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

New Ventures, Partnerships, Strong Growth Power AM
February 20, 2020
Each year, users the world over—and some in outer space—discover new ways to put additive manufacturing (AM) to work. AM contributes to product improvements, increased efficiency, green initiatives, global partnerships, material developments, and groundbreaking innovations.

Metal Milestones in 3D Printing
February 21, 2020
Compared to machining and other traditional metalworking processes, additive manufacturing (AM) is a newcomer. Most industry experts trace its birth to 1987, when Chuck Hull of 3D Systems fame introduced the first commercially available stereolithography machine, the SLA-1.

New Polymer Applications in Additive Manufacturing
February 24, 2020
The 3D printing of polymers has been around for over 30 years. And as Patrick Dunne, vice president of advanced application development for 3D Systems Inc., Berkeley, Calif., put it, there are significant applications across many different industries.

Parting & Grooving: Advanced Tech Delivers Quality Parts, Results
February 25, 2020
One thing that’s certain in developing the most cost-effective solutions for part-off and grooving applications is that there is not just one way to approach the problem and meet basic process requirements for chip evacuation, tool life and surface finish.

Simulation Software For Error-Free Metalcutting
February 26, 2020
Manufacturers must avoid costly machine errors that cause catastrophic damage to both machine tools and expensive workpieces. Even a minor error in, say, a titanium aerospace component can be a major expense.
Shop Solutions
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Machining & Metal Cutting
Shop Cuts Machining Steps From Six to Two, Generates More Business
February 27, 2020Honeycutt Manufacturing, Mukilteo, Wash., a job shop that serves the aerospace, marine and general industrial markets, made a major investment recently in a Grob G550T five-axis universal machining center. -
Machining & Metal Cutting
Toolpath Simulation Allows Shop to Go ‘Crash-Free in Conroe’
February 28, 2020Gassed up your car this week? If so, you might want to thank Conroe Machine LLC. That’s because among the many parts machined by this specialty job shop in Conroe, Texas are most of the components used to build downhole positive displacement motors (PDMs.)
Advanced Manufacturing Now
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Automation
Are Cobots Inherently Safe?
February 21, 2020The “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. -
Tooling & Workholding
Gear Machining Made Easy: TNC Cycles for Skiving
February 24, 2020Machining gears is still regarded by many machine tool operators as a true challenge and a realm reserved exclusively for specialists.
SME Speaks
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SME Speaks
SME’s Additive Manufacturing Community Celebrates Over 30 Years of Activity
February 26, 2020This year, SME’s RAPID + TCT event is celebrating 30 years. As one of the preeminent events in the additive manufacturing industry, this fact may be lost on few.
Research Focus
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Additive Manufacturing & 3D Printing
Metal Additive Manufacturing on the Upswing
February 25, 2020While it’s still considered early-stage, metal additive manufacturing/3D printing (AM/3DP) is an important part of the growth in the global additive manufacturing market as it helps manufacturers produce stronger and lighter parts, improve efficiencies, reduce waste, lower emissions, and increase speed to market.
Workforce Pipeline
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Additive Manufacturing & 3D Printing
HS Students ‘Pedal’ Towards Manufacturing Jobs
February 28, 2020At Temescal Canyon High School in Lake Elsinore, Calif., I’m fortunate to work in a district that is supportive of career-oriented programs.
Viewpoints
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Additive Manufacturing & 3D Printing
How Viable is Additive Manufacturing?
February 28, 2020In 1984, Charles Hull invented the first 3D printer, which used stereolithography to build up a plastic product layer by layer. Over 35 years later, additive manufacturing (AM) is drastically altering a range of industries, from manufacturing to the medical sector.
Software Update
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Software
Simulation Drives Advanced Manufacturing Trends
February 27, 2020Simulation software has traditionally been used to predict the behavior of a product or system before designs are finalized and to understand the cause of failures after they have happened so that they can be avoided in the future.