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There is no shortage of competition in a global market. As a manufacturer trying to get ahead of the pack, automation can help with problems like a limited skilled labor force, quality control issues and suboptimal throughput. But the high initial cost and extended implementation time can be deterrents.

Cyber criminals are increasingly setting their sights on today’s digitized manufacturing industry as an entry point into government and commercial supply chains.

As with any digital transformation process, the devil is in the details, and there are many potential pitfalls that can derail projects.

The bane of modern engineering is complexity. One promise of artificial intelligence and machine learning is helping engineers to use complex tools and harness vast data sets effectively.

SyncFab will give more than 1,300 National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA) members access to its advanced manufacturing blockchain platform, the company said today. As the national representative of the precision custom manufacturing industry, NTMA members generate more than $30 billion in sales combined.

Smart sensors, already an integral feature of many manufacturing plants that are integrating IT and OT, are now making their way into the supply chain where they monitor reliability and shipping conditions, improve predictive maintenance and make just-in-time delivery (the innovation from the 1980s) easier.

It’s probably not a bad idea for smaller and mid-sized manufacturers (SMMs) to adopt an “us against them” attitude as they become aware of the prevalence of cyber-attacks in the digital age of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Industry 4.0.

Some things are a given today. One is computing is cheap and powerful, and it is getting cheaper and more powerful. Another is the dropping price of industrial sensors. Combine this with easier ways of moving around data from those sensors and you get lots of data: Terabytes of data.

Most manufacturers have relied on third-party vendors to make parts that are then incorporated into the final product. From automakers sourcing stereos and aircraft makers contracting for jet engines to a small bakery ordering plastic bags or a woodshop buying nails, producers of all types have supplemented their internal capabilities through a painstakingly developed supply chain of external vendors.

The combination of metrology hardware, adaptive CAM software and connectivity to plant-wide systems is making additive hybrid machine tool applications ever more practical on the shop floor.