On May 9, I took a whirlwind tour of change in manufacturing by visiting several open house events. First up was BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling Inc. in Hoffman Estates, IL, where Matt Tegelman, applications manager and product manager Kaiser, talked about the Industrial Internet of Things.
When a growing backlog in the inspection room began to slow production and delay deliveries, Voisard Tool Service Inc. (Russia, OH), a division of Arch Global Precision, found a solution in a new advanced tool measurement system and software from United Grinding (Miamisburg, OH).
If John Winter of toolmaker Sandvik Coromant (Fair Lawn, NJ) were to start his own machine shop, all of his machines would be equipped for through-spindle coolant (TSC).
Cryogenics offer an alternative to traditional liquid coolants when conventional cooling methods can’t or don’t do the job well enough.
Basic trends in modern manufacturing are driving growth in 3D optical metrology. “One is the highly complex and high-tech material that manufacturers are using today. For example, in the aerospace turbine blade market, they simply cannot touch the part like they used to—the surface finish of the material is too readily affected by any kind of contact metrology."
The precast concrete industry is looking at using 3D printing, Additive Manufacturing magazine said. Gate Precast used 3D printed forms during construction of a 42-story building in New York, the magazine said. The publication said Gate Precast determined 3D printed tool worked “for a job requiring high repeatability over many concrete pours.”
Stratasys Ltd (Minneapolis and Rehovot, Israel), the 3D printing company, said Tuesday its CEO is leaving, with no permanent replacement named and amid financial losses.
Engineers trying to keep track of liquid adhesives, coatings, sealants, and specialty chemical materials now have access to the free, searchable Gluespec database from Ellsworth Adhesives (Germantown, WI). The engineering research tool is designed by engineers to help engineers find the right adhesive and specialty materials for their projects as quickly and effectively as possible.
Intelligent factories have existed since manufacturing’s historical inception, but intelligence—defined as the acquisition and application of manufacturing knowledge—resided only with the factory’s staff.
Manufacturing has been a way of life since the first industrial revolution. By the 1980s, advanced factories created products in ways never before imaginable. That same decade, a new form of manufacturing with the promise to revolutionize the way we make things was born—additive manufacturing (AM).