The Fabricating & Lasers pavilion of IMTS shows how makers of machine tools have to keep improving their product lineup. For one thing, customer expectations continue to rise.
Lasers — well-established tools in the manufacture of medical devices—are continuing to break ground by producing smaller, more precise and more functional parts thanks to faster pulse speeds at lower cost, new applications and the marriage of laser processing to Swiss-style machining.
Cutting tool maker Shape-Master Tool Co. (Kirkland, IL) needed to expand its tool grinding capability beyond that of its conventional machines or run the risk of losing work to the competition.
Today, laser technology in manufacturing touches all of our lives on a daily basis; lasers cut air bag material and weld air bag detonators for our in-car safety; lasers weld the batteries in many of our mobile devices; lasers drill aero-engine components for planes; lasers cut the glass for our smart phones and tablets screens; lasers weld the drivetrains in our cars and trucks; lasers cut medical stents that increase and enhance our lives, just to name a few.
Solid-state laser technology has matured, leading to development of new, cost-effective welding applications, such as hybrid welding
As manufacturers embrace the “new normal,” advanced technologies will set organizations apart from the field.
The experience an Italian electronics manufacturer had with emerging tools provides a glimpse of a better world.
The company creates a new laser unit while releasing a new tool grinding machine.
The need to permanently laser mark parts for tracking and tracing continues to grow.
The three keynote speakers of HOUSTEX, EASTEC, SOUTHTEC and WESTEC—the Manufacturing Technology Series—offer perspectives pertinent to manufacturers in general, but of particular use to small and medium-sized manufacturers.