2020 was certainly an unusual year—for SME, for our industry, and for the world. There is no question that these unusual times will carry over into 2021. Unusual does not necessarily mean bad; it just means different. Often hidden within those differences are opportunities.
While FABTECH 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, plans are underway to bring FABTECH 2021 to Chicago in 2021. That means North America’s largest metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing event will be heading to McCormick Place Sept. 13-16, 2021.
Kyocera Corp. said it will begin construction of a new research and development center in January 2021 at its Kokubu campus in Kirishima City, Kagoshima, Japan.
Marposs said its Artis CTM Tool and Process Monitoring System has played a role in a 2020 Henry Ford Technology Award (HFTA) winning program focused on Torque Monitoring of Gear Machining Processes.
Cloud computing has become more prevalent in our daily lives and the ability to access the internet nearly anywhere at any time has allowed for manufacturers to become more able to view real-time shop data across all departments. In this podcast, Bruce Morey, Senior Technical Editor for Manufacturing Engineering magazine discusses using cloud-based business systems with Kevin Must, Marketing Manager for Lantek Inc.
GF Machining Solutions said it will transition in phases to a direct sales and support model in several key states.
The SME Education Foundation has announced a new $2 million diversity, equity and inclusion scholarship to increase awards to underrepresented students, beginning in 2021.
FANUC America and Plus One Robotics said they have paired their technologies to meet the needs of their mutual customers in e-commerce.
Manufacturers need to create more production setups as batch sizes get smaller. Skilled labor continues to be hard to hire and keep. Higher levels of automation are needed, not just in material handling but also in fabricating, machining, assembly, and inspection.
While water and fire tube boiler power plants may be considered archaic, they now power much of North America and will for some time, even as newer, cleaner, greener tech transitions into the mainstream and becomes practical.
