How to set off on the smart manufacturing journey August 1, 2017 Conrad Leiva, vice president for product strategy and alliance at iBASEt and chair of the smart manufacturing working group at MESA International, speaks with Smart Manufacturing magazine Editor in Chief Brett Brune.
Take the Risk: Materials Scientist Nearing Retirement Joins Startup August 11, 2017 Steve Pollack had just about reached early retirement age when longtime friend and colleague Joe DeSimone asked him to join Carbon, his startup 3D printing company.
Northrop using AM to efficiently make coldplates, cable clamps, more August 10, 2017 How do manufacturers love additive manufacturing (AM)? Bianca Lankford, a mechanical engineer at Northrop Grumman, can count the ways: antennas, brackets, clamps, coldplates, ducts, plenums and test fixtures.
Zooming ahead in data-management tool adoption August 15, 2017 Manufacturers of many stripes can save money just by making better use of data emanating from the factory floor. But for those in aerospace and defense—Airbus Helicopters is a prime example—the potential payoffs are legion.
More US funds needed to address workforce skills gap August 17, 2017 A strong manufacturing ecosystem that includes manufacturing engineering education is critical to ensuring the future vitality and innovation of manufacturing initiatives in the US. So it was welcome news to learn that the DOD is developing a new manufacturing engineering education (MEE) grant program, authorized by Congress with initial funding of $10 million for fiscal 2017.
Automation Cell Integrates 3D Printing with Post-Process Machining July 10, 2017 Methods Machine Tools Inc. (Sudbury, MA), a leading supplier of precision machine tools, 3D printing technology and automation, recently introduced an automation cell designed to greatly boost 3D manufacturing throughput.
Mazak iSMART Factory Initiative Spreads to Japan Plant July 13, 2017 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.
Siemens Partners with Singapore to Establish Digitalization Hub July 13, 2017 To address the growing opportunities in urbanization and in Asia, Siemens will be setting up a Digitalization Hub in Singapore. At this Hub, Siemens will develop innovations for the Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrie 4.0 in collaboration with its customers in Southeast Asia.
New 3D Printer Makes Fully Isotropic Parts, Virtually Eliminates Post-Processing July 11, 2017 One of the “dirty secrets” of 3D printing is the universal need to take additional steps to render the output usable, including removing the part from its support, curing the part, or improving the surface. Aside from additional cycle time and cost, these steps often require or emit toxic chemicals, necessitating special ventilation and making them unsuitable for a standard office environment. For example, parts built with fused deposition modeling (FDM) must spend about four to eight hours in a heated, agitated sodium hydroxide bath.
GE Now a User and a Major Seller of AM Technology July 10, 2017 General Electric Co. (Boston) has been very public about its use of additive manufacturing (AM) technology to build critical jet engine components, starting with the fuel nozzle for its LEAP engine.
