Mazak Corp. (Florence, KY) continues its steady advance toward the complete factory digitization of all its manufacturing operations with the recent transformation of its Oguchi, Japan, facility into yet another Mazak iSMART Factory.
When you walk into the Redeye On Demand facility in Eden Prairie, MN, you enter into one version of the factory of the future. There you will see a bank of 100 high-end Fortus fused-deposition modeling (FDM) machines from Stratasys that provide the capacity to build real, functional parts with production-grade thermoplastics directly from CAD data.
When Desktop Metal introduced its “office-friendly” Studio metal prototype printer earlier this year, the company renewed attention on the issue of safer materials for binder jetting, an additive manufacturing method.
Even though it’s been around since the 1950s, when engineering-grade resins were first introduced, many manufacturers still are not familiar with the many benefits that metal-to-plastic conversion provides.
While precision, part programs and productivity have improved markedly, the basic process is still the same.
A new partnership between Impossible Objects and Ricoh 3D will make strong and lightweight printed composite parts available to Ricoh 3D’s customers in Europe for the first time.
The adoption of smart manufacturing processes reminds Bob Willig of his “lean manufacturing journey, years ago,” he said.
Shifts in microchip-making to aid automotive, medical
Factory safety is not a theoretical issue for Gabe Glynn, CEO of the wearable tech firm MākuSafe.
Sudhi Bangalore, chief technology officer for global operations at the tool giant Stanley Black & Decker, champions the global movement toward smart manufacturing.
