Metrology Gets Connected September 1, 2015 “Metrology and its relationship to manufacturing is rapidly evolving,” Ken Woodbine, president, Wilcox Associates, a brand of Hexagon Metrology (North Kingstown, RI), recently observed. “We are seeing larger quantities and faster speeds of measurement data collection. The next challenge is what to do with all that data.”
Lasers Grow Manufacturing June 1, 2015 Today, laser technology in manufacturing touches all of our lives on a daily basis; lasers cut air bag material and weld air bag detonators for our in-car safety; lasers weld the batteries in many of our mobile devices; lasers drill aero-engine components for planes; lasers cut the glass for our smart phones and tablets screens; lasers weld the drivetrains in our cars and trucks; lasers cut medical stents that increase and enhance our lives, just to name a few.
What’s Next in Grinding? March 1, 2015 Many precision grinding machines on the market already offer their users near-perfect tolerances, leaving one to wonder: What’s next in grinding? But tool builders still have plenty of room to add valuable new improvements, machine shop owners say.
Milling vs. Grinding for Rapid Stock Removal February 16, 2015 A recent effort by the Norton Advanced Applications Engineering Group demonstrates that for difficult-to-machine materials, grinding can be an economical alternative to other machining processes.
Connecting the Digital World with the Factory Floor April 1, 2014 The classic manufacturing conundrum is how to make products quicker, cheaper, and better.
Laser Welding Applications Expand March 1, 2014 Solid-state laser technology has matured, leading to development of new, cost-effective welding applications, such as hybrid welding
Grinding Roots August 22, 2013 Until the middle of 2010, first-tier subcontract machinist, JJ Churchill, could produce turbine blades only if they had their fir-tree root-forms preground elsewhere, or if they were subsequently added by another subcontractor. No longer is this the case.
Nesting, MRP Solutions Can Boost Fabrication Productivity June 1, 2013 Nesting is the process of arranging parts to be cut from sheets of metal or wood in the most efficient manner possible in order to maximize yield and speed the cutting process. By reducing scrap and accelerating the cutting process, fabricators are saving on material cost while running more jobs.
Targeting the Skills Gap in Forming and Fabricating July 24, 2020 As in other industries, U.S. forming and fabricating companies are experiencing a critical shortage of skilled labor. In this SME Media podcast, Alan Rooks, Editor in Chief of Manufacturing Engineering magazine, talks with Robert Tessier, National Director of Advanced Fabrication Technologies for Airgas about the skills gap in the forming and fabricating industry; changes needed in the education system to fill the need for skilled labor; how automation factors into efforts to reduce the skills gap; and efforts at Airgas to develop workers for manufacturing operations, including a special program for military veterans.
Tackling Downtime and Inefficiencies with Software November 20, 2019 Turning to software over paper reports does more than just save trees. Chris Mahar, Associate Editor of Manufacturing Engineering, talks with David McPhail, President and CEO of Memex Inc., about how manufacturers can utilize technology to improve efficiency, reduce downtime and boost productivity and profits across their business.
