After years of hype, the digital factory—the comprehensive integration of data from development, production and suppliers via new hardware and software meant to increase efficiency—is gradually becoming a reality.
All the hand-wringing around robotics and jobs in the US really needs to stop. It’s astounding that manufacturers here are still fighting this battle.
Methods Machine Tools Inc. (Sudbury, MA), a leading supplier of precision machine tools, 3D printing technology and automation, recently introduced an automation cell designed to greatly boost 3D manufacturing throughput.
Machine tool orders rose in May as the industry recovers from a two-year slump, the Association for Manufacturing Technology (McLean, VA) said in a monthly report.
Data management and the maintenance of clean, usable data for asset performance metrics pose great challenges for manufacturers today.
Just over a year after its funding award, a new center for the development and commercialization of advanced fabrics is officially opening its headquarters today in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and will be unveiling the first two advanced fabric products to be commercialized from the center’s work.
Tom O’Reilly, VP, Global Business Development at Rockwell Automation, speaks with Smart Manufacturing magazine.
Consumer expectations have shifted to almost unrecognizable levels, catalyzed by innovative tech companies like Amazon, Lyft and Netflix. Previously acceptable levels of customer service are no longer good enough. Customers now expect real-time support and answers to complex questions at the ready, at a minimum.
Simulation tools are making it much easier for manufacturers to optimize their processes, visualizing the entire path of production from NC metalcutting simulations through 3D design and factory-floor imaging.
“We expect to see the world machinery market grow in the next five years,” said Arun Kumar a director at AlixPartners in a discussion he and I had recently.