In the age of Industry 4.0 and the digital thread, computer-aided design (CAD) data exchange should be open and seamless because it happens daily in a multi-tiered supplier ecosystem and so much interoperability depends on it. But we are not there yet.
Having a plan for maintaining and improving the performance and reliability of every machine on a shop floor is vital to manufacturing operations. Reliable machines make short-notice production runs possible. And the more flexible manufacturers are, the more new customers they’ll attract.
In the fast-changing world of motorized vehicle manufacturing, supply chain companies are now offering numerous software suites, bringing digitalization software and customizable applications to machine tool builders, alongside CNC hardware and operating software.
Today’s virtual technology enables faster and better product development. Planes, trains and automobiles are defined in CAD, subjected to virtual tests to see how they might fail, re-designed, virtually manufactured and virtually shown to customers to confirm market acceptance.
The well-established field of laser marking continues to break new ground with expanding business opportunities in automotive, oil and gas, medical and other industries.
Optical measuring systems, which use light instead of touch, are becoming more widely used in manufacturing because of their faster speed, higher accuracy and ability to measure oddly shaped parts.
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.
SyncFab will give more than 1,300 National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA) members access to its advanced manufacturing blockchain platform, the company said today. As the national representative of the precision custom manufacturing industry, NTMA members generate more than $30 billion in sales combined.
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.
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.
