The challenges to manufacturing as it evolves into the 21st century are now familiar, and impact how metrology must contribute. Manufacturers face uncertain production volumes with roller-coaster demand, shorter production runs and faster product development cycles. Automation, while alluring as a way to reduce cost, needs to adjust.
When you walk into the Redeye On Demand facility in Eden Prairie, MN, you enter into one version of the factory of the future. There you will see a bank of 100 high-end Fortus fused-deposition modeling (FDM) machines from Stratasys that provide the capacity to build real, functional parts with production-grade thermoplastics directly from CAD data.
Kevin Smith, senior commercial application engineer at Markforged, explains how the Markforged Metal X 3D printing process works, for starters. He also gets into how FFF metal printing differs from DMLS and other processes. And he goes over materials that can be printed on the Metal X, as well as the applications that are best suited for metal 3D printing.
CNC Software Inc., developers of Mastercam, has a new reseller available to customers in the San Diego area. CAD/CAM Consulting Services Inc. (CCCS) has been among Mastercam’s top 10 Resellers for 27 years in Southern California, with offices in Anaheim and Newbury Park.
DP Technology Corp., the parent company of CAM system ESPRIT, has announced the 2020 dates for its annual conference. ESPRIT World 2020 will be held from June 8-12 in Las Vegas–the location of the company’s first conference in 2003.
The L.S. Starrett Company, a global manufacturer of precision measuring tools and gages, and metrology systems, has appointed David Allen as Vice President, Starrett Metrology Systems, effective November 18, 2019.
CNC Software Inc., developers of Mastercam, has announced a new partnership with TITANS of CNC Inc. to help train the next generation of highly skilled CNC machinists and eliminate the widening skills gap.
As I walked through the DMG Mori factory in Davis, Calif., during the company’s Manufacturing Days event in October, there was something noticeably different about it compared to other factories I’ve visited: it was brightly lit and quiet.
The ever-volatile oil and natural gas industry—roiled most recently by September’s drone attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities that temporarily reduced the kingdom’s output by nearly half (about 5 percent of global production)—faces particularly challenging requirements for machined components to meet evolving supply targets.
Rapid prototyping is a staple of every designer and engineer’s workflow—essential for testing new concepts, verifying designs, and meeting increasingly aggressive time-to-market goals. Regardless of the industry or product, all engineers must consider the speed, accessibility, cost, and output of these additive manufacturing equipment.
