Collaborative Robots: Hype or Hope? August 29, 2018 Ask the owner of any machine shop or sheet-metal house to name the biggest obstacle to company growth and you’re likely to receive the same answer—it’s not a lack of working capital that’s slowing them down, nor a shortage of advanced technology, but something far more basic: the need for someone to push a green button or pack boxes. “We can’t find enough people,” you’ll hear.
Siemens Conference Focuses on Teamwork and Digital Twins June 29, 2018 Visitors to the Valley of the Sun were recently treated to a dizzying display of software technology at Arizona’s Phoenix Convention Center. From June 4-7, the Siemens PLM Connection—Americas 2018 user conference hosted thousands of visitors from hundreds of manufacturing companies.
Epicor Software Corp. Offers ERP Insights at Users Conference in Opryland June 22, 2018 Successful manufacturing companies and distributors know the importance of a good ERP system. Without it, shipments suffer and profits fall. Part of keeping the ERP wheels greased, however, is staying current on software technology, as well as networking with industry peers.
Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Announces First Funding Round Projects June 21, 2018 Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (Pittsburgh, PA) announced the awardees of its first round of project funding to strengthen US manufacturing. Separate from its first official project call, these projects were selected upon ARM’s inception to generate timely impact on the national manufacturing landscape and serve as examples of its mission.
MBS, a Rite of Summer, Shows How Auto Industry Is Changing July 30, 2018 The Center for Automotive Research’s Management Briefing Seminars (MBS) is an annual rite of summer for the auto industry. Representatives of automakers and suppliers head to northern Michigan near the resort town of Traverse City for lectures and presentations about the industry.
CAD/CAM Programs Get Parts On, Off Machine Faster, More Efficiently August 29, 2018 Ask almost any CAD/CAM vendor what they’re focused on and they’ll tell you it’s the same today as it was five years ago, and it’ll be the same in five years: Get the part onto the machine as fast as possible and get it off the machine as fast as possible. Here’s the current state of play in those two main areas.
Improving 3D Scanning June 20, 2018 While 3D scanning has already been adopted by many automotive part manufacturers, the use cases in Quality Control (QC) have been limited.
Change and Continuity in Manufacturing June 1, 2018 On May 9, I took a whirlwind tour of change in manufacturing by visiting several open house events. First up was BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling Inc. in Hoffman Estates, IL, where Matt Tegelman, applications manager and product manager Kaiser, talked about the Industrial Internet of Things.
Finding the Right Fit with Your Cloud Manufacturing Software Technology May 9, 2018 An interview with Diego Tamburini, Principal Industry Lead, Azure Manufacturing Microsoft Corp.
Automated Coupling Slashes Robotic Welding Cell’s Downtime May 4, 2018 There is no better way to resolve a problem than by eliminating it entirely. At least that’s how KTH Parts Industries Inc. (St. Paris, OH) regarded its decision to automate a manual equipment changeover process for its robotic welding cells.