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Manufacturing Engineering: November 2020

The November 2020 edition of Manufacturing Engineering is available as a digital magazine. Links to individual articles are below.
Medical device supplier .Decimal Inc., Sanford, Fla., builds patient-specific devices for hospitals and cancer centers. Here, a technician prepares a uniform thickness bolus that .Decimal mills from a tissue equivalent wax. The company uses SOLIDWORKS and CAMWorks automation tools to provide same-day shipment and next day delivery on custom medical devices for cancer patients.

New CAD/CAM Options Refine Metalcutting Ops

October 19, 2020
With CAD/CAM software, machine operators and manufacturing engineers are always looking for the latest twists along the route to optimizing their metalcutting performance.
Pat Waurzyniak
By Patrick Waurzyniak Contributing Editor, SME Media
Manufacturing execution systems provide a host of tools that make manufacturing processes more efficient, more predictable, and more profitable.

Gaining Control with MES

October 20, 2020
ERP software developers, resellers, and even consultants might not like to hear this, but no matter how powerful the system, it can still leave a few questions unanswered regarding the shop floor.
Kip Hanson
By Kip Hanson Contributing Editor, SME Media
The Ultra Precision Type hydraulic chuck features runout accuracy of 1 µm at 4xD.

Rising to Toolholding Challenges

October 21, 2020
Difficult materials and high-speed machining don’t just present problems for cutting tools. They can also push toolholders to their limits—and beyond. So manufacturers offer a variety of products designed to get the toolholding job done under extreme machining conditions.
By SME Media Staff
The ZGF-S-Cut by Emuge is tailored for hard metals and exotic materials common in aerospace and medical applications and is designed to resist cuts or fractures. The single plane cutting tool features three rows of cutting teeth.

Thread Mills Take on Tough Materials

October 23, 2020
When it’s time to put threads in parts, particularly those made of difficult-to-machine materials, thread mills are often the right choice. Thread mills cut threads with a cutting head typically smaller than the hole, unlike taps that are sized to match the hole diameter.
Geoff Giordano
By Geoff Giordano Contributing Editor, SME Media
Leandro Pereira (left) and Julio Vasconcelos evaluate cutting tool selection for an upcoming job.

The Connected Machine Shop

October 30, 2020
In this final installment of the Connected Machine Shop series, we’ll tackle the more technical and implementation-oriented aspects of an Industry 4.0 transformation.
By Richard Boyle Manager of Mebane Production Unit, Sandvik Coromant

Shop Solutions

  • MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING

    The Hidden Friction in Automation Integration

    Meaghan Ziemba, Contributing Editor April 16, 2026
    Manufacturers continue to invest in shop-floor automation, but the hardest part of the work rarely starts with choosing a robot, selecting end-of-arm tooling or approving a software platform. Trouble starts when a concept that makes perfect sense in planning is forced to live inside a real factory, where aging equipment, inconsistent inputs, disconnected data, undocumented workarounds and relentless production pressure all shape the outcome. Automation often enters a facility as the answer to a problem, yet implementation has a way of exposing everything that slowed down operations for years.
  • NEWS DESK

    Manufacturing Workers at Higher Risk of Injury

    Michael McConnell April 16, 2026
    Manufacturing remains one of the industries where workers—especially new workers—are more likely to suffer on-the-job injuries.
  • ADDITIVE

    Additive Manufacturing as a Strategic Link Between Defense and Energy

    Eartha Hopkins, Content Coordinator, America Makes April 15, 2026
    Global supply chains continue to face sustained strain, marked by extended lead times, rising costs and limited flexibility when disruptions occur. In the defense and energy sectors, where reliability and responsiveness are mission critical, these pressures pose serious operational risk. Equipment downtime, delayed repairs and constrained access to replacement parts can quickly ripple into readiness gaps or lost production.

Up Front

  • MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING

    The Hidden Friction in Automation Integration

    Meaghan Ziemba, Contributing Editor April 16, 2026
    Manufacturers continue to invest in shop-floor automation, but the hardest part of the work rarely starts with choosing a robot, selecting end-of-arm tooling or approving a software platform. Trouble starts when a concept that makes perfect sense in planning is forced to live inside a real factory, where aging equipment, inconsistent inputs, disconnected data, undocumented workarounds and relentless production pressure all shape the outcome. Automation often enters a facility as the answer to a problem, yet implementation has a way of exposing everything that slowed down operations for years.
  • NEWS DESK

    Manufacturing Workers at Higher Risk of Injury

    Michael McConnell April 16, 2026
    Manufacturing remains one of the industries where workers—especially new workers—are more likely to suffer on-the-job injuries.
  • ADDITIVE

    Additive Manufacturing as a Strategic Link Between Defense and Energy

    Eartha Hopkins, Content Coordinator, America Makes April 15, 2026
    Global supply chains continue to face sustained strain, marked by extended lead times, rising costs and limited flexibility when disruptions occur. In the defense and energy sectors, where reliability and responsiveness are mission critical, these pressures pose serious operational risk. Equipment downtime, delayed repairs and constrained access to replacement parts can quickly ripple into readiness gaps or lost production.

SME Speaks

  • MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING

    The Hidden Friction in Automation Integration

    Meaghan Ziemba, Contributing Editor April 16, 2026
    Manufacturers continue to invest in shop-floor automation, but the hardest part of the work rarely starts with choosing a robot, selecting end-of-arm tooling or approving a software platform. Trouble starts when a concept that makes perfect sense in planning is forced to live inside a real factory, where aging equipment, inconsistent inputs, disconnected data, undocumented workarounds and relentless production pressure all shape the outcome. Automation often enters a facility as the answer to a problem, yet implementation has a way of exposing everything that slowed down operations for years.
  • NEWS DESK

    Manufacturing Workers at Higher Risk of Injury

    Michael McConnell April 16, 2026
    Manufacturing remains one of the industries where workers—especially new workers—are more likely to suffer on-the-job injuries.
  • ADDITIVE

    Additive Manufacturing as a Strategic Link Between Defense and Energy

    Eartha Hopkins, Content Coordinator, America Makes April 15, 2026
    Global supply chains continue to face sustained strain, marked by extended lead times, rising costs and limited flexibility when disruptions occur. In the defense and energy sectors, where reliability and responsiveness are mission critical, these pressures pose serious operational risk. Equipment downtime, delayed repairs and constrained access to replacement parts can quickly ripple into readiness gaps or lost production.

Advanced Manufacturing Now

  • MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING

    The Hidden Friction in Automation Integration

    Meaghan Ziemba, Contributing Editor April 16, 2026
    Manufacturers continue to invest in shop-floor automation, but the hardest part of the work rarely starts with choosing a robot, selecting end-of-arm tooling or approving a software platform. Trouble starts when a concept that makes perfect sense in planning is forced to live inside a real factory, where aging equipment, inconsistent inputs, disconnected data, undocumented workarounds and relentless production pressure all shape the outcome. Automation often enters a facility as the answer to a problem, yet implementation has a way of exposing everything that slowed down operations for years.
  • NEWS DESK

    Manufacturing Workers at Higher Risk of Injury

    Michael McConnell April 16, 2026
    Manufacturing remains one of the industries where workers—especially new workers—are more likely to suffer on-the-job injuries.
  • ADDITIVE

    Additive Manufacturing as a Strategic Link Between Defense and Energy

    Eartha Hopkins, Content Coordinator, America Makes April 15, 2026
    Global supply chains continue to face sustained strain, marked by extended lead times, rising costs and limited flexibility when disruptions occur. In the defense and energy sectors, where reliability and responsiveness are mission critical, these pressures pose serious operational risk. Equipment downtime, delayed repairs and constrained access to replacement parts can quickly ripple into readiness gaps or lost production.

Software Update

  • MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING

    The Hidden Friction in Automation Integration

    Meaghan Ziemba, Contributing Editor April 16, 2026
    Manufacturers continue to invest in shop-floor automation, but the hardest part of the work rarely starts with choosing a robot, selecting end-of-arm tooling or approving a software platform. Trouble starts when a concept that makes perfect sense in planning is forced to live inside a real factory, where aging equipment, inconsistent inputs, disconnected data, undocumented workarounds and relentless production pressure all shape the outcome. Automation often enters a facility as the answer to a problem, yet implementation has a way of exposing everything that slowed down operations for years.
  • NEWS DESK

    Manufacturing Workers at Higher Risk of Injury

    Michael McConnell April 16, 2026
    Manufacturing remains one of the industries where workers—especially new workers—are more likely to suffer on-the-job injuries.
  • ADDITIVE

    Additive Manufacturing as a Strategic Link Between Defense and Energy

    Eartha Hopkins, Content Coordinator, America Makes April 15, 2026
    Global supply chains continue to face sustained strain, marked by extended lead times, rising costs and limited flexibility when disruptions occur. In the defense and energy sectors, where reliability and responsiveness are mission critical, these pressures pose serious operational risk. Equipment downtime, delayed repairs and constrained access to replacement parts can quickly ripple into readiness gaps or lost production.

Viewpoints

  • MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING

    The Hidden Friction in Automation Integration

    Meaghan Ziemba, Contributing Editor April 16, 2026
    Manufacturers continue to invest in shop-floor automation, but the hardest part of the work rarely starts with choosing a robot, selecting end-of-arm tooling or approving a software platform. Trouble starts when a concept that makes perfect sense in planning is forced to live inside a real factory, where aging equipment, inconsistent inputs, disconnected data, undocumented workarounds and relentless production pressure all shape the outcome. Automation often enters a facility as the answer to a problem, yet implementation has a way of exposing everything that slowed down operations for years.
  • NEWS DESK

    Manufacturing Workers at Higher Risk of Injury

    Michael McConnell April 16, 2026
    Manufacturing remains one of the industries where workers—especially new workers—are more likely to suffer on-the-job injuries.
  • ADDITIVE

    Additive Manufacturing as a Strategic Link Between Defense and Energy

    Eartha Hopkins, Content Coordinator, America Makes April 15, 2026
    Global supply chains continue to face sustained strain, marked by extended lead times, rising costs and limited flexibility when disruptions occur. In the defense and energy sectors, where reliability and responsiveness are mission critical, these pressures pose serious operational risk. Equipment downtime, delayed repairs and constrained access to replacement parts can quickly ripple into readiness gaps or lost production.

Medical Special Section

  • MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING

    The Hidden Friction in Automation Integration

    Meaghan Ziemba, Contributing Editor April 16, 2026
    Manufacturers continue to invest in shop-floor automation, but the hardest part of the work rarely starts with choosing a robot, selecting end-of-arm tooling or approving a software platform. Trouble starts when a concept that makes perfect sense in planning is forced to live inside a real factory, where aging equipment, inconsistent inputs, disconnected data, undocumented workarounds and relentless production pressure all shape the outcome. Automation often enters a facility as the answer to a problem, yet implementation has a way of exposing everything that slowed down operations for years.
  • NEWS DESK

    Manufacturing Workers at Higher Risk of Injury

    Michael McConnell April 16, 2026
    Manufacturing remains one of the industries where workers—especially new workers—are more likely to suffer on-the-job injuries.
  • ADDITIVE

    Additive Manufacturing as a Strategic Link Between Defense and Energy

    Eartha Hopkins, Content Coordinator, America Makes April 15, 2026
    Global supply chains continue to face sustained strain, marked by extended lead times, rising costs and limited flexibility when disruptions occur. In the defense and energy sectors, where reliability and responsiveness are mission critical, these pressures pose serious operational risk. Equipment downtime, delayed repairs and constrained access to replacement parts can quickly ripple into readiness gaps or lost production.