Skip to content
SME Logo
/globalassets/sme-masterpage-elements/header/sme-logo-color-100b.png
  • {{result}}
SME Media Smart Manufacturing Magazine November 2019

Smart Manufacturing: November 2019

The November 2019 edition of Smart Manufacturing is now available as a digital magazine. Links to individual articles are below.
View Digital Magazine
Rob Totten, engineering manager at FANUC, programs one of the company’s cobots. Rockwell Auto-mation in 2015 released an add-on profile (AOP) for FANUC robots for simpler integration of FANUC robots into Rockwell architecture, he said.

Barriers to robot deployment falling one by one

October 16, 2019
Industrial robots are becoming easier to program, more versatile, more cost-effective, more accurate and more mobile. These changes are lowering barriers to entry, shortening return on investment and making robots a more practical investment.
By Karen Haywood Queen Contributing Editor, SME Media
Dustin Caudell, VP of sales for RFgen, demonstrates mobile barcoding demonstration for customers.

IoT + analytics = cool new stuff to sell

October 16, 2019
Put the paper and pencil away. Hybrid data management and analysis systems-where users combine paper tracking with computer processing-are no longer meeting the needs of manufacturers for speed, accuracy, traceability and compliance with regulations.
By Karen Haywood Queen Contributing Editor, SME Media
Fredrik Rydman performed last year with an ABB collaborative robot in Sweden. At a recent tech conference in Shanghai, ABB showed a video of the performance to illustrate how safe robot-human interaction has become.

ABB’s ‘factory of the future’ in China to demo safety, sustainability

October 16, 2019
The $150 million “factory of the future” that the Swiss innovator ABB announced a year ago is becoming reality in this enormous city’s Pudong New Area.
Brett Brune
By Brett Brune Editor in Chief, Smart Manufacturing
Fastems LLC President David Suica said setup for a new part takes minutes vs. hours thanks to parametric programming.

American, German, Swedish manufacturers gladly adopt factory-within-factory concept

October 16, 2019
Manufacturers of all sizes see an uptick in productivity after adding a factory within a factory via an automated machining cell. The cells are small-scale, clearly defined production units, often for a family of similar parts or a product, and they typically include a robotic arm and one or more machine tools.
Ilene Wolff
By Ilene Wolff Contributing Editor, SME Media
PTC CEO Jim Heppelmann, left, and Rockwell Automation CEO Blake Moret announced a strategic partnership in June last year that is accelerating growth for both companies.

Traditional IT firms, traditional OT firms try newfangled ties

October 16, 2019
Information technology and operations technology are unlikely candidates for a successful marriage. But to ensure that manufacturers thrive in the digital age, OT and IT must find ways to work together—or to at least, as on Tinder, swipe right to indicate interest.
By Karen Haywood Queen Contributing Editor, SME Media
Plex Systems’ Anurag Garg said there are dozens of solutions that will enable data collection easily, but the real value is in contextualizing that data.

Contextualized insights gained from data save precious time, material

October 16, 2019
Manufacturers who have deployed the digital or smart factory have put down their pencils, found new uses for their clipboards and closed their spreadsheet programs in favor of using real-time data gleaned from condition monitoring of their machinery.
Ilene Wolff
By Ilene Wolff Contributing Editor, SME Media

Upfront

  • AM Technical Community Advisers Tackles Workforce Development, Advocacy, Adoption Challenges
    NEWS DESK

    AM Technical Community Advisers Tackles Workforce Development, Advocacy, Adoption Challenges

    Staff Writer November 10, 2025
    Additive manufacturing has many great stories to tell. It’s a rewarding, attractive and in-demand career. So how does the industry get the word out about it all?
  • Make Way for the World’s Largest Heat Pump
    NEWS DESK

    Make Way for the World’s Largest Heat Pump

    Cary Gitter November 10, 2025
    Boston-based Vicinity Energy, which is said to be the largest district energy provider in the United States, has begun construction for a 35-megawatt river-based industrial heat pump, the company announced. Located at its Kendall Square facility in Cambridge, Mass., the pump will enable “carbon-free steam generation for more than 70 million sq ft (6.5 million sq m) of building space,” according to Vicinity.
  • Boeing Reaches Plea Deal For 737 Max Crashes
    NEWS DESK

    Boeing Reaches Plea Deal For 737 Max Crashes

    Rachael Thomas November 7, 2025
    The Boeing Co. will avoid prosecution following a federal judge’s ruling to dismiss a criminal conspiracy charge regarding two 737 Max jet crashes that killed 346 people.

Collective Intelligence

  • AM Technical Community Advisers Tackles Workforce Development, Advocacy, Adoption Challenges
    NEWS DESK

    AM Technical Community Advisers Tackles Workforce Development, Advocacy, Adoption Challenges

    Staff Writer November 10, 2025
    Additive manufacturing has many great stories to tell. It’s a rewarding, attractive and in-demand career. So how does the industry get the word out about it all?
  • Make Way for the World’s Largest Heat Pump
    NEWS DESK

    Make Way for the World’s Largest Heat Pump

    Cary Gitter November 10, 2025
    Boston-based Vicinity Energy, which is said to be the largest district energy provider in the United States, has begun construction for a 35-megawatt river-based industrial heat pump, the company announced. Located at its Kendall Square facility in Cambridge, Mass., the pump will enable “carbon-free steam generation for more than 70 million sq ft (6.5 million sq m) of building space,” according to Vicinity.
  • Boeing Reaches Plea Deal For 737 Max Crashes
    NEWS DESK

    Boeing Reaches Plea Deal For 737 Max Crashes

    Rachael Thomas November 7, 2025
    The Boeing Co. will avoid prosecution following a federal judge’s ruling to dismiss a criminal conspiracy charge regarding two 737 Max jet crashes that killed 346 people.

Field Intelligence

  • AM Technical Community Advisers Tackles Workforce Development, Advocacy, Adoption Challenges
    NEWS DESK

    AM Technical Community Advisers Tackles Workforce Development, Advocacy, Adoption Challenges

    Staff Writer November 10, 2025
    Additive manufacturing has many great stories to tell. It’s a rewarding, attractive and in-demand career. So how does the industry get the word out about it all?
  • Make Way for the World’s Largest Heat Pump
    NEWS DESK

    Make Way for the World’s Largest Heat Pump

    Cary Gitter November 10, 2025
    Boston-based Vicinity Energy, which is said to be the largest district energy provider in the United States, has begun construction for a 35-megawatt river-based industrial heat pump, the company announced. Located at its Kendall Square facility in Cambridge, Mass., the pump will enable “carbon-free steam generation for more than 70 million sq ft (6.5 million sq m) of building space,” according to Vicinity.
  • Boeing Reaches Plea Deal For 737 Max Crashes
    NEWS DESK

    Boeing Reaches Plea Deal For 737 Max Crashes

    Rachael Thomas November 7, 2025
    The Boeing Co. will avoid prosecution following a federal judge’s ruling to dismiss a criminal conspiracy charge regarding two 737 Max jet crashes that killed 346 people.