No Plan B – COVID-19 Exposes Technical Education’s Shortcomings April 22, 2020 With widespread stay-at-home orders, and to contain the spread of COVID-19, many manufacturers, unless deemed essential, have closed shop and sent workers home. The resulting loss in productivity has forced companies and teachers to utilize the time to provide or continue with remote e-learning.
CESMII’s SMIP shines in test drive July 15, 2020 In a recent demonstration of the vendor-agnostic Smart Manufacturing Innovation Platform (SMIP) from CESMII, project partners first helped managers of North Carolina State University’s water purification plant get off the dime and analyze the data they were collecting with smart instruments.
The Gears Have It January 24, 2020 When it comes to making something move, whether it be a robot arm, machine head, assembly line or more, you need to get the power from where it is generated to where the movement happens – enter gearboxes. Mike Quaas, President of DieQua, sits down with Chris Mahar, Associate Editor, to talk about the world of automation and how gearboxes are critical to its deployment. Gearboxes have been around for hundreds or years, but today’s engineers have more choices than ever in how to utilize their power.
OMIC R&D Begins Sponsored Research Project in Robotics for SMW-AUTOBLOK November 19, 2020 The Oregon Manufacturing Innovation Center Research and Development (OMIC R&D), a manufacturing research campus hosted by Oregon Tech, has received a $154,000 sponsored project from SMW-AUTOBLOK Corp.
The Diversification Crisis in Manufacturing November 12, 2020 According to a survey conducted by ISM, 75 percent of U.S. manufacturing companies experienced delayed resources and materials due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The outbreak has forced manufacturers to rethink supply chains to allow for product diversification.
FANUC, Plus One Form Alliance December 2, 2020 FANUC America and Plus One Robotics said they have paired their technologies to meet the needs of their mutual customers in e-commerce.
Okuma’s 5-Step Pre-Automation Checklist to Maximize Productivity August 19, 2020 With the potential for a 30% productivity increase or even more, there's a strong incentive for automating CNC machining processes. But before you flip the switch on that robot, you’ll need to check out the surrounding tools and processes.
Are Cobots Inherently Safe? February 21, 2020 The “Global Robotics Report 2019” found that 79 percent of automation distributors do not believe their customers understand the safety requirements of installing a collaborative robot, or cobot.
How Machine Shops Can Benefit from New Automation Technology October 9, 2020 As automation technology becomes more effective, cost effective, and easier to implement, job shops are automating more and more of their processes. In this episode, Alan Rooks, editor in chief of Manufacturing Engineering magazine, talks with Michael Gaunce, group manager, stationary workholding for Schunk Inc., about what a small to medium size job shop should consider when starting and exploration into automation; the particular machines or jobs that are easier to automate over others; why high part quantities are not needed in order to automate a job; what types of skills a shop should look for in employees working with automation; and how to define categories for the different styles of automation used in machine tool tending.
How Bright is the Future of Automation? April 17, 2020 In the 1955 short story “Autofac,” Philip K. Dick envisioned a world dominated by self-replicating robots that work incessantly, eventually depleting the planet’s resources.