Manufacturing Engineering: April 2020
The April 2020 edition of Manufacturing Engineering is available as a digital magazine. Links to individual articles are below.

The Promise of Next-Level Automation
March 24, 2020
Edge. Cloud. Digital twin. AI. AR. VR. Cobots. Once they were buzzwords. Now, they are becoming technical realities in mid- to large-scale manufacturing plants in North America.

Hey, Job Shops: Time to Automate!
March 25, 2020
Robots and job shops have not typically been talked about together. After all, everyone knows that automation is only suitable for high-volume production, and the typical mom-and-pop operation is anything but—its schedule filled with orders for high-mix, low-volume, and often highly complex work.

Tips for Choosing a CNC
March 26, 2020
Like most of the digital architecture of manufacturing, computer numerical controllers (CNCs) have advanced rapidly in recent years, producing far more processing speed and implementing advanced algorithms, while at the same time offering simpler, more intuitive user interfaces.

HMCs Offer Perfect Platform for Flexibility, Performance
March 27, 2020
Horizontal machining center technology—a long-time mainstay of OEMs and Tier One contract manufacturers—has morphed into space efficient, versatile machining platforms that any high-mix job shop can benefit from.

Trust and Truth: How Blockchain is Forming the Foundation of the Next Manufacturing Renaissance
February 6, 2020
Amid predictions of global economic slowdowns and several recent PMI readings indicating manufacturing contraction, it becomes easy to see how slow production performance and data inefficiencies throughout the manufacturing supply chain contribute to economic uncertainty and concerns for future business.
Shop Solutions
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Machining & Metal Cutting
Machine Footprint, Cutting Power Surpasses Arizona Shop’s Expectations
March 31, 2020Alicat Scientific is an ISO 9001 manufacturer of mass flow meters, mass flow controllers and pressure controllers for gases and liquids. Based in Tucson, Ariz., Alicat has been designing and manufacturing precision instruments since its inception in 1991. -
Automation
Hitachi Powdered Metals Embraces Robotic Automation, Boosts Volume 400 percent in Tight Labor Market
March 30, 2020Hitachi Powdered Metals (USA) Inc. began a gradual investment in industrial robots at their Greensburg, Ind. plant in 2005, driven by the emergence of a tightening labor market and the opportunity to produce an extremely fragile product.
Up Front
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Expert Opinion
How Manufacturers Can Cope with COVID-19
March 24, 2020There’s a big new trend sweeping the world, and not in a good way. The new coronavirus goes by other names, including COVID-19, the novel coronavirus, and SARS-CoV-2, but by any name it is bad news.
SME Speaks
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SME Speaks
Serving the Composites Community: A Q&A with Douglas Decker
March 30, 2020We sat down recently with SME Fellow Douglas Decker, an internationally known expert in the field of advanced composites fabrication and assembly, to discuss his background and innovative approaches on several critical military programs.
Advanced Manufacturing Now
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Additive Manufacturing & 3D Printing
Science Precedes Regulations in Bioprinting
March 25, 2020In the 1970s, medical specialists made advances in in-vitro fertilization that leapfrogged laws and regulations. The same is true today for bioprinting human organs for transplant. -
Measurement & Metrology
Automated Metrology in Manufacturing
March 26, 2020Modern manufacturing is a data-driven endeavor. The sheer volume of data available to be collected and analyzed is staggering—and something that couldn’t have been envisioned even 20 years ago.
Research Focus
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Smart Manufacturing
The Challenge of Implementing New Technology
March 27, 2020Many organizations struggle with applying new technology in their manufacturing operations. SME conducted the Manufacturing Technology Harmonization Study to understand how companies approach this challenge of integrating smart manufacturing, big data, and both new and old capital equipment in a cost-effective and practical implementation.
Workforce Pipeline
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Expert Opinion
Can Manufacturers Bridge the Skills Gap?
April 1, 2020This article is based on the Workforce Leadership Exchange held at FABTECH 2019 in Chicago. It is the continuation of coverage that began with the Up Front column in Manufacturing Engineering, January 2020.
Viewpoints
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Expert Opinion
From Shop Floor to Ecosystems, Trust is Vital
April 2, 2020For the last few years, many of us in the manufacturing automation field have expressed the need to “build bridges to everywhere” within the context of Industry 4.0. It is a way to describe the capability and the goal of connecting shop floor resources, for example single machines with pallet pools, machines with robotic machine tending, and multi-machine cells and FMSs.