception: AI flags the few jobs that need you
(42:44) Reflexive factories and capturing shop floor knowledge for AI
(47:35) Inside the ETC: making and flying drones live with Oak Ridge National Lab
(53:50) Register at IMTS.com and find us live in the Hennig booth (339133)
Resources Mentioned
Hennig Workflow Automation System
DN Solutions
Register for IMTS 2026 (September 14-19, Chicago)
Connect with Ryan Kelly
Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn
AMT, The Association for Manufacturing Technology
IMTS
Connect with MakingChips
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