Until just a few years ago, if a vehicle maker wanted to test the process for making a newly designed composite part at full scale, the company’s R&D engineers would call one of its Tier Ones and ask to schedule a trial run on the composites fabricator’s machines during off hours.
The COVID-19 crisis caught all of us off guard and interrupted global systems in a way not experienced in recent memory.
Imagine hearing the news that manufacturers are producing a proven and safe vaccine for COVID-19 and shipping it your way. It will be music to the world’s ears.
Today, it’s tremendously difficult to get products made. To turn an idea into a tangible object requires a list of difficult-to-obtain resources, including expensive machinery and capital, and a lot of time to program and configure machines.
The economic challenges brought forth by COVID-19 are causing a more intense focus in manufacturing on the need for the kind of alacrity achieved with digital tools and the kind of digital savvy achieved with strong partnerships.
As part of its most recent $15 million investment in its Florence, Ky.-based manufacturing campus, Mazak Corp. has completed its newly expanded Spindle Rebuild Department, now located in the company’s South Building.
Heidenhain Corp. has opened its newly completed West Coast headquarters. This includes the expansion of its executive, sales and technical support offices, as well as demo facilities in San Jose, Calif. The company also maintains a Midwest headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois.
New system detects process anomalies during metal cutting in machine tools.
Gear generation equipment manufacturers turn toward, innovation to meet evolving customer needs. In this article, four gear cutting equipment manufacturers are featured along with equipment they planned on showing at IMTS 2020.
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).
