Caterpillar Profit Rises Despite Lower Revenue January 31, 2020 Caterpillar Inc. today reported higher fourth-quarter profit as expense controls made up for lower revenue. The Deerfield, Illinois-based maker of earthmoving machines and heavy equipment also warned of “continued global economic uncertainty” in 2020.
Industrial M&A Falls in 2019 January 27, 2020 Industrial merger and acquisition activity fell in 2019 because of slowing economies and trade uncertainty, consulting firm PwC said in a report.
CBN Generating Grinding: An Economic Alternative January 30, 2020 The demand for high-quality gear teeth in areas such as electric mobility comes with great challenges. or example, in many applications generating grinding with corundum is a good solution, but this abrasive also has disadvantages in some applications. Grinding special geometrical modifications could, for example, have a negative effect.
Targeting the Skills Gap in Forming and Fabricating July 24, 2020 As in other industries, U.S. forming and fabricating companies are experiencing a critical shortage of skilled labor. In this SME Media podcast, Alan Rooks, Editor in Chief of Manufacturing Engineering magazine, talks with Robert Tessier, National Director of Advanced Fabrication Technologies for Airgas about the skills gap in the forming and fabricating industry; changes needed in the education system to fill the need for skilled labor; how automation factors into efforts to reduce the skills gap; and efforts at Airgas to develop workers for manufacturing operations, including a special program for military veterans.
Protolabs CEO Headlines Panel Discussion at ‘The Best of SMX Virtual Event’ October 28, 2020 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?”
Layoffs, Social Distancing Drive Machine Shops to Automate Labor-Intensive Finishing Operations October 21, 2020 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.
Executive Discusses AI's Impact on Workers October 14, 2020 The CEO of an artificial intelligence company discusses how AI affects workers and how AI can be deployed well.
Study Shows Big Increase in Digital Readiness September 29, 2020 While the manufacturing sector generates large amounts of data, relatively few companies have fully harnessed that data to improve operational efficiencies.
Rush job? No prob! September 24, 2020 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.
National Safety Council: COVID-19 on Pace to Become Third Leading Cause of Death in 2020 August 20, 2020 The National Safety Council says it is highly alarmed to see that the mortality numbers for COVID-19 already have surpassed the total annual number of preventable, accidental deaths in 2018, the most recent year of final data—and it is only August. At this pace, COVID-19 likely will be the third leading cause of death in 2020, behind only heart disease and cancer.
