Hobson Motzer

Design for manufacturability (DFM) is a critical aspect of precision metal components, as it directly impacts the quality, cost, and efficiency of the manufacturing process. We’re discussing four important benchmarks for exceptional DFM in precision metal forming, listing the biggest pitfalls to avoid, followed with proactive tips for DFM success.

Material Selection: Choose the right material for the application. Consider factors such as material properties (e.g., strength, ductility, formability, corrosion resistance), cost, and availability. Selecting the appropriate material can significantly impact the final product’s performance.

Tolerances and Dimensional Control: Define precise dimensional tolerances and specifications. Ensure that the design allows for the required tolerances without compromising the functionality of the part. Achieving tighter tolerances will often require…

Three years ago, we launched our First Step program at Hobson & Motzer, our project-based rapid precision prototyping and new product development (NPD) platform. It was a natural progression to the work we had been doing with major medical device OEMs for over a century in precision metal components.

Customers in advanced industries have expressed a need for higher level NPD support: prototyping executed to precision tolerances, and greater metrology depth—providing an opportunity for the part and manufacturing process to evolve simultaneously, yielding valuable data and learning that does not occur when the two processes are separate.

Valuing customer input, we spoke with one very experienced Medical Device Development Engineer currently with a company that has worked with us on multiple NPD projects for different products developed with our First Step team. His feedback inspired this article. When directly quoting him, we will refer to him as “DE.…

Over the past 18 months, Hobson & Motzer has significantly elevated its inspection and metrology capabilities. This runs parallel the company’s historical pattern of advancing technology by consistently adding the latest manufacturing equipment and process capabilities. In med device, the cadence of innovation and breakthroughs in device technology requires highly capable, innovative suppliers. Not only to ensure product quality, it also complements the new product development process (NPD) for med device OEMs, and can actually shorten the new product development cycle. Read about Hobson & Motzer’s approach to metrology and see how it can make all the difference for you.

Defining Metrology

To set the stage for why high-level metrology is so vital, let’s define what is not high-level metrology—basically the way it’s been done for the last five decades (and the model many suppliers are still utilizing). This conventional or traditional …

Let’s start by stating the obvious: collaboration, thoughtful insight, and clear communication are key factors in any project’s success and are especially vital in any new product development (NPD). These elements ensure that all stakeholders involved are informed and understand the shared vision, the timeline, and the deliverables of the project. Having a solid foundation provides the steppingstone that sets, and keeps, the trajectory of the project on point and increases the potential for success.

It takes a small army to guide a new product from concept to design and through the rigorous development and validation process. Every individual component in a device plays a critical role in its function. Engineers and designers who are engaged in NPD for med device are intently focused on the instrument: how it will perform for the surgeon, but most importantly, how it will deliver a favorable patient outcome. On the manufacturing side, the focus is on h…

An Early Adopter

Innovation is in Connecticut-based Hobson & Motzer’s DNA. Throughout the precision metal manufacturer’s 110-year history, the ability to respond to changing demands and market conditions, and to leverage evolving technologies has set it apart in the manufacturing world.

“We were early adopters of jig boring, visual grinding, EDM, and wire” says company President Bruce Dworak. “I have a newspaper article from the mid-60s where they refer to Hobson & Motzer as an ‘old established company’ bringing on the cutting-edge EDM machine. The capabilities and scale of our company are always growing and evolving, but facets of the culture and business strategy have endured over generations of leadership.”

The company’s acute attention to detail—and a culture where a passion for excellence is embodied in its talented, dedicated workforce—has led to new and exciting opportunities, primarily within the med device sector.

To meet …

Longevity in any business can be challenging. In the manufacturing world, the ability to survive—and thrive—over the long term is especially noteworthy. Manufacturing jobs have been declining since 1979 when the U.S. reached an all-time high of 19.6 million jobs. By 2019, this number was down to 12.8 million, a 35% decrease.[i] Environmental factors, automation, and companies moving jobs overseas have all contributed to this downturn.

Hobson & Motzer, a Connecticut-based precision metal manufacturer, has certainly beat the odds. Celebrating 110 years of continuous operation, the company has achieved a significant milestone. No small feat considering the many obstacles they’ve encountered over the decades—from recessions to world wars to changing technologies.

A Company on the Move

The company was established in 1912 when Alfred H. Motzer and Harold C. Hobson nailed a sign on the side of a barn in Meriden, CT and opened shop. Expert cr…

It was the fall of 1976 and Pete Doolittle, a skinny, long-haired kid—not long out of the machining and tooling program at H.C. Wilcox Technical High School in Meriden, CT—made his way to Hobson & Motzer looking for a job. As Pete tells it, his interest in Hobson & Motzer was piqued by his tool and die instructor, Norm Wheeler, who often talked to his students about what a good company Hobson & Motzer was. Wheeler was close with Hobson & Motzer—he worked there in the summers when he wasn’t teaching. At the time, Hobson & Motzer was a roughly 25-man shop with an opening. Doolittle was hired as a pressroom technician; and the rest, they say, is history. In the 70s, the company was transitioning from a tool and die shop to more of a production shop and in its first decade of establishing itself as a metal stamping company, while making inroads with the medical device industry.

Over the years, the company grew, and as it did, Doolittle worked h…

When a surgical team steps into an operating room, each member of that team has a defined purpose and role to play in the procedure at hand. There is, however, the common thread that each are dedicated completely to the care of that patient and ensuring that the best possible outcome is achieved. Of the countless variables to be considered in the care of a patient for any surgical procedure, the quality and performance of the instruments they work with should never be one of them. Both quality and performance must be unquestionable.

What is possible today because of advancements in medical devices, minimally invasive instruments, and robotic surgery is nothing short of amazing. At Hobson & Motzer we have proudly been a part of the medical device manufacturing landscape for nearly half of our 108-year history, using advanced technology to produce precision metal components and assemblies that help make many of today’s surgical advancements possible. It is i…

Your First Step Is the Most Important

Design for Manufacturability (DFM) involves designing parts or products so that they meet the critical needs of an application while simultaneously being designed for optimal, efficient, and cost-effective manufacturing. It is the Holy Grail of design in the world of high-precision metal parts and components for any industry that needs them. Creating an optimal design requires an understanding of the many variables that can go into its manufacture. Design engineers have a solid knowledge of all manufacturing methods, but most still see the value of a DFM exchange with manufacturers. It can be worth its weight in gold if it creates an opportunity to reduce the timeframe from concept to part—which will increase speed to market. It can also reduce manufacturing costs and improve function, performance, durability, and more.

Rightly so, a design engineer’s primary focus is on the development of a product and the individu…

It’s Not Only Timely, It’s Costly if You Don’t

By Anthony Bracale, Strategic Market Development Manager, (860) 349-1756, ext. 170

It’s topical to write about reshoring in the middle of a global pandemic, but there’s been a deeper discussion underway that pre-dates our current situation. There are many variables that influence reshoring, but the first order of business with today’s competitive landscape: look at the math.

Over the past several years a fair number of goods, previously sourced offshore, have made their way back into U.S. manufacturing companies. This has been a growing trend in the U.S. as an increasing number of OEMs are looking at the math and recognizing that it doesn’t quite deliver the value that it used to. Whether finished goods, sub-assemblies, or component parts, U.S. manufacturers have enjoyed a boost from reshoring in recent years.

Sourcing organizations have become very effective at building sophisticated supply c…