Until 2017, Schneider Electric faced a factory bottleneck at its breaker box plant in Lexington, Kentucky. When the automation cell that welded the boxes went down, all production could be forced to stop.
Difficult materials and high-speed machining don’t just present problems for cutting tools. They can also push toolholders to their limits—and beyond. So manufacturers offer a variety of products designed to get the toolholding job done under extreme machining conditions.
Whether driven by the reduction of in-shop personnel due to layoffs or to maintain social distancing guidelines into the future, many machine shops will likely be re-evaluating ways to eliminate labor-intensive manual operations if they can be automated instead.
August 2020 U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $136.1 million, according to the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute (USCTI) and AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology.
Vision AI software company Neurala announced a new strategic partnership with global manufacturing leader IMA Group.
IIoT expert Steve Jones who will speak Oct. 29 at “The Best of SMX” (smxevent.com),
describes in detail the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), as well as AI/machine learning
and other promising technology for manufacturing’s future. Like with many things in life,
it is important to set goals first, the Steelcase executive says. Not sure where to begin
with IIoT? Never fear: Jones has the answer.
Risk-management technology is beginning to help manufacturers cope with the supply-chain upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, said Thomas Derry, CEO of the Institute for Supply Management: “We are a lot better at managing risk than even 10 years ago.”
In a virtual event conducted over the internet on October 15, Siemens introduces new capabilities for its Sinumerik One control package.
Cascadia Capital said it is launching one of the nation’s first emerging growth investment banking practice groups dedicated to Robotics, Automation, and Artificial Intelligence (RAAI).
While recent advancements in machining centers have allowed for increased capability around high-volume operations, there are several factors that still necessitate the need for grinding.