The first kilowatt-class fiber laser for material processing was introduced by IPG Photonics in early 2002. Since that time, the adoption of fiber lasers for production applications has grown at a rapid rate. Today, fiber lasers are becoming the choice for most major production laser applications as well as converting traditional welding and cutting processes to fiber laser technologies.
CAD/CAM helps auto racers employ CNC machining to maximum advantage.
A widening skills gap threatens U.S. manufacturing competitiveness and consequently our economy. A talent pipeline with a sufficient supply of properly aligned skills is imperative to meet U.S. manufacturers’ needs for capacity, productivity and innovation.
Manufacturing technology is constantly changing, both in terms of the types of products produced and the ways those products are made. As we ease into 2021, here are some interesting trends I’ve heard about.
In 2020, most manufacturers focused on mitigating the impact of COVID-19, but mitigation is too little too late. Many companies learned that lesson after seeing how COVID-19 outbreaks affected either their own facilities or other manufacturing firms.
2020 was certainly an unusual year—for SME, for our industry, and for the world. There is no question that these unusual times will carry over into 2021. Unusual does not necessarily mean bad; it just means different. Often hidden within those differences are opportunities.
During times like these, editors turn to “tried and true” sayings to frame their opinion columns. One of these sayings is, “May you live in interesting times,” supposedly a translation of a traditional Chinese curse. The saying is used ironically, in that “interesting times” are times of trouble and difficulty.
It’s easy to become dazed by the continuing stream of buzz words. For those of us in manufacturing, all this buzz creates a sense of impending change, but no clarity on what that change might be. Uncertainty means anxiety.
In this exclusive Q&A interview, Paul Baldassari, the president of manufacturing and services at Flex, sheds light on the evolving dynamics of the industry and its promising future.
The manufacturing economy is starting to feel some pain.
