Smarter factory systems connected via the cloud are the grand vision offered for the future factories that will fully leverage the best available tools from automation, software and machine tool builders.
The issues around OEE are not its utility but the ease and credibility of the data used to calculate it
Sandvik Coromant will reveal for the first time at IMTS 2016 new connectivity-based solutions designed to help manufacturers optimize their machining and decision making process. The new solutions have been developed to improve every aspect of it, from design, production planning and through machining to post-process analysis and intelligence.
Moldmaking is making a comeback, with more reshoring to North America of mold-and-die manufacturing that left for the Far East and other low-cost manufacturing centers. With faster metalcutting through high-speed machining (HSM) and improved EDM techniques, mold-and-die shops are finding innovative ways to compete with manufacturing operations in traditionally low-cost labor markets.
Twenty years ago, Open Mind first introduced CAM software capabilities to address five-axis machining in the mold and die industry and other general applications. Since that time five-axis technology has grown disproportionately larger when compared to the increase in overall manufacturing growth.
Simulation in manufacturing is becoming much more pervasive. Advanced visualizations are used everywhere, from machining on shop-floor CNCs to offline CAD/CAM programming of NC equipment.
Canadian based 7D Kinematic Metrology Inc., has acquired Nikon Metrology’s iGPS dynamic tracking business. The closing of the transaction is expected to take place on March 31.
Process improvement encompasses a wide range of tools, techniques and strategies. When properly deployed, shop-floor data collection and monitoring systems can help factory-floor managers leverage key data metrics including overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and total effective equipment performance (TEEP) that measure machine uptime and pinpoint bottlenecks or other problems in order to improve machining performance.
Nesting is the process of arranging parts to be cut from sheets of metal or wood in the most efficient manner possible in order to maximize yield and speed the cutting process. By reducing scrap and accelerating the cutting process, fabricators are saving on material cost while running more jobs.
The cost benefits of deploying multitask machine tools are undeniable, with multitask machines offering the ability to perform many machining operations on parts with just a single setup.
