Since 1996, the Plant 15 machining operations at Mercury Marine have included a reliance on automated machining cells. Over the years, the Fond du Lac, Wis.-based manufacturer and distributor of marine engines, parts, accessories and integrated systems has phased out some traditional manufacturing methods in favor of modern cells.
Manufacturers have begun using sensors and actuators to monitor their cutting processes and adjust parameters to optimize tool life and workpiece quality. However, traditional monitoring systems have some drawbacks.
The warning about the vulnerability of the aerospace and defense industry’s supply chain came buried in the pages of a report issued by the consulting firm EY two years before the COVID-19 outbreak became a full-blown global crisis.
Improvements in manufacturing management software, robotics, additive manufacturing and thermal controls are making small batch sizes more cost effective—even for smaller shops. Manufacturing plants are able to reduce inventory, improve throughput and reduce demands on human operators.
We no longer need to accept that it takes a decade to create and make a safe and effective vaccine—thanks in part to smart manufacturing.
Listen to this Smart Manufacturing magazine cover story: In the thick of the ‘herculean’ vaccine push. Moderna is among the companies able to tackle the most urgent of matters precisely because of their digital strength.
Hockley Pattern & Tool, Halesowen, England, is an example of a company dedicated to the art and science of making perfect tooling.
To grow in today’s manufacturing world, shops need to consolidate operations, automate, increase efficiency, capture and analyze data and more, in order to fully leverage opportunities in thriving industries, such as aerospace.
To speed production and increase worker safety in the aerospace industry, major manufacturers are willing to pay a higher price for quality equipment.
Extreme complexity is inherent to jet engines of all sizes, from those on a Boeing 777x to ones that power the smallest drone.