Lightweighting’s New Phase September 3, 2019 Earlier this decade, the auto industry moved to lighten cars and trucks. It was supposed to be a competition between steel, long the dominant vehicle material, and aluminum. The latter got a boost when Ford Motor Co., Dearborn, Mich., bet big on aluminum, making aluminum bodies for its F-150 and Super Duty pickups.
Time to Push for Step and Other Open Standards August 9, 2019 In the age of Industry 4.0 and the digital thread, computer-aided design (CAD) data exchange should be open and seamless because it happens daily in a multi-tiered supplier ecosystem and so much interoperability depends on it. But we are not there yet.
Setting Sights on Holy Grails in AM April 26, 2019 As additive manufacturing (AM) moves from prototypes to mass production, manufacturers are setting their sights on the holy grails—the products and processes that will be game-changers. Many game-changers are already in play.
Laser Marking: Going Places April 12, 2019 The well-established field of laser marking continues to break new ground with expanding business opportunities in automotive, oil and gas, medical and other industries.
Lasers Enhance Traditional Machining April 12, 2019 Metalworking machines are fast, powerful, and accurate, but they weren’t always as capable as they are today. Modern equipment is more nimble, flexible and adaptable. The machines collectively exceed the sum of their parts.
A Free-Wheeling Taxi Service of Sorts Can Set Workers Free April 26, 2019 Manufacturers are facing shrinking product lifecycles with frequently changing customer demands. As a result, they need agile production and flexible factory layouts that can easily be modified whenever needed.
Have a Clear Strategy Around How You Are Applying IoT? April 26, 2019 Most companies do not have a clear strategy for how they are applying IoT, Mark Weatherford, former Deputy Under Secretary for Cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security, said at an exclusive roundtable Smart Manufacturing convened recently in Chicago.
Where Microns Matter: Optical Measuring SystemsWhere Microns Matter: Optical Measuring Systems February 21, 2019 Optical measuring systems, which use light instead of touch, are becoming more widely used in manufacturing because of their faster speed, higher accuracy and ability to measure oddly shaped parts.
DoD Set to Award $10 Million to DMDII February 21, 2019 The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is set to award $10 million in funding this year to the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII) here, UI Labs CEO Caralynn Nowinski Collens, said this morning. UI Labs is DMDII’s parent organization.
Fueled by Defense Funding, DMDII to Become MxD February 28, 2019 The Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII) will be renamed MxD and will stand as an independent organization from UI LABS, now that it has achieved strong momentum and robust fiscal health, the organization said today.
