CESMII’s SMIP shines in test drive July 15, 2020 In a recent demonstration of the vendor-agnostic Smart Manufacturing Innovation Platform (SMIP) from CESMII, project partners first helped managers of North Carolina State University’s water purification plant get off the dime and analyze the data they were collecting with smart instruments.
Ericsson, Hexagon cook up example of 5G in action July 17, 2020 The promise of 5G is tempting. Fast data speeds and low latency rates make wireless connectivity, and real-time monitoring and decision making a possibility. Cost, legacy systems, security and other issues might be a deterrent that keeps some from dipping their toes into 5G waters.
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.
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.
Trillium Machine finds a way to effectively train newbies July 17, 2020 One of the biggest challenges that any shop faces in 2020 is finding skilled workers to backfill those baby boomers who are retiring, or simply finding staff to meet the demand of a healthy manufacturing economy.
Simplifying and Moving Beyond Five-Axis Machining December 15, 2020 Five-axis machining, once a novel and somewhat forbidding technology, has become routine in many shops. Meanwhile, some organizations are still hesitant to use it, largely due to programming concerns.
First Time’s the Charm January 6, 2021 All shops want to be more productive and reduce downtime. For some, this means an investment in a high-end CNC machine tool. Others give quick-change toolholders a try, or pursue an IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) machining strategy.
Machining Low- and Medium-Carbon Steel Alloys November 13, 2020 Low-carbon and medium-carbon steels form the backbone of virtually every shop’s operations in their general engineering applications and fabricated parts.
‘Rebalancing’ expands LIFT’s focus to include materials, processes and systems December 3, 2020 LIFT recently expanded the focus of its desire to “create innovations faster, better and cheaper” to the materials, processes and systems involved in moving innovations from concept to commercialization.
Automation champions battling show-stopping integration issue in U.S. December 7, 2020 Like the United Nations’ international delegates who use interpreters to understand each other, robots, machines and other industrial components from various vendors speak different computer languages and need translators to help them communicate.