‘Digital Twins’ Have Positive Plant-Wide Impact May 11, 2019 One of the foundational aspects of Industry 4.0 protocols is the creation of electronic “digital twin” models of product data and production processes. This includes an exact replica of all machine tools, including complex work envelopes showing the particular spindles, fixtures, and cutting tools.
Software, CNC Interface Gains Push Programming Productivity March 1, 2019 Connected manufacturing and digitization technologies are spurring many of the major innovations in CNC machine controls that help machine shops cut metal and create parts as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Automating Job Shops? You Bet! February 28, 2019 If “automation” is the constant drone you hear from practically everyone in metalworking these days, job shop owners might be the only people yelling “No!” Or at least “Wait!” How, they ask, can you cost-effectively automate low-volume, high-mix parts? Yet it’s not only doable but probably necessary.
New Approaches to Digitalization, Automation and Additive Manufacturing December 27, 2019 Industry 4.0, Automation and 3D printing are three of the hottest topics in manufacturing, and this podcast targets all three! Listen in as Alan Rooks, Editor in Chief of Manufacturing Engineering magazine, talks with Steve Fruehe, pre-sales solutions consultant, and Zach Gray, strategic business developer for Siemens about the basics of digitalization; approaches to gathering and storing the required data; and how app development figures into the equation.
New Mastercam 2020 Released June 12, 2019 Tolland, Conn.-based CNC Software Inc., developer of Mastercam CAD/CAM software, announces the release of Mastercam 2020. The new release increases machining productivity and reduces overall production costs with new 2D through multiaxis milling automation features, CAD and model preparation improvements, improved machine configuration, 3D tooling, and more.
New Approaches to Making Parts for the Oil Patch January 28, 2019 Rod Zimmerman of cutting tool manufacturer Iscar Metals lives in a pleasant green zone in a Fort Worth suburb. Yet within a half mile of his home, an oil company has sunk a vertical hole 7,500′ (2,286 m) deep, from which it has splayed nine lateral lines, each going about half a mile.
Automation Marches on at FABTECH November 25, 2019 FABTECH 2019, held Nov. 11-14 at McCormick Place in Chicago, featured multiple educational opportunities for attendees. A key feature of the FABTECH educational program, and one open free to all attendees, were the Leadership Exchange Panels.
Unlocking the Industrial Internet of Things with PLM Software April 4, 2019 Digital manufacturing solutions with product lifecycle management (PLM) tools hold great potential for manufacturers to eventually fully unlock the promise of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
Non-Automotive Manufacturing Sectors Flocking to Robotics February 28, 2019 Cheaper robots with more functions, along with more flexible work cells and installations that facilitate robotics, are accelerating the growth of automated manufacturing facilities in the non-automotive sector. Ideas on whether robotics and automation lead to lights-out manufacturing on the shop floor, though, are mixed.
Optimization Module Tackles Tough Materials March 8, 2019 Most anyone who’s worked in a machine shop for any length of time has at some point attended a trade show or machine tool distributor’s open house. There they see canned demonstrations of CNC machines busily carving up chunks of brass, mild steel, or aluminum into business card holders and tic-tac-toe games.