The credential hanging on my wall that swells me with pride is my machinist certificate. That apprenticeship experience was the “ON!” switch for my career path. The brightness of that light helped maintain the vision and the hope even as I faced significant racial bias almost 30 years ago.
I met a man recently. He had worked at a small manufacturing company for 20 plus years and was the sole technician responsible for the assembly of his company’s most complex product. After years of dedication to the company, he was set to retire.
The economic challenges brought forth by COVID-19 are causing a more intense focus in manufacturing on the need for the kind of alacrity achieved with digital tools and the kind of digital savvy achieved with strong partnerships.
The ML75P collects thousands of data samples from the vibrating tool tip within milliseconds.
Listen to this Smart Manufacturing magazine article: Pandemic makes case for more automation, robotics. Outbreak poised to prompt changes in the way manufacturers use automation.
Manufacturers have begun using sensors and actuators to monitor their cutting processes and adjust parameters to optimize tool life and workpiece quality. However, traditional monitoring systems have some drawbacks.
Improvements in manufacturing management software, robotics, additive manufacturing and thermal controls are making small batch sizes more cost effective—even for smaller shops. Manufacturing plants are able to reduce inventory, improve throughput and reduce demands on human operators.
We no longer need to accept that it takes a decade to create and make a safe and effective vaccine—thanks in part to smart manufacturing.
Held on August 11, 2020 and streamed live from Mazak’s Midwest Technology Center, the All Axes LIVE digital event drew large crowds from across North America and worldwide, according to Mazak.
COVID-19 revealed some deep-rooted shortcomings in our approach to manufacturing and to supply chain design in the U.S. Well beyond the immediate and urgent need for PPE, we saw dramatic swings in both supply and demand for almost everything bought and sold here.