Welding Automation Addresses Skills Shortage October 5, 2020 Like just about every other manufacturing operation, welding has made the leap into the 21st century with automation, agile manufacturing processes, and offline programming.
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.
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.
Fastems To Host Online Open House & Conference on Nov. 4 September 23, 2020 Fastems Group will host an online Open House & Conference entitled "Productivity Beyond Machine Tending" on November 4, 2020, starting at 11:00 EST. The virtual event will showcase the latest developments in automation and surrounding technologies to all metalworking manufacturers.
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.
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.
