Visitors to the Valley of the Sun were recently treated to a dizzying display of software technology at Arizona’s Phoenix Convention Center. From June 4-7, the Siemens PLM Connection—Americas 2018 user conference hosted thousands of visitors from hundreds of manufacturing companies.
It’s the machine tool acronym you never bother to put into words: CNC. And much of the time it’s probably OK to view your “computer numerical control” as a black box doing magic. But if you’re struggling with high-speed machining, need better surface finishes or higher accuracy, have training and retention problems, or want a better handle on your production efficiency, the answer just might be the latest iterations of those three little letters.
The IUPUI Mechanical Engineering Technology program concentrated on Mastercam and the online benefits of Mastercam University for its students. This approach paid big dividends on a unique Indy Car project for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
BLM GROUP USA announced on March 17, 2020 the enhancement of its E-FORM tube end forming machine with a fully CNC electric rolling device.
Marposs Announces BLÚ LT Modular Control System for Machine Tools; Suited for Applications of Medium Complexity
CNC Software Inc., developers of Mastercam CAD/CAM software, and FANUC America, a supplier of factory automation solutions, have introduced a new post processor designed to optimize five-axis capabilities in FANUC CNCs.
In the early days at CNC Software, we saw that our Mastercam CAD/CAM system was only part of a larger manufacturing solution and that an open architecture foundation could allow seamless data communication with complementary devices and systems across the shop floor.
Shops today must track or measure their manufacturing operations to improve them. This need drives the growing use of MTConnect—an open, royalty-free protocol for extracting data from practically any piece of equipment, including machine tools and other manufacturing systems. The integration of MTConnect is a major undertaking, and can be a bit challenging unless certain preparations are made ahead of time.
Today, the ideal factory can achieve levels of self-controlling (and perhaps self-learning) production processes, in which production reacts autonomously to changes or faults and takes appropriate measures.
Parker Hannifin’s Marissa Tucker talks with Senior Editor Patrick Waurzyniak
