MJSA 2009 Thinking Ahead Award ( Part 1)

This is one of those stories that makes you feel good about small business here in America. It begins in a small Alabama jewelry store with a simple need. A bench jeweler who had been using his laser welder every day put his effort into making that job a little easier……… This is Glenn Manning's Speedwire story.

So many of us are using laser welders and I would venture to say that they all have the same problem…. Glenn's problem……. It seemed that he kept finding wire in his laser welder left behind that he was not sure what karat or metal type it was. There were bits and pieces of all sorts that just wound up in the scrap. For Glenn this problem was to be the source of inspiration and now with the MJSA award, perhaps a degree of fame.

What Glenn engineered, developed, and patented is a dispensing tool which delivers wire precisely where it is needed for laser welding. It is an ergonomic device that contains a coil of wire securely and isolated from dust and dirt. The delivery is provided by a friction wheel similar to a BIC lighter which rolls out wire advanced by your finger tip. The device is simple, well thought out, and provides what I think is an excellent way of keeping track of precious metal wire while reducing waste.

In the preliminary tests that we performed at TechForm here in Oregon we used the device for several weeks for both platinum and 316L stainless with great results. We hope to get a few more Speedwire dispensers in the weeks to come for each gauge and type of wire we use. While it remains to be seen whether Glenn will market this device with or without wire, it is obvious to me that everyone who uses a laser welder will want a collection of Speedwires in their own workshop. For more information click SPEEDJEWELER and see for yourself

Congratulations Glenn on your well deserved MJSA 2009 Thinking Ahead Award.