SHANGHAI—The $150 million “factory of the future” that the Swiss innovator ABB announced nearly a year ago is becoming reality in this enormous city’s Pudong New Area.
The U.S. auto industry has been automated for decades. Production of cars and trucks is associated with large, hulking robots fenced off from human employees. Inside those fenced off areas, tasks such as welding are performed. The industry, though, is advancing on the automation front.
Horizontal machining centers (HMCs) are versatile four-axis and, increasingly, five-axis machine platforms that maximize processing of multi-sided large parts by minimizing part handling.
In auto racing, small details have a major impact on success—a concept very familiar to performance racing parts provider Oliver Racing Parts (Charlevoix, MI). Oliver produces performance connecting rods for the world’s leading engine builders.
Digital metrology enables faster measurements, saving time, money and convenience.
AI software enables the company to capture relevant runtime metadata and put it into context to create useful information in real time.
Interoperability will make the autonomous mobile robot’s world go ‘round
The right tooling can have a profound effect on a shop’s competitiveness and future growth.
Larger manufacturing enterprises have benefitted from smart-manufacturing innovations while smaller manufacturers have lagged behind—but that is changing.
Five-axis machining has progressed from exotic to mainstream over the past few years.
