Manufacturing Engineering: November 2019
The November 2019 edition of Manufacturing Engineering is available as a digital magazine. Links to individual articles are below.
Adapting Metal Cutting to Higher Power, Higher-Speed Lasers
October 25, 2019
Using lasers to cut metal, especially sheet metal or tubes, continues to show its value. The market is becoming dominated by the newer solid-state fiber laser over its CO2 gas rival. Fiber’s advantages in ease of operation, packaging and efficiency are clear.
By Bruce Morey
Senior Technical Editor,
SME Media
Fast, Reliable Abrasive Waterjets Offer New Cutting Efficiencies
October 25, 2019
Abrasive waterjet machining technologies promise fast, clean cutting with high-pressure waterjets approaching 100,000 psi (689 MPa.)
By Patrick Waurzyniak
Contributing Editor,
SME Media
Traditional Versus Laser Welding
October 28, 2019
With much faster processing speeds and higher quality, you might think laser welding would quickly take over the field. But traditional welding hangs on. And depending on who you ask and what applications you consider, it may never go away.
By Ed Sinkora
Contributing Editor,
SME Media
EDM Performance Up, Manufacturing Costs Down
October 28, 2019
Manufacturers of products as diverse as die and mold, aerospace and medical devices are gaining advantage with improved wire and sinker electrical discharge machines (EDM).
By Jim Lorincz
Contributing Editor,
SME Media
Generative Design and the Conventional Machine Shop
October 29, 2019
The term generative design has been popping up in the manufacturing world of late. Its promise is to create many design permutations to let engineers choose an optimum one that meets sometimes conflicting requirements.
Shop Solutions
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Tooling & WorkholdingAchieving the ‘Impossible’ is All in a Day’s Work for Optical Product Manufacturer
October 29, 2019Precision Tool Technologies Inc., Brainerd, Minn., is a manufacturer and distributor of high quality products and services for wholesale optical laboratories and retail optical industries. -
Smart Manufacturing
Virtual Reality Factory Model for Manufacturing Innovation
October 30, 2019The Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM), Prince George County, Va., brings together industry, academia, and government to solve advanced manufacturing challenges. -
Lasers
New System Improves Fiber Laser Welding of Aerospace and Defense Assemblies
October 30, 2019Fiber laser welding is all about control of the process, according to Kurt Magedanz, laser process engineer at Ace Precision Machining Corp., Oconomowoc, Wis. With its new Laserdyne 430 systems, Ace Precision has made huge strides with weld quality while reducing operator intervention in the process.
Upfront
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Expert Opinion
FABTECH Keeps the Heat On
October 31, 2019FABTECH is coming to my home town, Chicago, and I’m looking forward to it. Along with IMTS and EMO, it’s one of the top-shelf manufacturing trade shows and it’s big enough to keep people coming back every year to see new technology, get educated and network with their peers.
Advanced Manufacturing Now
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Tooling & Workholding
Right Number of End Mill Flutes Equals Machining Wins
October 31, 2019When it comes to the number of flutes on an end mill, the right choice always depends on machine tool capabilities, material properties and part design. Shops that select the wrong number of flutes—or use a tool simply because they own it—may be disappointed to find that their part quality, tool life or both will suffer. -
Controls
PIM Is Transforming Data Sharing for Automotive
November 1, 2019Much has changed in the world of automotive accessory designing, engineering, and manufacturing in the past few years. Sales and after sales of automotive parts have witnessed a surge in data-usage across the horizontal and vertical value chains between suppliers, business partners, internal departments, and the end-customers. -
Tooling & Workholding
Workholding Advances with Collet Chucks
November 4, 2019As parts and materials have advanced, tools and methods that were once standard have been replaced by better, more advanced technologies. It is important to recognize the advancements essential to your operation. -
Machining & Metal Cutting
How Dynamic Milling Produces Superior Results
November 4, 2019Dynamic milling is becoming more popular due to its ability to improve material removal rates while maintaining process security. Incorporating two different machining strategies creates the dynamic milling concept and allows for advantages not previously realized.
SME Speaks
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SME Speaks
Manufacturing’s Multigenerational Workforce
November 5, 2019The renowned computer scientist Alan Kay once said, “Technology is anything that wasn’t around when you were born.’’
Workforce Pipeline
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Workforce Development
Public/Private Partnership Creates New Manufacturing Training Facility at HVCC
November 5, 2019This past August, when we officially opened the Gene F. Haas Center for Advanced Manufacturing Skills (CAMS) at Hudson Valley Community College, Troy, N.Y., there were smiling faces all around—industry donors, federal and state representatives, and, most of all, faculty and students who were poised to begin working and learning in a state-of-the-art facility.
Viewpoints
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Expert Opinion
Barriers to Industry 4.0 Are Falling Fast
November 5, 2019For years, manufacturers of all sizes and across every industrial segment have heard about Industry 4.0. The definition changes depending on the speaker or publication, but the essential idea remains the same.
Software Update
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Measurement & Metrology
Hexagon Moves Beyond Metrology
November 5, 2019Describe Hexagon’s latest moves in factory automation, including unifying its metrology software with its CAD/CAM and other manufacturing software.
Energy Special Section
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Expert Opinion
U.S. on Verge of New Status as a Net Energy Exporter
November 7, 2019The United States is about to begin a new era as a net energy exporter, according to U.S. Energy Department projections. The shift will snap a 67-year streak of being a net energy importer, going back to 1953. -
Additive Manufacturing & 3D Printing
Energy Parts Machining
November 7, 2019The ever-volatile oil and natural gas industry—roiled most recently by September’s drone attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities that temporarily reduced the kingdom’s output by nearly half (about 5 percent of global production)—faces particularly challenging requirements for machined components to meet evolving supply targets. -
Smart Manufacturing
Power Play
November 8, 2019Located at the center of Canada’s Niagara Peninsula, Brock University is a public research university in St. Catharines, Ontario, with a total enrollment of over 19,000 students. Graduates enjoy one of the highest employment rates of all Ontario universities—96.5 percent within two years of graduation. -
Expert Opinion
Microgrids Power Energy Resiliency, Reduced Carbon Emissions
November 8, 2019According to the Eaton Blackout Tracker, 36.7 million people were affected by more than 3,500 power outages in the U.S. in 2017 alone. These outages lasted twice as long as the year before, keeping the lights off for an average of nearly eight hours per disruption.
