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August 2023

The August 2023 edition of Smart Manufacturing is now available as a digital magazine. Links to individual articles are below.

 

Safety scanners alert robots to stop as soon as an employee enters the cell. This setup enables humans and robots to work side-by-side with no safety guarding.

Collaborating with Robots

August 22, 2023
Can’t we all just get along? We can, thanks to smarter, more human-aware robotics.
Kip Hanson
By Kip Hanson Contributing Editor, SME Media
Rasmus Smet Jensen, VP of marketing and strategy at Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR).

6 Ways Robots are Changing Manufacturing

August 15, 2023
Experts weigh in on the impact of robotics on productivity and the people who advance manufacturing.
By Karen Haywood Queen Contributing Editor, SME Media
Robotic arms used for roboforming at a Machina Labs factory. Leveraging precise industrial robotics and AI-driven process control, roboforming rapidly shapes sheet metal into large, complex parts that are extremely expensive and slow to produce with conventional manufacturing tools.

Robotics: Paving the Way for Next Gen Careers

August 24, 2023
New skills are required, and new roles created, through automation solutions
By Brad Marley Contributing Editor

Up Front

  • SMART SHOP ESSENTIALS

    The One Thing

    Will Healy, Universal Robots November 15, 2025
    Will Healy, global industry leader for welding at Universal Robots USA, offers some sound advice: You’re not alone.
  • NEWS DESK

    Boeing Workers OK 5-Year Contract

    Staff Writer November 14, 2025
    Unionized Boeing Co. machinists voted to end their 100-day walkout Thursday, approving a five-year contract that will see workers receive 24% pay increases and a $6,000 signing bonus.
  • ARTICLES

    How Midaco Pallet Changers Boost CNC Productivity and OEE

    Kip Hanson November 14, 2025
    Several decades ago, I purchased an SMW pallet changer for one of our shop’s Mori Seiki MV Junior Vertical Machining Centers. This glorious day for overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) occurred many years before SMW’s various acquisitions and its board decided to depart the pallet changer business entirely, seemingly leaving just one provider: Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based Midaco. We had an opportunity to ask the company’s Vice President of Sales Mike Munao a few questions, starting with one we were unsure he would answer.

Passport to Innovation

  • SMART SHOP ESSENTIALS

    The One Thing

    Will Healy, Universal Robots November 15, 2025
    Will Healy, global industry leader for welding at Universal Robots USA, offers some sound advice: You’re not alone.
  • NEWS DESK

    Boeing Workers OK 5-Year Contract

    Staff Writer November 14, 2025
    Unionized Boeing Co. machinists voted to end their 100-day walkout Thursday, approving a five-year contract that will see workers receive 24% pay increases and a $6,000 signing bonus.
  • ARTICLES

    How Midaco Pallet Changers Boost CNC Productivity and OEE

    Kip Hanson November 14, 2025
    Several decades ago, I purchased an SMW pallet changer for one of our shop’s Mori Seiki MV Junior Vertical Machining Centers. This glorious day for overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) occurred many years before SMW’s various acquisitions and its board decided to depart the pallet changer business entirely, seemingly leaving just one provider: Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based Midaco. We had an opportunity to ask the company’s Vice President of Sales Mike Munao a few questions, starting with one we were unsure he would answer.

Field Intelligence

  • SMART SHOP ESSENTIALS

    The One Thing

    Will Healy, Universal Robots November 15, 2025
    Will Healy, global industry leader for welding at Universal Robots USA, offers some sound advice: You’re not alone.
  • NEWS DESK

    Boeing Workers OK 5-Year Contract

    Staff Writer November 14, 2025
    Unionized Boeing Co. machinists voted to end their 100-day walkout Thursday, approving a five-year contract that will see workers receive 24% pay increases and a $6,000 signing bonus.
  • ARTICLES

    How Midaco Pallet Changers Boost CNC Productivity and OEE

    Kip Hanson November 14, 2025
    Several decades ago, I purchased an SMW pallet changer for one of our shop’s Mori Seiki MV Junior Vertical Machining Centers. This glorious day for overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) occurred many years before SMW’s various acquisitions and its board decided to depart the pallet changer business entirely, seemingly leaving just one provider: Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based Midaco. We had an opportunity to ask the company’s Vice President of Sales Mike Munao a few questions, starting with one we were unsure he would answer.

Voices AMplified

  • SMART SHOP ESSENTIALS

    The One Thing

    Will Healy, Universal Robots November 15, 2025
    Will Healy, global industry leader for welding at Universal Robots USA, offers some sound advice: You’re not alone.
  • NEWS DESK

    Boeing Workers OK 5-Year Contract

    Staff Writer November 14, 2025
    Unionized Boeing Co. machinists voted to end their 100-day walkout Thursday, approving a five-year contract that will see workers receive 24% pay increases and a $6,000 signing bonus.
  • ARTICLES

    How Midaco Pallet Changers Boost CNC Productivity and OEE

    Kip Hanson November 14, 2025
    Several decades ago, I purchased an SMW pallet changer for one of our shop’s Mori Seiki MV Junior Vertical Machining Centers. This glorious day for overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) occurred many years before SMW’s various acquisitions and its board decided to depart the pallet changer business entirely, seemingly leaving just one provider: Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based Midaco. We had an opportunity to ask the company’s Vice President of Sales Mike Munao a few questions, starting with one we were unsure he would answer.