A Mixed Picture, For Now, About Manufacturing’s Strength January 7, 2019 On Jan. 3, the Institute for Supply Management released its monthly manufacturing index. It had a noticeable drop, to 54.1% in December from 59.3% the month before. That meant manufacturing was still expanding, but at a slower rate.
Auto Sales Forecast to Slow, Trade May Cast Shadow Over 2019 January 13, 2019 U.S. sales of cars and light trucks are forecast to slow this year. At the same time, potential trade fights may cast a shadow over the industry, an economist said Sunday ahead of the North American International Auto Show.
ARCH Global Precision Acquires Competitive Carbide March 5, 2019 Cutting tool, industrial component and medical implant/instrument manufacturer ARCH Global Precision (ARCH; Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), acquired Competitive Carbide Inc. (CCI), located in Mentor, Ohio. CCI is a manufacturer of customized solid carbide drills, end mills, reamers, indexable tools, and custom inserts.
Manufacturing Adds 32,000 Jobs in October on Gains in Transportation November 2, 2018 U.S. manufacturing added 32,000 jobs in October, with a major gain in transportation employment.
Advanced Technologies Drive New Cylindrical Grinding Capabilities May 29, 2018 While cylindrical grinding has been used for some time, its capabilities may not be fully appreciated. New grinding wheel technology, controls, materials and dressing processes, coolant and pump options—as well as smarter software—make today’s machines worth getting acquainted with.
Workholding Solutions to Reduce Costs, Increase Throughput April 24, 2018 At the Nirvana Machine Shop on planet Perfection, every workpiece is clamped to a custom-built fixture mounted on a dedicated machine tool. Each workpiece is dimensionally identical to the one before and the one after. All the fixtures are totally automatic—instantly positioning, clamping, machining, inspecting, and releasing the part with the ultimate precision.
Optical Metrology in Three Dimensions May 29, 2018 Basic trends in modern manufacturing are driving growth in 3D optical metrology. “One is the highly complex and high-tech material that manufacturers are using today. For example, in the aerospace turbine blade market, they simply cannot touch the part like they used to—the surface finish of the material is too readily affected by any kind of contact metrology."
North Dakota State University Engineering Team Wins 3M’s Disruptive Design Challenge April 19, 2018 Four universities—Iowa State University, University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin-Madison and North Dakota State University (NDSU)—competed in the inaugural 3M Industrial Adhesives and Tapes Disruptive Design Challenge (DDC) at 3M’s headquarters (St. Paul, MN), Friday, April 13.
Some firms accept arrival of Age of AI, seize the day April 4, 2018 Remember the boy with endless learning capacities in the 2001 film “AI Artificial Intelligence”? He’s quickly coming to life. Today, AI is no longer fictional; it’s reality.
Textile Firm Scraps Clothing to Make 3D Printers May 7, 2018 When the Italian company JDeal-Form (Oleggio, Italy) started using additive manufacturing to apply a micronized polymer coating to the underwire tips and bra straps it sold to brassiere makers, CTO Davide Ardizzoia grew frustrated with his AM vendor’s constant lateness.