Why the U.S. needs a bold, long-term innovation strategy October 2, 2018 A conversation between Smart Manufacturing Editor in Chief Brett Brune and Sridhar Kota, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan and Executive Director of MForesight.
Manufacturing in 2050: The World Turned Upside Down? November 26, 2018 Powerful trends will push manufacturing close to complete automation by 2050, while the people still working in the industry will be empowered to rapidly innovate like never before.
Making Hay With Reams of Data—From Supply Chain Players October 3, 2018 Within manufacturing, a shift has begun to extend big data analytics and condition monitoring beyond the factory door to both ends of the supply chain—to customers, other end users and to second-and third-tier suppliers.
Bridge Tool & Die: CNC Turns ‘Feel’ Into High-Precision Carbide Grinding November 28, 2018 Glenn Bridgman describes the difference between his shop’s manual grinders and its newest state-of-the-art CNC ID/OD grinder, a Studer CT960 OD/ID from United Grinding (Miamisburg, OH), as “feel vs. facts.” Bridgman, president of Bridge Tool & Die (Buckley, MI), believes that manual grinding is a somewhat personal operation.
A case of less is not only more but quite necessary October 9, 2018 Being a competitive player in the aerospace and defense industry is no small feat. In an industry in which you need to be accountable for every piece of an assembly, meeting customer expectations and requirements can be daunting tasks.
Robots, Shop Personnel Collaborate, Maximizing Synergy and Safety September 11, 2017 Efficient manufacturing calls for coordinated systems of shop personnel, equipment and software. These systems increasingly include robotic technology, as manufacturers recognize the reliability, repeatability and flexibility that robots provide. According to the International Federation of Robotics, the number of industrial robots in use worldwide will increase to around 2.6 million by 2019, about one million more than in 2015. Approximately 70% of industrial robots are used in the automotive, electrical/electronics and metal and machinery industries.
To Each His Own: Batch Size 1 Arrives March 30, 2018 New systems, software and processes are replacing so-called islands of automation with seamless, automated manufacturing lines that boost overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) from 30 to 80% or more. Like a chess master, these systems think multiple moves ahead on the factory floor to ensure continuing production when circumstances change.
To do: Get faster, cheaper, more flexible & less wasteful May 15, 2017 Additive manufacturing firms are focused intently on speeding up the 3D printing process, radically expanding the development of printing materials, printing larger parts, wasting less material, reducing the cost of capital equipment overall and addressing issues that will lead to the move from prototyping to rapid manufacturing.
Technology Tailored to Shop’s Machining Needs May 2, 2017 You don’t have to look too far to find tooling presetters that fit the machining requirements of just about any size shop. The value of off-line tool presetting—rather than stopping machine spindles to touch off tools as machines sit idle—continues to prove itself invaluable, especially to the smallest first-time user shops.
Epicor Introduces Latest Version of Epicor ERP May 23, 2017 Unveiled at its Insights 2017 customer conference today, Epicor Software Corporation, a global provider of industry-specific enterprise software to promote business growth, introduced the latest version of Epicor ERP, the global enterprise resource planning solution in use today by thousands of customers in 150 countries worldwide.