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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

  • SME SPEAKS

    EOS Consultant on Finding Your True North in Manufacturing

    Yash Parikh, PhD, Process Engineering Consultant, EOS; SME Member Since 2021 July 14, 2026
    The first time I held a metal part fresh off a laser powder bed fusion build, I felt the same excitement many young engineers feel when a new technology works as promised. The geometry was there and the build was completed. But I also felt uneasiness.
  • ADDITIVE

    Turning Plastic into 3D-Printed Profits

    Michael McConnell July 14, 2026
    Aaron Osirus noticed a lot of his classmates were always playing with fidget spinners. It gave the 12-year-old an idea: Why not make his own and sell them to other students?
  • NEWS DESK

    Hypertherm Launches Quote Manager for Faster, Accurate Pricing

    PRESS RELEASE: Hypertherm Associates July 14, 2026
    Hypertherm Associates, a U.S.-based leading manufacturer of industrial cutting systems and software, launched Quote Manager, a new optional module for its ProNest nesting software. This web-based application extends precision quoting capabilities across the organization, enabling faster, more confident pricing decisions grounded in real production data.

Up Front

  • SME SPEAKS

    EOS Consultant on Finding Your True North in Manufacturing

    Yash Parikh, PhD, Process Engineering Consultant, EOS; SME Member Since 2021 July 14, 2026
    The first time I held a metal part fresh off a laser powder bed fusion build, I felt the same excitement many young engineers feel when a new technology works as promised. The geometry was there and the build was completed. But I also felt uneasiness.
  • ADDITIVE

    Turning Plastic into 3D-Printed Profits

    Michael McConnell July 14, 2026
    Aaron Osirus noticed a lot of his classmates were always playing with fidget spinners. It gave the 12-year-old an idea: Why not make his own and sell them to other students?
  • NEWS DESK

    Hypertherm Launches Quote Manager for Faster, Accurate Pricing

    PRESS RELEASE: Hypertherm Associates July 14, 2026
    Hypertherm Associates, a U.S.-based leading manufacturer of industrial cutting systems and software, launched Quote Manager, a new optional module for its ProNest nesting software. This web-based application extends precision quoting capabilities across the organization, enabling faster, more confident pricing decisions grounded in real production data.

SME Speaks

  • SME SPEAKS

    EOS Consultant on Finding Your True North in Manufacturing

    Yash Parikh, PhD, Process Engineering Consultant, EOS; SME Member Since 2021 July 14, 2026
    The first time I held a metal part fresh off a laser powder bed fusion build, I felt the same excitement many young engineers feel when a new technology works as promised. The geometry was there and the build was completed. But I also felt uneasiness.
  • ADDITIVE

    Turning Plastic into 3D-Printed Profits

    Michael McConnell July 14, 2026
    Aaron Osirus noticed a lot of his classmates were always playing with fidget spinners. It gave the 12-year-old an idea: Why not make his own and sell them to other students?
  • NEWS DESK

    Hypertherm Launches Quote Manager for Faster, Accurate Pricing

    PRESS RELEASE: Hypertherm Associates July 14, 2026
    Hypertherm Associates, a U.S.-based leading manufacturer of industrial cutting systems and software, launched Quote Manager, a new optional module for its ProNest nesting software. This web-based application extends precision quoting capabilities across the organization, enabling faster, more confident pricing decisions grounded in real production data.

Advanced Manufacturing Now

  • SME SPEAKS

    EOS Consultant on Finding Your True North in Manufacturing

    Yash Parikh, PhD, Process Engineering Consultant, EOS; SME Member Since 2021 July 14, 2026
    The first time I held a metal part fresh off a laser powder bed fusion build, I felt the same excitement many young engineers feel when a new technology works as promised. The geometry was there and the build was completed. But I also felt uneasiness.
  • ADDITIVE

    Turning Plastic into 3D-Printed Profits

    Michael McConnell July 14, 2026
    Aaron Osirus noticed a lot of his classmates were always playing with fidget spinners. It gave the 12-year-old an idea: Why not make his own and sell them to other students?
  • NEWS DESK

    Hypertherm Launches Quote Manager for Faster, Accurate Pricing

    PRESS RELEASE: Hypertherm Associates July 14, 2026
    Hypertherm Associates, a U.S.-based leading manufacturer of industrial cutting systems and software, launched Quote Manager, a new optional module for its ProNest nesting software. This web-based application extends precision quoting capabilities across the organization, enabling faster, more confident pricing decisions grounded in real production data.

Software Update

  • SME SPEAKS

    EOS Consultant on Finding Your True North in Manufacturing

    Yash Parikh, PhD, Process Engineering Consultant, EOS; SME Member Since 2021 July 14, 2026
    The first time I held a metal part fresh off a laser powder bed fusion build, I felt the same excitement many young engineers feel when a new technology works as promised. The geometry was there and the build was completed. But I also felt uneasiness.
  • ADDITIVE

    Turning Plastic into 3D-Printed Profits

    Michael McConnell July 14, 2026
    Aaron Osirus noticed a lot of his classmates were always playing with fidget spinners. It gave the 12-year-old an idea: Why not make his own and sell them to other students?
  • NEWS DESK

    Hypertherm Launches Quote Manager for Faster, Accurate Pricing

    PRESS RELEASE: Hypertherm Associates July 14, 2026
    Hypertherm Associates, a U.S.-based leading manufacturer of industrial cutting systems and software, launched Quote Manager, a new optional module for its ProNest nesting software. This web-based application extends precision quoting capabilities across the organization, enabling faster, more confident pricing decisions grounded in real production data.

Viewpoints

  • SME SPEAKS

    EOS Consultant on Finding Your True North in Manufacturing

    Yash Parikh, PhD, Process Engineering Consultant, EOS; SME Member Since 2021 July 14, 2026
    The first time I held a metal part fresh off a laser powder bed fusion build, I felt the same excitement many young engineers feel when a new technology works as promised. The geometry was there and the build was completed. But I also felt uneasiness.
  • ADDITIVE

    Turning Plastic into 3D-Printed Profits

    Michael McConnell July 14, 2026
    Aaron Osirus noticed a lot of his classmates were always playing with fidget spinners. It gave the 12-year-old an idea: Why not make his own and sell them to other students?
  • NEWS DESK

    Hypertherm Launches Quote Manager for Faster, Accurate Pricing

    PRESS RELEASE: Hypertherm Associates July 14, 2026
    Hypertherm Associates, a U.S.-based leading manufacturer of industrial cutting systems and software, launched Quote Manager, a new optional module for its ProNest nesting software. This web-based application extends precision quoting capabilities across the organization, enabling faster, more confident pricing decisions grounded in real production data.

Medical Special Section

  • SME SPEAKS

    EOS Consultant on Finding Your True North in Manufacturing

    Yash Parikh, PhD, Process Engineering Consultant, EOS; SME Member Since 2021 July 14, 2026
    The first time I held a metal part fresh off a laser powder bed fusion build, I felt the same excitement many young engineers feel when a new technology works as promised. The geometry was there and the build was completed. But I also felt uneasiness.
  • ADDITIVE

    Turning Plastic into 3D-Printed Profits

    Michael McConnell July 14, 2026
    Aaron Osirus noticed a lot of his classmates were always playing with fidget spinners. It gave the 12-year-old an idea: Why not make his own and sell them to other students?
  • NEWS DESK

    Hypertherm Launches Quote Manager for Faster, Accurate Pricing

    PRESS RELEASE: Hypertherm Associates July 14, 2026
    Hypertherm Associates, a U.S.-based leading manufacturer of industrial cutting systems and software, launched Quote Manager, a new optional module for its ProNest nesting software. This web-based application extends precision quoting capabilities across the organization, enabling faster, more confident pricing decisions grounded in real production data.