The Connected Machine Shop August 24, 2020 Part 1 of this three-part series on the Connected Machine Shop ran in the July issue of Manufacturing Engineering.
How to tackle extraordinary fragility of U.S. manufacturing August 20, 2020 COVID-19 revealed some deep-rooted shortcomings in our approach to manufacturing and to supply chain design in the U.S. Well beyond the immediate and urgent need for PPE, we saw dramatic swings in both supply and demand for almost everything bought and sold here.
Remotely Exploitable Industrial Control System Vulnerabilities on Rise August 19, 2020 New report from Claroty researchers finds latest ICS vulnerabilities most prevalent in energy, critical manufacturing, and water & wastewater sectors of critical infrastructure
Okuma’s 5-Step Pre-Automation Checklist to Maximize Productivity August 19, 2020 With the potential for a 30% productivity increase or even more, there's a strong incentive for automating CNC machining processes. But before you flip the switch on that robot, you’ll need to check out the surrounding tools and processes.
New smart training framework works for Industry 4.0 jobs July 22, 2020 The credential hanging on my wall that swells me with pride is my machinist certificate. That apprenticeship experience was the “ON!” switch for my career path. The brightness of that light helped maintain the vision and the hope even as I faced significant racial bias almost 30 years ago.
How ‘smart processes’ fit into Industry 4.0 July 21, 2020 If Industry 3.0 is identified by the computerization of factory floor processes to make them “smart,” then Industry 4.0 can be understood as the expansion of the idea to include all of the non-factory floor inputs required to produce a quality product and a successful enterprise.
Bringing the frontline to the forefront of Industry 4.0 July 21, 2020 I met a man recently. He had worked at a small manufacturing company for 20 plus years and was the sole technician responsible for the assembly of his company’s most complex product. After years of dedication to the company, he was set to retire.
What AM was planned for IMTS? July 20, 2020 Had IMTS 2020 taken place as scheduled, it would have been clear that making parts as quickly and cost-effectively as possible remains as the primary goal in manufacturing.
MTConnect Exec: Standards Help See Into Future, Integrate Diverse Equipment July 20, 2020 Russell Waddell, managing director at the MTConnect Institute, dives into why so many standards exist, what manufacturers can gain from a digital factory project, and how they can cut through the hype—to at least achieve shop floor monitoring. MTConnect, a standard with more than 10 years of history, frees up manufacturers to focus on value-add functions instead of normalizing data. And it has been installed on more than 50,000 devices worldwide. Today, the use case is not just what happened or what is happening “what is going to happen: looking at … anything that is forward-looking and anticipating what will happen next.” Perhaps most important, embracing standards allows for quick and easy integration of all types and brands of equipment.
COVID-19 is teaching us just what innovation is possible July 20, 2020 What a difference a month makes. In a survey by the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network (MAGNET) in February, only 24 percent of Ohio manufacturers said innovation was a priority.