Digital Tool Data Refines Machining, Helps Industry 4.0 Find Its Way April 24, 2018 It’s said you don’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been. For Industry 4.0 and advanced manufacturing, digital libraries provide that map.
BIG Kaiser Tooling Upgrade Wins Races for Team Penske April 25, 2018 On race day, everybody sees the race on TV, but behind the scenes there’s a competition going on between shops where time is everything, according to Matt Gimbel, Team Penske’s production manager.
Sunnen Products Company acquires BTA Heller February 2, 2018 Sunnen Products Company has acquired BTA Heller Incorporated, a US-based manufacturer of deep hole tooling and systems for primary hole generation. This move aims to expand Sunnen’s honing expertise to include tooling for initial hole creation and other complementary bore sizing and finishing processes.
Applications Expand for Versatile Thread Milling March 1, 2018 Thread milling, a fundamental metalworking process to create threads, is often the operation of choice when working with difficult-to-machine materials, such as titanium, tool steels, stainless steels, hardened steels and other superalloys.
SPECIAL REPORT: Sensors’ Meteoric Rise February 20, 2018 The devices quickly become less costly, sophisticated and independent, gaining wider influence.
Tough Slotting Solution Was Just the Beginning of Savings for Replaceable Tip Cutting Tool February 5, 2018 At Flexco Inc. (Downers Grove, IL), finding a solution to speed up slot-milling with Chip-Surfer replaceable tip solid-carbide cutting tool from Ingersoll Cutting Tools (Rockford, IL) has led to benefits in a host of other operations as well. Flexco, a manufacturer of belt conveyor components, estimates that retooling with Chip-Surfer replaceable solid-carbide tip cutting tools has saved about $200,000 a year overall on slotting operations and the company expects to save as much again on mill-turn operations.
Partnership between motion control, cameras more than stands test of time February 20, 2018 While cameras and motion control have worked in tandem for at least 15 years, their integration has improved because networks have gotten faster, more reliable, and more deterministic (i.e., nothing will interfere with a function that’s a priority).
To Each His Own: Batch Size 1 Arrives March 30, 2018 New systems, software and processes are replacing so-called islands of automation with seamless, automated manufacturing lines that boost overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) from 30 to 80% or more. Like a chess master, these systems think multiple moves ahead on the factory floor to ensure continuing production when circumstances change.
Streamlining Processes at Small, Medium-Sized Manufacturers with ERP Software February 8, 2018 ECi services a multitude of industries, but we presently have four products that service manufacturing and what FABTECH attendees would be focused on: these include Macola, Max, JobBoss, and M1, which is the product I represent.
Removing mental roadblocks to improving operations January 30, 2018 It’s a familiar scenario at the factory. Quality issues have reared their ugly heads, requiring rework, causing backorders, delaying shipments, and driving tense daily customer calls. Meanwhile, the team works to address production issues using a mix of day-old post-mortem reports, shop-floor observations captured on notepads, and other operational data summarized on spreadsheets and sticky notes.