Manufacturing Engineering: December 2020
The December 2020 edition of Manufacturing Engineering is available as a digital magazine. Links to individual articles are below.
Machining Low- and Medium-Carbon Steel Alloys
November 13, 2020
Low-carbon and medium-carbon steels form the backbone of virtually every shop’s operations in their general engineering applications and fabricated parts.
By Jim Lorincz
Contributing Editor,
SME Media
Manufacturing (Mostly) Bounces Back After COVID-19
November 17, 2020
Going into this year, economic improvement was forecast for manufacturing after a sluggish second half of 2019. Things weren’t expected to boom, but a solid economic year was supposed to be in the offing.
By Bill Koenig
Senior Editor,
SME Media
Reduce Cost, Increase Speed with Model-Based Definition
November 19, 2020
Manufacturers need to create more production setups as batch sizes get smaller. Skilled labor continues to be hard to hire and keep. Higher levels of automation are needed, not just in material handling but also in fabricating, machining, assembly, and inspection.
By Bruce Morey
Senior Technical Editor,
SME Media
Helping Your Parts Shine On
November 24, 2020
The deburring and finishing of machined and fabricated parts is a necessary but often disregarded step in the manufacturing process.
By Kip Hanson
Contributing Editor,
SME Media
Shop Solutions
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Tooling & WorkholdingShrink-Fit Technology Enhances Shop’s ROI
November 25, 2020Raym-Co Inc., located in Farmington, Conn., is a job shop with a 37,000 ft2 (3,065 m2) facility and approximately 60 CNC machines. -
SoftwareBuilding Custom Guitars Cost-Effectively from Sustainable Materials
November 30, 2020Designing and building unique, custom guitars was the goal for Jonathan “Jay” Miller when he founded Born Custom Guitars.
Up Front
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Expert OpinionManufacturing Embraces Hybrid ‘Reality’
November 12, 2020The virtual world has been encroaching on the “real” world for years, and this year’s COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of virtual reality in our private and working lives.
SME Speaks
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SME SpeaksElectrical Heating in Vacuum Applications
November 20, 2020Applying electrical heat to materials under vacuum can be an important manufacturing process to ensure product quality when drying, high-purity processing or when other vacuum-type heating is required.
Advanced Manufacturing Now
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Tooling & WorkholdingExpanding Beyond Legacy Tapping Products
November 16, 2020Now on its third generation of family ownership, Tapmatic Corp. of Post Falls, Idaho, continues to thrive, and surprise. -
Welding & CuttingAdaptive Welding Key to Power Generation
November 18, 2020While water and fire tube boiler power plants may be considered archaic, they now power much of North America and will for some time, even as newer, cleaner, greener tech transitions into the mainstream and becomes practical.
Additive Manufacturing Update
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Additive Manufacturing & 3D PrintingMetal AM: Challenging the Paradigm
November 23, 2020The industry standard for 3D printing metal surfaces [without supports] is 45o, as measured from the horizontal plane. That’s what most printers are capable of achieving without supports.
Workforce Pipeline
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Workforce DevelopmentCompact Waterjets: The Perfect Teaching Tool
December 1, 2020At trade schools, universities and high schools, abrasive waterjet cutting machines provide an excellent teaching tool. They are simple, versatile, easy to use—and easy on the budget.
Viewpoints
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Expert OpinionTime to Invest for the Manufacturing Upswing
December 3, 2020While most companies tend to postpone or cancel investments in challenging business environments, others view them as ideal times to invest in improved business processes, facilities, human resources, and technology.
Energy Special Section
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Machining & Metal CuttingPower Parts
December 2, 2020Need a little good news? America’s seemingly insatiable need for electricity is producing strong demand for the components that go into power generation equipment.