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October 2021

The October 2021 edition of Smart Manufacturing is now available as a digital magazine. Links to individual articles are below.

 

Ilene Wolf

Experts knock down AI barriers

September 30, 2021
Why don’t more manufacturers in the United States use smart manufacturing technologies like AI and machine learning to reduce waste, achieve predictive maintenance and enhance their automation systems? Five CESMII roundtable panelists share their insights.
Ilene Wolff
By Ilene Wolff Contributing Editor, SME Media
The compressed air system at the Toyota North America plant has had no unplanned downtime in the 15 years since Jay Lee and his team from Intelligent Maintenance Systems worked with the vehicle maker’s staff to apply AI.

Go for zero-downtime performance by ‘testing the machine’s blood’

September 29, 2021
Factories shopping for an AI solutions provider should do their due diligence to find just the right fit.
Ilene Wolff
By Ilene Wolff Contributing Editor, SME Media
In the case of the U.S. Navy’s F18, made by Boeing, 40 percent of the cost has been paperwork--and that paperwork can be cut in half by using blockchain, said Simba Chain CEO Joel Neidig.

Traceability tech proving its value

October 5, 2021
After a few years of mostly hype, blockchain is starting to deliver and prove its value in manufacturing, particularly in aerospace and defense and within additive manufacturing.
By Karen Haywood Queen Contributing Editor, SME Media
Application engineer Derrick Bailey in front of the VGrind 360 tool and cutter grinder at Vollmer’s new, 30,000-square-foot facility in Pittsburgh, PA. Bailey joined Vollmer in 2015.

With precision cutting tools, Vollmer helps machining world keep turning

October 8, 2021
Vollmer of America completed its move into a new 30,000-square-foot facility near Pittsburgh International Airport in June of 2020 and participated in the Las Vegas AWFS Fair in July this year.
Kip Hanson
By Kip Hanson Contributing Editor, SME Media
Dominik Wee said Google Cloud has done for manufacturing products what it did previously for consumers: make its technology so easy to use that you don’t even notice you’re doing so.

AWS, Google, Microsoft apply expertise in data, software to manufacturing

October 20, 2021
Calculated use of an increasing variety of information-gathering tools is turning Big Data into Even Bigger Data and democratizing access to the information collected.
Ilene Wolff
By Ilene Wolff Contributing Editor, SME Media

Up Front

  • PRESS RELEASES

    Fluke CalStudio Conduit Has Intelligent Workflow Automation

    PRESS RELEASE: Fluke Corp. August 18, 2026
    Calibration laboratories are under growing pressure to do more with fewer resources while managing disconnected systems, manual workflows and increasing compliance demands. To address these challenges, Fluke today announced the latest release of CalStudio, headlined by CalStudio Conduit, a no-code workflow and integration platform that connects calibration data with hundreds of business applications.
  • HUMANS OF MANUFACTURING

    Proud to Be a Woman in Manufacturing

    Jessica Bird, Sales and Account Management, Midwest CAM Solutions August 18, 2026
    There's a moment early in my manufacturing career that I still think about.
  • NEWS DESK

    Top U.S. Manufacturers Rebound After 2024 Downturn

    Nicole Franzese-Damron August 18, 2026
    The largest U.S. public manufacturing companies posted modest financial gains in 2025, with combined revenue reaching $6.33 trillion, up 3.49% from the previous year, while net income increased 6.78% to $506 billion, according to the 2026 IndustryWeek U.S. 500 ranking of the nation's largest public manufacturers by revenue.

Field Intelligence

  • PRESS RELEASES

    Fluke CalStudio Conduit Has Intelligent Workflow Automation

    PRESS RELEASE: Fluke Corp. August 18, 2026
    Calibration laboratories are under growing pressure to do more with fewer resources while managing disconnected systems, manual workflows and increasing compliance demands. To address these challenges, Fluke today announced the latest release of CalStudio, headlined by CalStudio Conduit, a no-code workflow and integration platform that connects calibration data with hundreds of business applications.
  • HUMANS OF MANUFACTURING

    Proud to Be a Woman in Manufacturing

    Jessica Bird, Sales and Account Management, Midwest CAM Solutions August 18, 2026
    There's a moment early in my manufacturing career that I still think about.
  • NEWS DESK

    Top U.S. Manufacturers Rebound After 2024 Downturn

    Nicole Franzese-Damron August 18, 2026
    The largest U.S. public manufacturing companies posted modest financial gains in 2025, with combined revenue reaching $6.33 trillion, up 3.49% from the previous year, while net income increased 6.78% to $506 billion, according to the 2026 IndustryWeek U.S. 500 ranking of the nation's largest public manufacturers by revenue.