Innovate, Integrate, Collaborate are more than just marketing keywords. A number of metrology and software companies I visited at IMTS are putting their development dollars to work in these areas and showing off the results.
Fiber laser welding continues to grow as it improves in weld quality, reliability and performance. Many fiber laser welding applications are autogenous, where the weld is formed entirely by melting parts of the base metal and no additional filler wire or powder is used
Laser 3D printing and marking systems are among the heavy-duty cutting and welding systems that had been scheduled for the IMTS Fabricating and Laser Pavilion—testament to the growing impact of what once might have been viewed as ancillary processes.
Cobots, like other robot equipment, started in material handling applications. However, this year, Universal Robots is introducing welding applications and other heavy duty metal fabrication.
Considered by many to be the “Father of Quality Management,” Dr. Joseph M. Juran is recognized as the man who added a human dimension to quality, expanding it from its statistical origins to a broader management science.
It doesn’t take long to see the changing face of manufacturing staples in Volusia County. Strategically located in the thriving central Florida marketplace east of Orlando along the I-4/I-95 highways, Volusia County has always been a good geographic location for manufacturers.
It’s amazing what you can learn at a trade show. Editor in Chief Alan Rooks was reminded of this at the recent EASTEC show. He reflected on his visit with Joe Stanford, vice president, engineering and applications support for Applied Measurement Solutions LLC, Bristol, Conn., the largest metrology distributor for The L.S. Starrett Co., Athol, Mass.
It’s easy to become dazed by the continuing stream of buzz words. For those of us in manufacturing, all this buzz creates a sense of impending change, but no clarity on what that change might be. Uncertainty means anxiety.
Can small and medium-sized manufacturers, Tier 2 or Tier 3 guys, use all-digital descriptions of part orders, dispensing with paper specifications and supplemental drawings to efficiently deliver parts?
Not all threaded connections serve similar purposes.The load-carrying needs of an aerospace engine support bolt in a tension assembly greatly exceed those of a simple screw that fastens a cover plate to an electrical wall socket. International thread-acceptance documents and standards recognize this basic engineering fact, and incorporate different thread-inspection requirements into their verification standards.
