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.
Claudia Jarrett, U.S. country manager at automation parts supplier EU Automation, delves into the pros and cons of both gigafactories and microfactories.
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.
Automated manufacturing operations are finely tuned ecosystems in which all components must function in complete harmony. Grippers used to pick and place, orient and hold components or end products at various points along the production chain are key to this process.
Although laser welding is a well-established manufacturing solution, many sheetmetal fabricators have been hesitant to implement the process at their shop.
