Making Robots Smarter and Safer August 19, 2020 COVID-19 has taught manufacturers a valuable lesson: when humans fall ill, machine tools and equipment sit idle. Granted, they already knew it, just as they knew that employees take lunch breaks and vacations, arrive late because their car won’t start, and go work at the shop down the street for fifty cents more an hour.
Adaptive Robots: BFFs for Small-Batch Automation August 18, 2020 Manufacturing engineers, information technologists, and “smart” robots in flexible manufacturing cells are working ever more closely in manufacturing companies around the world.
Mitutoyo America Expands Custom Solutions Offerings August 14, 2020 Mitutoyo America Corporation has expanded its Custom Solutions offerings. Mitutoyo will now offer “end-to-end solutions” for all its customers’ needs and have the ability to customize products and advanced technology for specific applications.
Advanced Robotics for Industrial Manufacturing August 6, 2020 Manufacturing is moving towards high-mix production different products in very small lots. Advanced robotics may be needed to get there.
The Heart of Modern Manufacturing August 3, 2020 Controls help make modern manufacturing go. Controls help shop floor employees monitor Industry 4.0 technology. Controls also boost productivity on the shop floor. Technology companies are highlighting improvements designed to maintain the forward momentum of advanced technology.
Ford Leases Boston Dynamics Robots July 28, 2020 Ford Motor Co. is leasing four-legged robots from Boston Dynamics as part of a program to reduce cost and boost efficiency.
Gages Step Up the Tech July 27, 2020 Sophisticated metrology equipment, like coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) and laser scanners, are increasingly seen outside quality labs. “Many companies have cut costs by moving inspection from the lab to the shop floor,” said Matteo Zoin, head of marketing and new market development for Marposs Corp., Auburn Hills, Mich.
Targeting the Skills Gap in Forming and Fabricating July 24, 2020 As in other industries, U.S. forming and fabricating companies are experiencing a critical shortage of skilled labor. In this SME Media podcast, Alan Rooks, Editor in Chief of Manufacturing Engineering magazine, talks with Robert Tessier, National Director of Advanced Fabrication Technologies for Airgas about the skills gap in the forming and fabricating industry; changes needed in the education system to fill the need for skilled labor; how automation factors into efforts to reduce the skills gap; and efforts at Airgas to develop workers for manufacturing operations, including a special program for military veterans.
QA Advances as Gage Management Improves July 23, 2020 Any manufacturer operating under quality management system mandates, such as ISO9001, ISO13485, or AS9100, must at the very least maintain a measurement tool library database.
FANUC Recognized by General Motors as a 2019 Supplier of the Year Winner July 22, 2020 FANUC was named a GM Supplier of the Year by General Motors during a virtual ceremony honoring the recipients of the company’s 28th annual Supplier of the Year awards on June 24.