Industry 4.0 is inevitable, and everyone is looking to find a way forward. But manufacturing leaders who focus only on the technology involved will be frustrated—because the new industrial revolution is just as much a culture and people thing as it is a technology thing.
Shops today must track or measure their manufacturing operations to improve them. This need drives the growing use of MTConnect—an open, royalty-free protocol for extracting data from practically any piece of equipment, including machine tools and other manufacturing systems. The integration of MTConnect is a major undertaking, and can be a bit challenging unless certain preparations are made ahead of time.
AM is used in everything from aerospace and automotive to consumer products. But some of the earliest and most significant applications are in healthcare. To this end, the theme of this month’s Manufacturing Engineering is medical machining.
Regionalization is becoming a powerful strategy to overcome risks to business continuity arising from tariffs, geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions and other challenges. But using it purely as a defensive de-risking maneuver misses the overall narrative.
With Lantek MES, the entire manufacturing process can be tracked from planning through execution, allowing operators to group parts according to various criteria, such as machines, materials, thicknesses, customer and delivery date.
SME's mission encompasses enhancing manufacturing competitiveness, workforce development, and national security, showcased in the Annual Report and highlighted in the October Manufacturing Engineering issue, while they also participate in Manufacturing Day with engaging programs.
There could be a better way for manufacturing. One that teams additive manufacturing (AM) with green materials, while promising to erect structures much faster and cheaper.
For SME and Manufacturing Engineering (ME), 2022 has proven to be consequential.
Just In Time (JIT) manufacturing has guided industry for decades. But JIT's time may be running out.
Specifications alone don’t tell the full story of a machine’s value – discover three key areas to explore when making a machine tool purchase.