Okaloosa Manufacturing – Playing Well in a Great Sandbox June 5, 2020 Machining, the military and magnificent beaches work well together in Okaloosa County, Florida. Famous sugar-white sands are frosting on the cake when companies examine the business-friendly climate, educational opportunities and quality of life in Okaloosa County.
UR Helps Tool Gauge Double Production of Components October 13, 2020 Tacoma, Washington-based Tool Gauge manufactures precision metal and plastic components and assemblies for the aerospace industry.
Demand for Automation, Robots Spikes September 4, 2020 Demand for automation and robots is surging in multiple industries, including automotive, writes the CEO of Thomas.com.
Adaptive Robots: BFFs for Small-Batch Automation August 18, 2020 Manufacturing engineers, information technologists, and “smart” robots in flexible manufacturing cells are working ever more closely in manufacturing companies around the world.
Pandemic Makes Case for More Automation, Robotics September 21, 2020 Listen to this Smart Manufacturing magazine article: Pandemic makes case for more automation, robotics. Outbreak poised to prompt changes in the way manufacturers use automation.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Grinding Precision and Productivity Reach New Heights May 20, 2020 Grinding, like all machining processes, is generally thought of as a process of tradeoffs. To gain one attribute, you have to sacrifice another. However, that is not always true.