Osborne Manufacturing Company

Company: Osborne Manufacturing Company
Product: Miter Guide for Table Saws
Number of Employees: 1
Year Founded: 1997
Location: South Williamsport, PA

Situation:

Inventor David Osborne needed unbiased information on plastics materials for use in a new miter guide. Also, the device's four critical assembly components demonstrated inconsistent accuracy. Before taking his product to market, Osborne needed to know what impact each part played in the guide's overall accuracy. Osborne was directed to the PTDC by John Vidmar, director of the Ben Franklin Regional Incubator at Penn State's University Park Campus.

Project:

Using precision measuring equipment, PTDC engineer Tye Sonney was able to produce a tolerance build-up table that predicted the results when each or every component was out by a given amount. This allowed Osborne to give tolerance specifications to his component fabricators that would result in accurate parts.

Result:

David Osborne tightened the tolerances he required of precision machining and tool and die vendors to eliminate inaccuracies caused by small but collective errors. He received $50,000 in orders for the miter guide during its first four weeks on the market.

Company Comments from David Osborne, Founder:

"I had a great idea that didn't work. With the PTDC's help, I was able to end a period of great frustration. Now I'm selling my miter guides faster than I can make them. The PTDC was a shortcut to a lot of great information, which is helpful when you're a one-person shop."