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Manufacturing Engineering: September 2020

The September 2020 edition of Manufacturing Engineering is available as a digital magazine. Links to individual articles are below.
Employees at a Ford plant in Dearborn work on an F-150 pickup after production resumed in May following a shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Auto Industry Gets Back Into Gear Following COVID-19 Shutdown

August 17, 2020
The North American auto industry slammed on the brakes in March because of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The sector already had been forecast to slow down in 2020, with lower light-vehicle demand. That turned into a sudden stop as the coronavirus spread.
Bill Koenig
By Bill Koenig Senior Editor, SME Media
Induction hardening: OP50 in a complete EMAG line producing rotors for electric motors.

Making Parts for Next-Gen Vehicles

August 18, 2020
Tesla and the march to all-electric cars and trucks may get most of the press. But the reality is that most U.S. automakers need to tackle the twin challenges of building both new components unique to electric vehicles while also building internal combustion engines (ICEs) that are ever-more fuel efficient.
Ed Sinkora
By Ed Sinkora Contributing Editor, SME Media
Shops have become far more interested in robotics since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Making Robots Smarter and Safer

August 19, 2020
COVID-19 has taught manufacturers a valuable lesson: when humans fall ill, machine tools and equipment sit idle. Granted, they already knew it, just as they knew that employees take lunch breaks and vacations, arrive late because their car won’t start, and go work at the shop down the street for fifty cents more an hour.
Kip Hanson
By Kip Hanson Contributing Editor, SME Media
The new-generation CONTURA keeps the old version’s measurement accuracy but adds a wider range of capabilities.

CMMs: More Than Precision

August 20, 2020
The makers of coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) spent a long time in competition to reach the highest levels of repeatable measurement accuracy.
Michael Anderson
By Michael C. Anderson Contributing Lead Editor
Manufacturers of mold bases use jig boring and jig milling machines to finish precision bores that can feature tolerances of less than 5 µm in roundness, perpendicularity, and straightness.

Moldmakers Power Up With Advanced Tech

August 21, 2020
Complex molds containing cores and cavities with fine details and demanding surface finish requirements for injection molding, blow molding, glass molding or blow molding parts require high accuracy for use in automotive, medical, aerospace, or consumer products.
Jim Lorincz
By Jim Lorincz Contributing Editor, SME Media
(Left to right) Julio Vasconcelos, Denny Page and Leandro Pereira, responsible for Sandvik Coromant’s production unit in Mebane, N.C., examining data from machining operations.

The Connected Machine Shop

August 24, 2020
Part 1 of this three-part series on the Connected Machine Shop ran in the July issue of Manufacturing Engineering.
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.