Lean manufacturing principles and automation systems can coexist, although many lean purists contend that lean goals conflict with using automation. Smart applications of automation, however, can result in deployment of systems that are both automated and lean, with flexible manufacturing systems that can be easily reconfigured as factory operations change.
Common misperceptions about lean manufacturing and automation systems lead many manufacturing managers to dismiss the use of automation in a lean setting.
There will be more than one new machine introduced at IMTS 2006 that will be billed as a China beater, or as an India and rest-of-Asia beater, for that matter.
Many industries have been making parts with micron dimensions for some time, but in the last few years, the market for miniaturization has expanded. The demand is not only for small parts, but also for small complex features on larger parts. This is due chiefly to the switch to modules in which the functions of several parts or subsystems are not handled by a single complex unit.
You have heard it before, today’s manufactured products are becoming ever more complicated. As computers and microcontrollers get ever cheaper and more powerful they have become more enticing for product engineers to use and incorporate. This means the intellectual property in the embedded software has grown increasingly in value – possibly exponentially.
Waterjet systems are offering machine shops more productivity options with the latest high-speed cutting and improved software capabilities
suitX, a California-based robotics company designing and manufacturing medical and industrial exoskeletons, announced today the official launch of MAX, a flexible exoskeleton that can be adapted to a variety of workplace tasks.
GE (NYSE: GE), the world’s leading digital industrial company, has reached an agreement to acquire a 75% stake in Concept Laser GmbH for $599 million (€549 million). The agreement allows for GE to take full ownership in a number of years.
DMG MORI USA is pleased to announce that as of August 2016, Boldt Machinery Inc., and Triad Machine Tool Co., are now part of DMG MORI USA’s Direct Sales and Service structure.
Manufacturers continually seek ways to make their products stronger and last longer. High Velocity Oxygen Fuel (HVOF) spray coatings help achieve those goals. However, grinding the coatings can be a challenge.
