Makers of workholding devices face a moving target. The machine tools they work with are changing. There’s more high-speed machining. More high-feed machining. More multi-axis machines. New uses of coolant to reduce temperatures during cutting operations.
More than 2,000 manufacturers from across North America attended Mazak Corporation’s DISCOVER 2019 event held November 5-7 and 12-13 at the company’s North American Manufacturing Headquarters in Florence, Ky.
Fair Lawn, NJ. Sean Holt, head of Sales Area Americas for Sandvik Coromant, announced a new Sandvik Coromant Center will open in Mebane, NC, a geography heavy with aerospace and automotive manufacturing and a strong culture of innovation.
The concepts Industry 4.0 in Europe, Made in China 2025 and smart manufacturing in the U.S. “all share a common goal—to create cyber-physical systems to innovate in manufacturing,” IDC's Bob Parker said at Dassault Systèmes’ recent Manufacturing in the Age of Experience event. “And it’s really dependent on a set of new technologies like IoT (the Internet of Things) and artificial intelligence (AI).”
The $150 million “factory of the future” that the Swiss innovator ABB announced a year ago is becoming reality in this enormous city’s Pudong New Area.
Manufacturers of all sizes see an uptick in productivity after adding a factory within a factory via an automated machining cell. The cells are small-scale, clearly defined production units, often for a family of similar parts or a product, and they typically include a robotic arm and one or more machine tools.
For years, collet-type toolholder assembly and setup have relied on cumbersome, error-prone manual methods that waste time and money.
Looking to improve operations and expand its aerospace business, M-1 Tools Works began working with Cimco, a CNC communication and networking software supplier. Today, M-1’s programmers can write programs and get them to any machine in its plant.
FANUC is expanding its presence and capabilities near its North American headquarters campus.
Using lasers to cut metal, especially sheet metal or tubes, continues to show its value. The market is becoming dominated by the newer solid-state fiber laser over its CO2 gas rival. Fiber’s advantages in ease of operation, packaging and efficiency are clear.
