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SME
Media
Manufacturing Engineering & Technology Magazine
September 2020
Manufacturing Engineering: September 2020
The September 2020 edition of Manufacturing Engineering is available as a digital magazine. Links to individual articles are below.
View Digital Magazine
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.
By
Bill Koenig
Senior Editor,
SME Media
COVID-19
Manufacturing Management
Motorized Vehicles
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.
By
Ed Sinkora
Contributing Editor,
SME Media
Manufacturing Management
Motorized Vehicles
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.
By
Kip Hanson
Contributing Editor,
SME Media
Automation
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.
By
Michael C. Anderson
Contributing Lead Editor
Measurement & Metrology
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.
By
Jim Lorincz
Contributing Editor,
SME Media
Machining & Metal Cutting
Tooling & Workholding
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
Smart Manufacturing
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.