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.
The Growing Role of Automation in Finishing Operations July 15, 2020 Finishing operations have traditionally been manual, but automation and robotics are making major inroads in this key manufacturing process. In this podcast, Alan Rooks, Editor in Chief of Manufacturing Engineering magazine talks with Normand Stoycheff, Business Development Manager for AV&R, and Giovanni Bevilacqua, Business Development Manager also with AV&R about emerging trends in automation/robotics; the main reasons allowing robotics to evolve from traditional pick-and-drop usage to more elaborate processes; how robots help the surface finishing process throughout the industry; and how surface finishing operations are developing the capability to inspect and repair.
Automating Aerospace Manufacturing with FANUC April 29, 2020 Aerospace is thought of as the industry with some of the most advanced technology, including automation. However, especially in automation, that may not be exactly true. In this podcast, Bruce Morey senior technical editor for Manufacturing Engineering magazine talks with Rick Schulz of FANUC America about some of the challenges and misperceptions in using automation more fully in aerospace manufacturing. Mistakes to be avoided, such as simply replacing humans with a robot, and how to use collaborative robots. The main message is that employing automation to its fullest requires a systematic approach to the entire manufacturing process.
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.
OMAX to Host Virtual Tradeshow Showcasing Waterjet Cutting Technology May 21, 2020 OMAX Corp. will host a virtual tradeshow on May 28 at 9 a.m. PDT featuring the company’s latest abrasive waterjet cutting technologies.
Machine Components Help Improve Process Efficiency, Productivity June 30, 2020 There’s more to machining than machine tools and cutters. Shops also need an assortment of machine components to keep their CNC lathes and machining centers humming.
Welding Automation Addresses Skills Shortage October 5, 2020 Like just about every other manufacturing operation, welding has made the leap into the 21st century with automation, agile manufacturing processes, and offline programming.
Ford Leases Boston Dynamics Robots July 28, 2020 Ford Motor Co. is leasing four-legged robots from Boston Dynamics as part of a program to reduce cost and boost efficiency.
ToolConnect IoT Upgrade Announced June 11, 2020 An upgrade to ToolConnect IoT was announced by Visual Knowledge Share Ltd.