While the manufacturing industry learns to deal with COVID-19, it is also undergoing seismic change from other critical issues. Four industry leaders take on these issues in a panel discussion titled, “How Smart Manufacturing is Disrupting the Supply Chain - Are You Prepared?”
Whether driven by the reduction of in-shop personnel due to layoffs or to maintain social distancing guidelines into the future, many machine shops will likely be re-evaluating ways to eliminate labor-intensive manual operations if they can be automated instead.
The CEO of an artificial intelligence company discusses how AI affects workers and how AI can be deployed well.
Most machining operations today have a heterogenous mix of old and new machines. To achieve a future Smart Factory means connecting existing machining centers, and GROB offers solutions.
Altair announced a major update to its Altair PBS Professional, a workload manager for high-performance computing applications.
Like just about every other manufacturing operation, welding has made the leap into the 21st century with automation, agile manufacturing processes, and offline programming.
Since 1996, the Plant 15 machining operations at Mercury Marine have included a reliance on automated machining cells. Over the years, the Fond du Lac, Wis.-based manufacturer and distributor of marine engines, parts, accessories and integrated systems has phased out some traditional manufacturing methods in favor of modern cells.
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.
The warning about the vulnerability of the aerospace and defense industry’s supply chain came buried in the pages of a report issued by the consulting firm EY two years before the COVID-19 outbreak became a full-blown global crisis.
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.