Technology is changing ever more rapidly. Sometimes this means topics learned in engineering or technical school become obsolete. Whole new fields emerge within a few years, so that even those with freshly minted educations suddenly find themselves faced with new challenges.
Aerospace and defense manufacturing is known for its complex designs, continual changes and the need to negotiate tight margin requirements. At Elite Aviation Products (EAP), a division of Elite Aerospace Group (Irvine, CA), we face these challenges every day.
Manufacturers face a difficult task juggling the current “innovation agenda.” Today, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), robotic automation and artificial intelligence (AI) are all poised to be the next big thing.
Modern manufacturing is rapidly adopting model-based definition (MBD). When employing an MBD strategy, the CAD model becomes more than the nominal to which all parts are measured and inspected against. MBD keeps the all-important digital thread intact—from design to manufacturing to inspection and quality reporting.
In the early days at CNC Software, we saw that our Mastercam CAD/CAM system was only part of a larger manufacturing solution and that an open architecture foundation could allow seamless data communication with complementary devices and systems across the shop floor.
Regionalization is becoming a powerful strategy to overcome risks to business continuity arising from tariffs, geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions and other challenges. But using it purely as a defensive de-risking maneuver misses the overall narrative.
With Lantek MES, the entire manufacturing process can be tracked from planning through execution, allowing operators to group parts according to various criteria, such as machines, materials, thicknesses, customer and delivery date.
SME's mission encompasses enhancing manufacturing competitiveness, workforce development, and national security, showcased in the Annual Report and highlighted in the October Manufacturing Engineering issue, while they also participate in Manufacturing Day with engaging programs.
There could be a better way for manufacturing. One that teams additive manufacturing (AM) with green materials, while promising to erect structures much faster and cheaper.
For SME and Manufacturing Engineering (ME), 2022 has proven to be consequential.