Manufacturing Engineering last covered the pluses and minuses of combining additive and subtractive machining in detail in July 2017.

As with so much else in manufacturing, enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is a byproduct of the Third Industrial Revolution. Where electronics began transforming manual lathes and mills into CNC machine tools some 60 years ago, so too have computers and information technology given us CAD/CAM, ERP, PLM, and so much more.

Sophisticated metrology equipment, like coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) and laser scanners, are increasingly seen outside quality labs. “Many companies have cut costs by moving inspection from the lab to the shop floor,” said Matteo Zoin, head of marketing and new market development for Marposs Corp., Auburn Hills, Mich.

In the United States, females earn 61.3 percent of the four-year college degrees and make up over 50.3 percent of the population, but still lag in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) careers.

Before Industry 4.0, it didn’t matter that the CAM software didn’t talk to the ERP system, or that the CNC machine tools were mute. Islands of information were acceptable back then.

The International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS), which would have been held in September in Chicago, has been canceled for the first time since World War II.

The impact of disruptive technology and the benefits of Industry 4.0 digitization of controls, machines and processes have been fully embraced by the metal removal segment of advanced manufacturing.

It is fair to say that IMTS, virtual or otherwise, presents the ultimate manufacturing tool box, where shops can find the newest, most innovative and proven devices for holding, moving, cutting, bending and inspecting workpieces.

Abrasive machining is a tried-and-true technology for meeting exacting tolerances and producing superior finishes. Manufacturers continue to develop new capabilities.

Controls help make modern manufacturing go. Controls help shop floor employees monitor Industry 4.0 technology. Controls also boost productivity on the shop floor. Technology companies are highlighting improvements designed to maintain the forward momentum of advanced technology.

Over the past decade, IMTS has been a good indicator of the changing status of additive manufacturing. The show’s floor space devoted to 3D printing expanded from 2014 to 2018, reaching pavilion status at the most recent show. It had been scheduled to grow even more at IMTS 2020 before the show’s cancellation.