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

Fab Cutting Update: Laser and Waterjet
September 23, 2020
What doesn’t happen in Vegas stays in our magazine. So, we bring you some highlights of the exciting advances in cutting you would have seen at FABTECH 2020 this year in Las Vegas, which has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Welding With Laser
September 24, 2020
As more original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and job shops “warm up” to the idea of laser welding, many have turned their attention to four specific technologies.

Today’s Solid-Carbide Tools Are Top Producers
September 25, 2020
Solid-carbide round tools have seemingly been around forever; before them, high-speed steel (HSS) tools ruled the roost, and after them a growing selection of alternative processes like indexables, EDM, waterjet and now additive manufacturing emerged as competition.

Building and Verifying Tooling for F-35 Fighter Jet Canopy
September 28, 2020
Hockley Pattern & Tool, Halesowen, England, is an example of a company dedicated to the art and science of making perfect tooling.
Shop Solutions
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Tooling & Workholding
Precision Tooling for the World’s Best Woodworking Machines
October 1, 2020Since 1922, Otto Martin Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG has been manufacturing best-in-class woodworking machinery at its production facility in Ottobeuren, located in the idyllic alpine Allgaeu region of southern Germany. -
Automation
Manual Work Meets Modern Automation, Empowers Workers With Handicaps
October 2, 2020In spite of advancing digitalization, manual workstations are still indispensable because automation is not always profitable with small batch quantities or complex processes. -
Machining & Metal Cutting
Marine Engine OEM Gains Production Flexibility with Automated Cells
October 1, 2020Since 1996, the Plant 15 machining operations at Mercury Marine have included a reliance on automated machining cells. Over the years, the Fond du Lac, Wis.-based manufacturer and distributor of marine engines, parts, accessories and integrated systems has phased out some traditional manufacturing methods in favor of modern cells.
Up Front
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Expert Opinion
Big and Small Battles in the War on Cybercrime
September 23, 2020We are at war with cybercriminals. With bad actors ranging from organized crime to hostile foreign governments to individual hackers, security defenses are continuously probed and breached. Like any battle, this one requires broad strategies as well as millions of individual efforts.
SME Speaks
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SME Speaks
Building a Transformational Manufacturing Technology
September 30, 2020Think bigger and think broader. I want to expand what you may think it takes to successfully transition new technology onto the manufacturing floor.
Advanced Manufacturing Now
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Machining & Metal Cutting
e-SPINDLE Monitors Cutting Processes in Real Time
September 24, 2020Manufacturers have begun using sensors and actuators to monitor their cutting processes and adjust parameters to optimize tool life and workpiece quality. However, traditional monitoring systems have some drawbacks. -
Machining & Metal Cutting
Gundrilling for Job Shops
September 25, 2020Today’s job shops can distinguish themselves from competitors by adding deep hole drilling/gundrilling to their offerings. But complex, custom-built machines require more floor space and a bigger investment. -
Grinding & Deburring
How Wheel Arbors Affect Grinder Performance
September 28, 2020Precision grinding operations cover all applications that require dimensions with tight tolerances and low Ra surface finish requirements, including cylindrical external grinding (OD), internal grinding (ID), surface grinding and creepfeed grinding.
Research Focus
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Manufacturing Management
Study Shows Big Increase in Digital Readiness
September 29, 2020While the manufacturing sector generates large amounts of data, relatively few companies have fully harnessed that data to improve operational efficiencies.
Marketing for Manufacturing
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Manufacturing Management
View Marketing as an Investment—Not an Expense
September 29, 2020Peter Drucker, known as the father of modern management, was quoted in a 2006 article in Forbes as saying, “Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two—and only two—basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs.”
Advanced Manufacturing Now
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Machining & Metal Cutting
e-SPINDLE Monitors Cutting Processes in Real Time
September 24, 2020Manufacturers have begun using sensors and actuators to monitor their cutting processes and adjust parameters to optimize tool life and workpiece quality. However, traditional monitoring systems have some drawbacks. -
Machining & Metal Cutting
Gundrilling for Job Shops
September 25, 2020Today’s job shops can distinguish themselves from competitors by adding deep hole drilling/gundrilling to their offerings. But complex, custom-built machines require more floor space and a bigger investment. -
Grinding & Deburring
How Wheel Arbors Affect Grinder Performance
September 28, 2020Precision grinding operations cover all applications that require dimensions with tight tolerances and low Ra surface finish requirements, including cylindrical external grinding (OD), internal grinding (ID), surface grinding and creepfeed grinding.
Workforce Pipeline
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Workforce Development
Transferring Job Knowledge to the New Generation
October 2, 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, page 6, and continued with “Workforce Pipeline” on page 102-103 of the April issue.
Viewpoints
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Welding & Cutting
Welding Automation Addresses Skills Shortage
October 5, 2020Like just about every other manufacturing operation, welding has made the leap into the 21st century with automation, agile manufacturing processes, and offline programming.