Most conferences = sales pitches, no learning. PDX = hands-on learning and solving real world problems

What you WON'T find at PDX:

❌ Vendor sales pitches disguised as "education"
❌ Theoretical presentations you'll forget by Monday
❌ Networking events where everyone exchanges the same business cards

What you WILL find:

✅ DfAM best practices taught by Impac Systems
✅ Mastering GD&T presented by R. Dean Odell
✅ Sick 3D Robot Guidance by Clayton Controls
✅ 30+ other vendor experts ready to help solve your hardest problems

The catch? We’re limited on attendees. And we’re giving you exclusive access to some of the remaining available seats.

Mesa, AZ | October 21-22, 2025 | $295 (while space remains)

P.S. As subscribers of this newsletter, use code “WBH50” for $50 off registration!

P.S.S. Enter to win one of two free expo passes by filling out the survey.

Adding another section this week! I’ve historically incorporated podcast highlights into the stories, but a lot of the detail and impact of these episodes are getting lost in the sauce. Moving forward, I will be featuring different podcast episodes weekly to delivery consistent, impactful episodes for you to check out.

We will continue to build on John Parsons’ legacy and tell the next step in the story of building the modern CNC. Coming out of MIT’s Servo lab, the first servo motor controlled Mill birthed the “modern” CNC machining industry.

MIT officially launched its Initiative for New Manufacturing in August with seven industry giants: Amgen, Autodesk, Flex, GE Vernova, PTC, Sanofi, and Siemens.

The program's flagship TechAMP creates a new "technologist" role, bridging technicians and engineers through a 12-month DOD-funded certificate program combining MIT faculty lectures, virtual simulations, and community college labs.

A Factory Observatory will immerse students in real production environments, reviving MIT's 1919 practice of sending students into AT&T and General Electric facilities.

"Manufacturing is the engine of society," said faculty co-director John Hart. The initiative targets AI-driven manufacturing solutions while establishing specialized labs and industry pillars covering semiconductors, biomanufacturing, defense, and aviation.

The goal: restore American manufacturing leadership through technological sophistication, not low-cost production

Link to the program site.

A more detailed analysis is on The Wave.

In a follow up to last week’s story about John Parsons’, the inventor of the numerically controlled (NC) concept that started the digitization of machining, I’m taking the next step in the story and exploring the role of MIT’s servo lab in the development of the modern technology we know.

In 1949, Gordon Brown faced an unusual problem. The 42-year-old Australian-born electrical engineer had built MIT's Servomechanisms Laboratory into a powerhouse of automatic control research, but now the Air Force wanted something his team had never attempted: a machine that could cut metal parts automatically from punched tape instructions.

The request came through John Parsons, a scrappy manufacturer from Traverse City, Michigan, who had conceived a revolutionary idea for making helicopter rotor blades using IBM punch card calculations. Parsons had the vision, but he needed MIT's expertise in servo control systems to make it work. What started as a simple subcontractor arrangement would become one of the most significant technological takeovers in manufacturing history.

Brown assigned the project to two of his brightest engineers: William Pease and James McDonough. As they studied Parsons' plans, they quickly realized the fundamental limitation in his approach. Parsons envisioned a machine that would drill and cut at specific coordinate points, essentially a glorified automated drill press.

But Pease and McDonough saw something far more ambitious: a machine that could move smoothly between points, cutting continuous curves with mathematical precision…

Edward Jaeck, engineering veteran of Intel, Medtronic, and LEL, shared strategic insights for accelerating engineering excellence. Key lessons include systematic strategic planning that breaks business objectives into measurable components, the critical importance of proper GD&T and supplier quality relationships, and transitioning from serial to parallel development processes. His DOE methodology transforms trial-and-error approaches into systematic optimization, while color-coded 3D prototyping accelerates quality programming. Most impactfully: engineering leadership succeeds through structured approaches to strategy, quality management, and development acceleration rather than purely technical competence.

Listen to the full episode at the link below

Engineering is about solving, innovating, and connecting ideas to make a difference. Progress is a collective effort and your curiosity is what drives it forward. Thank you for exploring the dynamic world of engineering with all of us at Pipeline Design & Engineering and The Wave.

If you found value in this newsletter, share it with a friend or colleague who might enjoy it too. Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a new perspective, idea, or breakthrough.

“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while.” - Steve Jobs

In collaboration and creativity,
Brad Hirayama
Blueprinting tomorrow, today