Lockheed Martin has had robotics and automation solutions as a component of its product portfolio for longer than a decade.
CEO Jason Walker and part of his team at Waypoint Robotics had just returned from the Modex 2020 show in Atlanta when the governor of his company’s home state imposed a stay-at-home order because of COVID-19.
Lean thinking focuses on ways to add value without wasting resources. Benjamin Franklin captured the idea in “Poor Richard’s Almanack,” when he said, “He that idly loses five shillings worth of time, loses five shillings and might as prudently throw five shillings into the river.”
The makers of coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) spent a long time in competition to reach the highest levels of repeatable measurement accuracy.
Any manufacturer operating under quality management system mandates, such as ISO9001, ISO13485, or AS9100, must at the very least maintain a measurement tool library database.
The promise of 5G is tempting. Fast data speeds and low latency rates make wireless connectivity, and real-time monitoring and decision making a possibility. Cost, legacy systems, security and other issues might be a deterrent that keeps some from dipping their toes into 5G waters.
One of the biggest challenges that any shop faces in 2020 is finding skilled workers to backfill those baby boomers who are retiring, or simply finding staff to meet the demand of a healthy manufacturing economy.
The COVID-19 crisis caught all of us off guard and interrupted global systems in a way not experienced in recent memory.
Suppliers of cleaning, safety, and environmental equipment are promoting a common message—good housekeeping is not only good for your workforce, it’s also good for the shop’s balance sheet.
As laser manufacturing systems for sheet and tube grow more sophisticated—powerful, automated and scalable—navigating the wealth of choices might feel daunting.
