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.
Voith will deliver eight electric Voith Schneider Propellers (eVSP) to the Norwegian shipping company Østensjø, thus enabling resource-saving and energy-efficient operation of the four offshore wind supply vessels. The four ships will be built in Spain and are already equipped for the application of CO2-neutral hydrogen technology.
ESPRIT by DP Technology has announced extended support for Mazak Smooth Ai CNC. ESPRIT produces machine-optimized, edit-free G-code programs, program optimization, and machine simulation for Mazak’s machine tools.
In August, Rob Sullivan had an installation scheduled for two of his autonomous mobile robots at the Deutsche Post DHL Group’s Innovation Center in Troisdorf, Germany.
SME discussed with David Olson of Verisurf the growing importance of Model-Based Definition and the use of standard formats by small and medium sized manufacturers.
Today’s job shops can distinguish themselves from competitors by adding deep hole drilling/gundrilling to their offerings. But complex, custom-built machines require more floor space and a bigger investment.
BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling has promoted Jack Burley to President/Chief Operating Officer, effective January 1, 2021. Chris Kaiser, BIG Kaiser President and CEO for 30 years, will take on the role of Executive Advisor.
Craig Zoberis and Davin Erickson detail how Fusion OEM discovered and implemented collaborative robots, or cobots. The company is now investing in future expert machinists by using cobots—and making headway in closing the manufacturing industry skills gap. They explain the phases of training for cobots, as well as how cobots “talk” with other machines—and how machines perform “handshakes” (and are therefore envied by humans who today are struggling with social distancing).
Diego Tamburini, principal industry lead for manufacturing in the cloud + AI division of Microsoft, reviews the impact of the COVID-19 crisis in manufacturing. He shares his thoughts about how the industry should respond—and lists the attributes of manufacturers best positioned to survive the crisis. Finally, he outlines new opportunities for developers of smart manufacturing software solutions under the “new normal.”
