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Listen to this Smart Manufacturing magazine article: Pandemic makes case for more automation, robotics. Outbreak poised to prompt changes in the way manufacturers use automation.

Terry Wohlers, a renowned expert on additive manufacturing, and Bruce Morey, Senior Technical Editor for SME’s Manufacturing Engineering Magazine, discuss the present and future of AM in the medical and dental fields. Applications are discussed and skepticism addressed as the industry anticipates RAPID + TCT in Anaheim April 20-23 and the Additive Manufacturing for Medical Yearbook SME will publish in April.

EnvisionTEC CEO Al Siblani—whose firm is being purchased by Desktop Metal—discusses photopolymers’ move from prototyping to production. He gets into how he sees the sale will impact his company, as well as Desktop Metal and the 3D printing market in general. For the uninitiated, he also patiently explains how the 3d printing of polymers has progressed over the years. Last but not least, he details EnvisionTEC’s plans for growth—and asserts that the cost of 3D printing has reached a point where it is disrupting plastics.

In this podcast, John Derry, senior application engineer at Promess, talks to SME Media contributing editor Michael Anderson about reducing complexity in assembly equipment. Derry discusses how assembly systems may become unnecessarily complex--and how that complexity can reduce quality and increase costs. Derry goes on to describe effective ways of addressing these issues and to reduce and even eliminate unnecessary complexity.

Unlike other forms of automation and what we now think of as ‘traditional’ robots, cobots are much safer for humans to interact with them. They can work side by side with humans. But this leads to new ways of thinking about automation. And there are misconceptions that persist around cobots.

Listen to this Smart Manufacturing magazine cover story: Twenty women making their mark in robotics & automation

Aerospace is thought of as the industry with some of the most advanced technology, including automation. However, especially in automation, that may not be exactly true. In this podcast, Bruce Morey senior technical editor for Manufacturing Engineering magazine talks with Rick Schulz of FANUC America about some of the challenges and misperceptions in using automation more fully in aerospace manufacturing. Mistakes to be avoided, such as simply replacing humans with a robot, and how to use collaborative robots. The main message is that employing automation to its fullest requires a systematic approach to the entire manufacturing process.

When it comes to being successful, manufacturers today have more tools than ever to succeed. Chris Mahar, Associate Editor of Manufacturing Engineering, talks with Jeff Lage, President, Advanced Manufacturing Technologies at Ellison Technologies, about how Industry 4.0 is helping manufacturers improve operations through data collection and insights. Providing tips on how businesses can get the most capacity out of their machines, remove waste and enable their machines do more.

John Deere’s Eric Johnson discusses the company’s additive manufacturing journey—with an eye toward helping small and medium businesses get going in AM. Learn about the early days of getting one of the first AM parts, as well as unrealistic expectations of the technology and how John Deere is creating value with the technology today. Finally, Johnson provides tips on unlocking the value of AM for your business in five key applications.

When it comes to making something move, whether it be a robot arm, machine head, assembly line or more, you need to get the power from where it is generated to where the movement happens – enter gearboxes. Mike Quaas, President of DieQua, sits down with Chris Mahar, Associate Editor, to talk about the world of automation and how gearboxes are critical to its deployment. Gearboxes have been around for hundreds or years, but today’s engineers have more choices than ever in how to utilize their power.