Tag Archives: machine design engineers

Web App. Makes Design Of Weld Fixtures Efficient For Manufacturers.

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Rentapen Inc., the weld fixture specialist, has a web app. that Manufacturing Engineers are utilizing to save time and money.

On July 1, 2013 Rentapen Inc. introduced four new RAPid Blocks™ to their free web app. which features an exclusive line of weld-tooling components, known as RAPid Tooling Components™ (RTC).

Rentapen Inc. has been helping manufacturers, specifically, CAD Drafters and Machine Design Engineers with their weld fixture designs.  Rentapen Inc. is constantly adding to their RTC line in response to their customers need for weld fixtures fast.

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When a machine design engineer, is designing a weld fixture they can go to Rentapen’s website and download 3D models of any RAPid Tooling Components™ they want.  In fact, the designer actually creates the parts according to their specific application right on the site, without having to search in a paper catalog to find the right product number.  The site, Weld Fixture Components asks the right questions and with the answers creates the 3D parts and generates the part number.

The user can choose to download 3D models of blocks, plates, clamp risers and shims.  Rentapen’s RAPid Tooling Components™ are mostly used in weld fixtures, but have also been used in other machine tooling, like assembly fixtures.

We wanted to make it easier for machine tooling designers to find the right component for their needs.  We are excited to have the new blocks on the website and we are looking forward to our official launch of these new products in the next few weeks.

Recently, three new companies have taken advantage of Rentapen’s web app to download 3D models of RAPid Blocks™ and RAPid Shims™ into their fixture designs. First was a manufacturer of Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) out of Georgia.  Second, was a mechanical design company and the last company is a manufacturer of welding and cutting systems, which includes robotic arc welding and cutting.

Machine Design Engineers and CAD Drafters from the U.S., Mexico, and Canada are able to go to Rentapen’s website and perform six quick steps to order the 3D models to place in their weld fixtures.

We encourage Tooling Engineers to save the 3D models to their libraries so that they can use them again and again. Before we created this line, companies were spending close to $100 on a similar block.  Now they buy it from us for under $40.  These components save an Machine Design Engineer’s time and their company’s money.

Rentapen Inc., is the Weld Fixture Specialist and, and is home of RAPid Tooling Components™ used in weld fixture design and build projects. Rentapen LLC, located in Butler, WI, has been providing machine tool design services to manufactures since 1976. 

Sales Goals Exceeded By 22% In First Quarter For Weld Fixture Tooling Components Company.

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Local Wisconsin Weld Fixture Specialist Company Sees Big Numbers In The First Quarter.

April 9, 2013, an article in the Milwaukee Area Business Journal entitled “Manufacturing growth to outpace GDP in 2013, 2014”  by Jeff Engel stated that the expert projections are that manufacturing will outpace overall economic growth in 2013 and 2014, with a 2.2 percent manufacturing increase in 2013 compared with overall gross domestic product growth of less than 2 percent.
Rentapen Inc., an engineering and manufacturing company located in Waukesha, WI has exemplified growth in the first quarter of 2013 by exceeding its sales goals by 22% in the first quarter.

Rentapen is a multifaceted manufacturing company with their ability to design and build many different types of weld fixtures.  Their engineers create 3D CAD drawings of weld and assembly tooling they design.  Rentapen’s customers sometimes just want the drawings and they build the fixtures in house.  Some customers prefer to get the fixture designed, built and tested by Rentapen.

3D ModelsAnother side to Rentapen Inc., is their line of RAPid Tooling Components™.  This line is made up of RAPid Blocks™, RAPid Plates™, RAPid Risers™ and RAPid Shims™.  These components are used by manufacturers that build weld jigs and assembly fixtures and other types of work-holding tools.

Besides increasing sales, Rentapen Inc. has increased their customer base for RAPid Tooling Components™, Pro/E CAD and Solidworks Designs and weld fixture build projects.  They acquired twelve new customers in the first quarter.

The Business Journal article stated, “In Milwaukee, the manufacturing sector has expanded the past four months, according to the Institute for Supply Management – Milwaukee report compiled by Marquette University. “

Maybe this will help improve the job outlook for the area.  Rentapen’s factory has been busy enough in the past couple months to justify hiring help to pack their precision steel shims and shim packs — RAPid Shims™.

Rentapen’s shop team assembles, packages, and ships their RAPid Tooling Components™, including their custom and standard metal shims and shim packs.  Also, Rentapen has been seeking a Machine Tool Designer and Weld Fixture Design Project Lead Engineer.

“Not only are we a manufacturer, but we serve manufacturers.  So when manufacturing is busy, we get busy,” said Susan Straley, Rentapen’s President.

Sue and George Straley - Owners of Rentapen Inc.President and Co-Founder of Rentapen Inc., Susan and George Straley, have been dedicated to their machine designing company and satisfying their customers’ needs to reduce costs since 1976. They have continued to stay positive during these hard economic times and it has been paying off.

Rentapen’s increase in shim and tooling component sales are a result of an overall trend in Manufacturing in the Midwest. Manufacturers in the Midwest are growing in sales and investing in machine tooling.

Rentapen Inc., is the weld fixture specialist, and is home of RAPid Tooling Components™. Rentapen Inc. has been providing machine tool design services to manufactures since 1976.  A Certified Woman Owned Business and owns RAPid Tooling Components™. For more information about Rentapen Inc., please call 262-542-8891.

 

Weld Tooling Design Company Introduces New Cost Saving Clamp Risers

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Lean Manufacturers Discover Time and Cost Savings in Their Product-Holding Fixtures With Clamp Risers by Rentapen

In the beginning of April, 2013 Rentapen Inc. launched new website pages for their line of clamp risers and spacers.  The clamp risers are made specifically for different brands of clamps including: Wolverine, Carr Lane, REID, De-Sta-Co, TE-CO, All American, and Jergens.   Each riser or spacer is tapped and drilled for mounting the designated clamp and uses counter bored holes for mounting the riser or spacer to the fixture or jig.

Rentapen’s design team has been designing and building weld fixtures for over 35 years. They realized they were designing the same clamp risers over and over again.  So Rentapen developed what is now called RAPid Risers™,  a line of tooling components that hold all of the finest brands of part holding clamps.  These standardized yet versatile risers save manufacturers time and money when it comes to the design and build process.

Wolverine Clamps3D CAD Models of the risers can be downloaded from Rentapen’s website along with informational PDFs that detail the design of the RAPid Riser™.

 “By focusing our processes and skilled talent on what we do well, we free-up our customers time, energy, and talent to be more powerful and productive with what they do well,” said Susan Straley,  President of Rentapen.  “That gives them peace of mind and contributes to their success.”

If a designer created a clamp riser from scratch, like Rentapen and all other machine tooling design companies used to do, they would have to go through a timely and expensive process that includes: designing the part; detailing; checking; ordering material; writing the CNC code; creating the part and finally inspecting the part.

This entire process takes about 77 minutes. Manufacturers are now able to download the 3D model from Rentapen’s website, save the model to their library, put the riser into their design, and order the block.   Once the model is in the company’s CAD library, the process approximately takes 4 minutes.  Rentapen’s RAPid Riser™ is saving the manufacturers as much as 73 minutes in design and build time.

 “The RAPid Risers™ are just another way for the fixture builder to save time and money on the design and build of weld fixtures or any other type of fixture,” said, Steve Pautz, Product manager at E.L. Simeth Co. a distributor of the clamp risers.  “The Clamp Risers is just one part of this unique design system that really works. E.L. Simeth Company, as the distributor for this line, has customers that use the complete line so we know that it works very well,”

RapidRisersRapid Tooling Components™ reduce the design cost of the fixture by eliminating the need to design, detail and check similar parts over and over again. Three dimensional computer models are provided by Rentapen Inc. that customers can use to incorporate into their designs.  These modular components are the new standard in weld jig and assembly fixture design.

Rentapen Inc., is the weld fixture specialist, and is home of RAPid Tooling Components. Rentapen Inc. has been providing machine tool design services to manufactures since 1976.  A Certified Woman Owned Business and owns RAPid Tooling Components™. For more information about Rentapen Inc., please call 262-542-8891.

3D Models of Tooling Components Assists in Growth of Weld Fixture Design Company As New Part-Holding Tooling Pieces are Added.

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Rentapen Inc., of Waukesha, WI, Continues to Expand the Number of Components and Product Parts Available for 3D-Model Download.

In January and March 2013, Rentapen Inc., a 3D CAD Design Company added several new components to its 3D-Model download web page, www.WeldFixtureComponents.com.

Rentapen Inc., offers a large custom line of RAPid Tooling Components™ that can be downloaded for free to help manufactures save time and money while designing and building their weld and assembly jigs and fixtures.  RAPid Tooling Components™ are a new American standard for the machine design Industry.

An alternative to NAAMS, Rentapen’s components along with the 3D models have changed how Machine Design Engineers and CAD Drafters design their weld fixtures.

 “In 2001 we discovered we, as weld fixture and assembly fixture designers, were designing the same parts over and over again.  So we realized if we standardized on those parts we could save our customers lots of time and costs.  So we created RAPid Tooling Components™,” said George Straley, Founder of Rentapen.

Rentapen Inc., has a total of 9 different types of RAPid Blocks™ that can be ordered to fit different tooling fixture needs.  In the beginning, customers would buy the RAPid Block™ and then if the block needed to be altered, they would place the part in their CNC or take it to another vendor. RAPid Blocks are often altered to add a hole in it to hold a locating pin or a rest pad or to chamfer a corner.   In 2011, Rentapen Inc., began to offer customized alterations to their RAPid Blocks™.

Rentapen Inc., manufactures each block as it is ordered.  This allows them to keep inventory low and provide a valuable service to their customers.  Rentapen Inc., will customize the RAPid Block™ per the customer’s specifications. “Need a chamfer? No Problem.  Need a hole for a locating pin?  No problem,” said Susan Straley, President of Rentapen.

Productuon Part Holding MachineryAll of Rentapen’s RAPid Tooling Components™ are made in the U.S.A. This is in line with Rentapen’s vision as the U.S. Leader in machine design and tooling components.  Rentapen is dedicated to reducing costs for manufacturers. And their free 3D service is greatly help manufacturers on their lean journey.

Rentapen Inc., is the weld fixture specialist, and is home of RAPid Tooling Component™s. Rentapen Inc. has been providing machine tool design services to manufactures since 1976.  A Certified Woman Owned Business and owns RAPid Tooling Components™. For more information Rentapen Inc., please call 262-542-8891 or visit http://www.rentapen.com.

 

Weld Fixture Tooling Company Filled A CAD Drafter Internship

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Rentapen Inc., Located In Waukesha, WI Is Dedicated To Hiring CAD Drafters, Weld Fixture Machinist and Employees of All Ages.

On January 29, 2013 Rentapen Inc. filled a CAD Drafter Internship position with a young and experienced  student from Waukesha County Technical College. He is joining a CAD Drafting team made up of men and women of all ages.  Christopher Doll, has been a part of Rentapen Inc.’s, team since 2005 and is the Engineering Lead Designer and has a Masters of Science in Engineering from University-Wisconsin Milwaukee.

Design Fixtures and Jigs using Pro/E and Solidworks

According to The Social Liberian “There are eight different age generation categories.”  Rentapen Inc. the Weld Fixture Specialist, is currently employing four different age generations.

This local Waukesha, WI, company is employing generations as young as Generation Y (Born: 1977-1994) and as experienced as the Baby Boomer I Generation (Born: 1946-1954).

Rentapen Inc., has been in business since August 20, 1976 and has been able to stay in business through many different generations, but there is one key piece that holds this company together; they are excepting of all ages and are willing to teach their employees.  Have you ever heard the saying “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” in the case with Rentapen Inc. you can.  Every day the younger and older generations work side by side to reach a common goal; to build, design, and create the best weld fixture components in the manufacturing industry.

“I am in the Baby-Boom Generation and I am learning new things from the other team members all the time,” said Susan Straley, President of Rentapen.  “Just last week our staff was teaching me about our website and social media.”

 

Teach and Guide CAD Drafters and Interns

There are many conflicts in the manufacturing industry when it comes to generation differences.  Like any business today, conflicts can come from recruiting, building teams, the many different changes in a company, and different styles of management.  However, Rentapen Inc., is embracing the generations and changes; in their industry change is a good thing because it allows for growth, efficiencies, and cost savings.

The weld fixture specialist is excited for the growth of their line of RAPid Tooling Components™. With the different generations working together there has been an increase in the orders for RAPid Shims™ and the CAD Drafters in the office are busier than ever.

Rentapen Inc., is a Waukesha, Wisconsin based company that provides Weld Fixtures and 3D CAD models to manufacturers.  Since 1976, Rentapen Inc has consistently saved customers time and money.  Rentapen Inc., is a Certified Woman Owned Business and owns RAPid Tooling Components™.  For more information Rentapen Inc., please call 262-542-8891 or visit www.rentapen.com.

 

 

Weld Fixture Design Company Engineering Manager Seeks to Grow With the Company.

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Rentapen Inc.’s, Design Engineering Manager, Blake Peterson, Continues His Education To Improve Productivity.

On January 7, 2013 Blake Peterson started another fast paced group of classes toward his Bachelor of Science Degree majoring in Business Management. Peterson joined Rentapen, the Weld Fixture Specialists, in November, 2011 as Engineering Manager. Rentapen designs machine tools for companies that manufacture a product. Rentapen specializes in Weld Jigs and Shims.

The company also manufactures a line to weld tooling components called RAPid Tooling Components™. These RAPid Tooling Components™ consists of RAPid Blocks™, RAPid Plates™, Clamp Risers and Shims.

Lindsey Frick, Associated Editor for MachineDesign.com, found information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics which projects a need for 17,830 additional engineers each year for the next 10 years. Lindsey also wrote in her article that Community colleges are an untapped resource for potential engineering students.

Currently, Peterson is conducting interviews for an Engineering Project Manager that will quickly grow as Peterson grows. The Machine Designer position will involve the conception and design of weld fixtures and guiding and teaching CAD Drafters and interns as they learn.

Peterson, Engineering Manager, is expected to graduate in 2014 from Cardinal Stritch, located in the greater Milwaukee, WI area. Peterson is taking the necessary actions to get ahead in his engineering and management career. He is taking advantage of accelerated on-line classes to improve his ability to lead and expand his knowledge base. Some of the classes Peterson is looking forward to taking are Management of Leadership, Business Ethics, and Strategic Organizational Leadership.

At Rentapen Inc., Peterson is already seeking responsibilities outside the Engineering Manager title that he currently holds. He works closely with the shop to solve issues and evaluate scheduling needs. He works with the Leadership Team to expand Rentapen’s capacity to build small to medium weld jigs.

Peterson already has an extensive background of engineering management experience; however, Peterson decided to further his education in business management to understand more of the financial side of the business. The role that Peterson plays in the company, he hopes will transition from Engineering Management to more of the total Operations Management. Since joining Rentapen he has had to learn Pro/E CAD software. He has also learned each of the customers’ engineering standards to help him as he guides and checks the work of the machine designers.

Teach and Guide CAD Drafters and Interns

For the past three months Peterson has been guiding the Design Engineering Team as it focuses on reducing costs for manufacturers through lean weld fixture design. He has also been working with the Leadership Team to enhance Rentapen’s RAPid Tooling Components™. RAPid Tooling Components™ are an extension to Rentapen’s mission to save manufacturers time.

The role that Peterson is aiming for is to oversee the operational side of the business. He wants to move into leading the managers and participating in the planning. His new education will help him to know what to do to increase profits, increase cash, and reduce costs.

Rentapen’s Culture includes an emphasis of constant learning and self- improvement. The machine tool company’s culture statement says, “Rentapen is only as good as its team members. We aim to hire and retain the best … We are flexible. We are constantly improving ourselves and our processes. We delight in learning new skills, improving ways of doing things….”

Another Big Year for Weld Fixture Tooling Components Company

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Rentapen Inc. Sees Increase In Sales For Their Weld and Assembly Fixture Tooling Components in 2012

President, Susan Straley Featured With Weld Fixture

In January, 2013 Rentapen’s President Susan Straley sat down and calculated the numbers from 2011 to 2012.  The growth is a reflection of both an
interest in lean manufacturing and the increased speed at which manufacturers are trying to go from product development to production.

“Our components save time in the design, build and testing of weld jigs and assembly fixtures,” said Straley.  “That is what manufacturers are looking for, lean and fast.”

The year 2012 is over, but the increase and growth of Rentapen’s RAPid Tooling Components™ that are used in weld jigs and assembly fixtures is still something worth talking about.

“I knew we were busy, but with December’s numbers in, I was happy to see a growth of approximately 40 percent in the sales of RAPid Tooling Components™,” said Straley.

Rentapen’s RAPid Tooling Component collection is made up of Standard and Custom RAPid Blocks™, RAPid Plates™, Clamp Risers, and Shims.
These products precisely hold a customer’s product in their weld fixtures while it is being manually or robotically assembled or welded.

Rentapen introduced a new website feature in March, 2012 that has played a large role in the increase of sales for their RAPid Tooling Components.  3D Models of their components are available for
machine design engineers and CAD drafters to download and use in their 3D designs. Rentapen’s 3D model download process insures the customer’s order is as accurate as possible.
This ordering system is free to use, convenient, and time saving.

 

 

Weld Jig Design and Tooling Company Introduces Wolverine Clamp Riser

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Rentapen Inc., Located In Waukesha, WI Has Added A Brand New RAPid Tooling Component™ To Their Website.

On Monday, January 21, 2013, Rentapen Inc. launched their new spacer and riser to go under Wolverine Clamps. They immediately made 3D models available for customers to download from their website and place in their machine tool designs.

Rentapen developed a new line of clamp risers that will work with a variety of Wolverine brand clamps. The Wolverine clamp is designed to hold parts in place while the parts are being welded or assembled with other parts during production. Often times the machine tool requirement is that the clamp needs to be attached to a mounting block to be in the right position for clamping the production part.

“We have several new products that are being launched early this year that will be offered to help manufacturers and machine tool makers save time,” said Susan Straley, President and Owner of Rentapen. “Our team is excited about this first new product launch of 2013.”

Wolverine clamps are available in a variety of styles and sizes. Rentapen’s new risers are able to hold straight-line clamps and manual or pneumatic hold-down clamps. When Machine Tool Designers are creating jigs or fixtures, they find it is faster and cheaper to use purchased products as often as possible to reduce design and build time and to reduce errors.

By using a purchased component the manufacturer saves time needed to create a custom clamp riser from start to finish. For example, they would have to go through a timely and expensive process that includes: designing the part; detailing; checking; ordering material; writing the CNC code; creating the part and finally inspecting the part. Time studies have shown that Rentapen’s RAPid Risers™ saves manufacturers as much as 73 minutes in design and build time.
“We experienced phenomenal growth in our tooling component sales in 2012 as more manufacturers learned about the quality and versatility of our product line,” said Straley. “More and more, RAPid Tooling Components are becoming the new standard in assembly fixture and weld fixture design.”
Rentapen Inc. has been designing machines since 1976. In 2002 they developed the RAPid Tooling Components™ line in response to their customers need to reduce costs. The new clamp risers will be made in the USA.

Product Design vs Machine Tooling Design, What’s the Dif?

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What are the two main differences between product design and machine tool design?

Right off the bat I think of two main differences between designing a product and designing machine tools.

TIME and DIMENSIONS

TIME

Product Design Time


When designing a product there may be numerous design reviews, you may spend a whole year or longer between conception to tweaking the design, testing it for market appeal, functionality, safety, costs… the list can go on.  And many of these reviews don’t happen just once.

Then, when the product gets very close to completion, the manufacturing team starts planning for production.  What parts will be assembled at what stations.  And the Manufacturing Engineers and Managers start working on planning the design of the production machines.

Machine Tool Design Time

calendar-machine-design

Once the product is getting close to release for production, there is a rush to get the machines, designed, built, and tested fast.  The time line for a Machine can be as little as 1 month.  Some of the more simple tools are created on the fly as the product moves into production and the need is discovered.

 

With Machine Tool Designs there may be only one or two design reviews.  There is no need to make it look nice for the consumer, though safety and functionality are part of the design and review process.  The whole machine design process doesn’t require as much time or as much… “going back to the drawing board”.  (For those of you who are too young to have ever seen a drawing board, what I mean is in my experience there isn’t as much re-design occuring in machine tool design as in product design.)

DIMENSIONS

One thing I hear from those who move over to machine tool design from product design is that in machine design the available stock size matters.

part-dimensions

 

 

 

 

With each new manufactured part you need to think about using nice numbers so that the part can be manufactured easily with the least number of surfaces having to be finished.

A machine tool designer is always looking up stock sizes.  And every time the designer has to change the size of a part they have to think about stock sizes and which surfaces will need to be finished.

When a machine designer can avoid finishing a surface, he/she saves build time and material, reducing the costs of the machine.  So we must always check our stock sizes, and try to make the mounting surfaces stock dimensions. This way we avoid having to machine a nice mounting surface if we don’t have to.

When a piece of metal is saw cut, the surface is very rough and may not be square to the other surfaces.  So mounting surfaces need to be stock or finished in most all applications.

Hot Rolled Steel is so rough even as stock, it needs to have all it’s mounting surfaces finished.  We use Hot Rolled Steel for weldments only, and cut a minimum of a 1/8 inch off the stock size to make a nice finished surface for mounting other parts onto.  We still make every effort to consider stock size when creating weld fixture parts.

Two companies that we refer to a lot to find out what stock sizes are available are Central Steel and McMaster Carr.


http://www.centralsteel.com  for cold and hot rolled steel and aluminum and sheet metal.  They have angles, tubes, rounds also.

 

http://www.mcmaster.com for harder steels or other metals not found in the Central Steel catalog such as A2  and 4140 PH (Pre-hardened).

So Product Design vs Machine Tool Design.  If you have experience in both, what differences have you noticed?

RECEIVE a FREE Quick-reference Tool on Dowel Holes.

Anyone who signs up for “Education and Updates” … in April 2012 ….by filling out the form on the right-hand side of the Rentapen web site will receive in their email Rentapen’s Quick Reference Guide to Tolerances for Dowel holes.  This is a handy item to keep on your desk top.  So sign up today for “Education and Updates”.   We email updates when we issue or new blog or press release (about twice a week).

Does Your Company Encourage Educational Growth?

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Manufacturers Utilize Education to Motivate and Retain The Engineering Workforce.

News 2011-12-15

According to the National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, “The majority of individuals in the labor force with Science and Engineering degrees are in their most productive years, (from their late 30s through their early 50s), with the largest group ages 40-44.”

So what keeps these engineers inspired in the work force?

“Education and learning more software is one way to get engineers ready for work force opportunities,” said Susan Straley the President of Rentapen Inc.

As the engineering workforce changes, employers implement retention and training programs. For example, Rentapen Inc., located in Waukesha, Wisconsin recruits and trains engineering interns. Rentapen has also implemented an education reimbursement program to keep their current engineer’s skills updated and their workforce motivated.

One of Rentapen’s design engineers is expanding his knowledge and updating his skills. Curtis K. a CAD Drafter at Rentapen Inc. just finished his Solidworks course at WCTC on Thursday, December 15, 2011.

Curtis has worked for Rentapen for one year and already has furthered his education to keep current with Rentapen’s 3D design services for customers.

“It is very important for a machine design company such as, Rentapen to have their engineers trained in both Solidworks and Pro/Engineer because Rentapen’s customers don’t all use the same software for their machine designs,” said Straley.

Curtis has five years of experience in Pro/Engineer and is beginning to work with Solidworks.

“I felt I needed to take the class because when I start working with Solidworks it will be easier for me to understand the software,” said Curtis K.

Rentapen, a company that specializes in jig and weld fixture design, encourages its employees to take advantage of Rentapen’s education reimbursement programs.   Since Rentapen’s design customers dictate what software they want their machine designs created on.  It is vital for Rentapen’s design engineers to have education in both softwares.

By: Bethany Kratz, Duchess of Cost Reductions