I traveled to Toyota headquarters in Japan with Jeff Liker for a research project. We wanted to learn more about the engineering and collaboration that created the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA), the strategy and innovation behind hydrogen vehicles, and how they had adapted and improved their development system to meet the increasing demands of the ultra-competitive global auto industry.
Demand for machining titanium for aerospace applications won’t abate any time soon. It is driving OEMs and the supply chain in the commercial airplane market to find ways to dramatically increase machining output. Whatever date you pick from now until 2030, there’s a sufficient backlog of commercial airliners for both structural and jet engine applications to keep spindles humming around the clock cutting titanium.
When designers at Siemens started using virtual reality (VR) to quickly evaluate early-stage ideas, the usually slow and costly design-and-iteration process went from days and hours to minutes.
Until just a few years ago, if a vehicle maker wanted to test the process for making a newly designed composite part at full scale, the company’s R&D engineers would call one of its Tier Ones and ask to schedule a trial run on the composites fabricator’s machines during off hours.
Fostering human-centered innovation by developing powerful, easy-to-use tools is at the heart of the new products, enhancements and services showcased during the Siemens Digital Industries Software 2020 Media & Analyst Conference, a two-day virtual event hosted by the Plano, Texas-based company on June 16 and 17.
COVID-19 vividly underscores the vulnerability of global manufacturing operations and supply chains. The disruption in our supply chains will hamper manufacturing for months and perhaps years. As we reopen and rebuild our economy, we must focus on sustainable manufacturing operations that are pandemic adaptive, resilient, and secure.
The pace of technology today is rapid, with the potential to transform manufacturing. Digitization, automation, and connectivity are opening many new doors on the production floor.
So you’ve heard all sorts of good things about Swiss-style, sliding headstock CNC lathes and have been thinking about investing in one.
Factory safety is not a theoretical issue for Gabe Glynn, CEO of the wearable tech firm MākuSafe.
This is a digest of news items focusing on how manufacturers are aiding the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.