June 2020
The June 2020 edition of Smart Manufacturing is now available as a digital magazine. Links to individual articles are below.

For older workers, wearables are where it's at
May 13, 2020
When the ergonomics team at General Motors decided to field test wearables to augment their plant workers’ physical abilities, they partnered with body mechanics experts who collect data in a scientific way—and talked with users.

Crossing the digital divide key to improving labor productivity
May 18, 2020
Inside an electronics factory in China as late as early 2019, workers and smart machines were building circuit boards with chips in a multi-step process using a variety of machines from different vendors.

The 20 most influential professors in smart manufacturing
May 13, 2020
Innovation in smart manufacturing can come in a flash from a lightbulb moment, but those instances are few. More often than not, breakthroughs in technology, such as bioprinting, blockchain, cloud-based manufacturing and real-time production control, happen after years of careful study accompanied by painstaking, methodical work done sometimes in academic settings.

For manufacturers and 5G, it’s still ‘early days’
May 14, 2020
Although the first iteration of 5G technology has offered limited use cases in manufacturing, the next two generations, now expected to be available in the fall of this year and then the fall of next year because of COVID-19-related delays, will help factory owners achieve greater digital transformation of their factories.

One man's war on disaster
May 12, 2020
Factory safety is not a theoretical issue for Gabe Glynn, CEO of the wearable tech firm MākuSafe.

MxD succeeds in encouraging firms of all sizes, schools to mix well
May 26, 2020
The figurative skull and crossbones marking the tech-demo and -validation period commonly called the “valley of death” are in the rearview mirror, MxD CEO Chandra Brown asserts.
Upfront
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Smart Manufacturing
Wearables can help with worker safety, retention
May 15, 2020We have been remiss in not reporting a great deal on wearables since starting this magazine in early 2016. So, in this issue, we tackle that subject on two fronts of great import: worker safety and worker retention.
AM Update
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Additive Manufacturing & 3D Printing
Tooling up: Kennametal really gets into additive
April 6, 2020Kennametal is focused on the additive applications where we can leverage our core capabilities in delivering material properties for demanding applications in wear, erosion, corrosion and high temperatures.
Passport to Innovation
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COVID-19
What supply chain players are learning from the pandemic
March 31, 2020In the U.S., we are not seeing any specific localized disruption yet, although I’m watching New Jersey where it could be on the cusp. There are a lot of manufacturing facilities there in pharmaceuticals and chemicals, and therefore that’s an area I think we should be paying attention to.
Field Intelligence
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Smart Manufacturing
Holy Toledo! Dana undertaking visionary digital transformation
May 12, 2020Dana Inc., the automotive supplier that outfits many of the world’s leading automobile brands with drivetrain components and more, is building something very special in-house. -
Smart Manufacturing
Digital champions must address cultural upheaval
May 12, 2020There is very good technology available today that helps manufacturers solve real problems, but that is not what digital manufacturing is about. -
Smart Manufacturing
To get AI projects galloping, first map worthy destination
May 19, 2020Industry 4.0 creates new possibilities for leveraging data to increase production automation, throughput, quality and efficiencies. -
Smart Manufacturing
AutoML 2.0: Making AI in manufacturing simple
May 20, 2020Managing sensor performance has become a must-have for manufacturers. The advent and rapid adoption of IoT technology, enabling smart manufacturing systems, has created a two-fold scenario. Intelligent systems at once provide for near-real-time systems monitoring and create a new prediction problem. -
Automation
Heavy-duty robotic welding cells can be a great first step
May 21, 2020Like many technologies in manufacturing and fabrication today, welding operations have evolved to be more automated, flexible, adaptive, and “smarter” for improved throughput, safety and deposition accuracy. -
Smart Manufacturing
Confused about OT security? ISA/IEC 62443 to the rescue.
May 22, 2020How do you ask your vendors for security? How do you assess how extensive their security knowledge and practices are?