Manufacturing USA Advancing Manufacturing and Increasing Competitiveness in the US

Manufacturers and businesses around the globe are facing an entirely new environment for operating and selling due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. But it’s not just global pandemics than can test an organization’s ability to succeed. Associate Editor Chris Mahar speaks with Ankit Shah, Senior Manager, Product Marketing at Quick Base, about how low-code platforms can help businesses become more flexible and adapt quicker to market and operational changes. Building operational agility that can enable them to flourish in difficult times and markets.

Craig Zoberis and Davin Erickson detail how Fusion OEM discovered and implemented collaborative robots, or cobots. The company is now investing in future expert machinists by using cobots—and making headway in closing the manufacturing industry skills gap. They explain the phases of training for cobots, as well as how cobots “talk” with other machines—and how machines perform “handshakes” (and are therefore envied by humans who today are struggling with social distancing).

Auto collisions have long been a fact of life but taking care of the damage has become a more complicated task for auto body shops in recent years. In this episode, Alan Rooks, Editor in Chief of Manufacturing Engineering magazine, talks with Shawn Moody, owner of Moody’s Collision Shops, based in Gorham, Maine, about how automotive products have evolved over the past four decades; how abrasive products have evolved during that same time; what are the costs and benefits of using higher-end abrasives; and the types of new equipment body shops need to purchase to keep up with new technology.

Diego Tamburini, principal industry lead for manufacturing in the cloud + AI division of Microsoft, reviews the impact of the COVID-19 crisis in manufacturing. He shares his thoughts about how the industry should respond—and lists the attributes of manufacturers best positioned to survive the crisis. Finally, he outlines new opportunities for developers of smart manufacturing software solutions under the “new normal.”

With the general trend towards offering a number of products as a service, this podcast discusses the idea of Manufacturing-as-a-Service with Greg Paulsen/Director of Application Engineering for Xometry, hosted by Bruce Morey, Senior Technical Editor for Manufacturing Engineering Magazine.

New vibro-acoustic technologies are creating new opportunities, particularly in space engineering. In this podcast, Alan Rooks, Editor in Chief of Manufacturing Engineering Magazine, talks with Bryce Gardner, Lead Acoustic Scientist—Vibro-Acoustics, and Ignatius Vaz, Senior Technical Development Manager, both with ESI Group, about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the vibro-acoustic engineering industry; how the space industry, including rocket launching, is using vibro-acoustics; how vibro-acoustics is changing with modern analysis software and testing procedures; and how new ray tracing technology is contributing to launch-pad acoustic calculations.