On The Web

Modern Machine Shop, Feb, 2001 by Allan (A.J.) Sweat

The Web, 2001

For many, the current condition of the Internet as a viable business tool for metalworking technology professionals is muddled.

This past year's "e-commerce correction" has led to a "thinning of the dot-com herd." And with this "dot-com-bobulation" has come the assumption that the Internet and its associated applications were always as worthless as some of those e-stocks have become.

"We told you so," some say.

How sad. And completely inaccurate.

Just because the yet-to-be-tapped potential and inspiration that the Web pioneers- "cyber-neers"--have given us have yet to bear the fruit that the hype suggested doesn't mean that they won't be proven right--eventually.

Put another way, the Internet will still have a major impact on issues close to your shop's heart--machine tool control and operability, exposure to new markets, improved services to customers, research and education opportunities--but the timing of these folks was off. It just takes time to incorporate this level of technology and change.

What lesson should be learned from the great Web correction of 2000? One that machinists have always known:

Technology alone, without knowledge and craft, is useless.

Jab Shop Site Of The Month

OK, so Futuramic is a really BIG shop that specializes in engineering and design, build, and inspection--full-blown process services. That doesn't mean that its Web site (WWW.futuramic.com) doesn't dish out some valuable lessons and features to inspire other shops. Pay special attention to its "Build" section, which succinctly and effectively presents what the company does and how it does it.

To have your site considered for Job Shop Site Of The Month, send your URL to otw@mmsonline.com.

Get EDM On MMS PDQ

This month's MMS Web Exclusive introduces you to a wealth of Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) info. First, the Web Exclusive itself (see page 4) is a collection of articles from a collaboration between MMS and EDM Today magazine that you won't find anywhere else online. Couple this month's emphasis articles in the magazine on EDM (see page 4 again) with MMS Online's EDM Zone (www.mmsonline.com/edm), and you've got metalworking's most dynamic EDM coverage.

But Wait, There's More!

Along with EDM, MMS Online supports this issue's focus on CAD/CAM and Cutting Tools applications--for more, visit www.mmsonline.com and select our new Zones for CAD/CAM and Cutting Tools.