Trumpf lists 7 key benefits emanating from tech in its just-built smart factory December 12, 2017 The smart factory Trumpf built in this Chicago suburb, in the works since early 2014 and open to the public since September, is just a few months away from running full steam ahead: Smart Manufacturing recently asked its director, Tobias Reuther, to identify the seven key benefits of a smart factory.
Lasers Target New Medical Applications November 2, 2017 Lasers — well-established tools in the manufacture of medical devices—are continuing to break ground by producing smaller, more precise and more functional parts thanks to faster pulse speeds at lower cost, new applications and the marriage of laser processing to Swiss-style machining.
Huawei Urging Suppliers to Use Cloud Technology to Match Its New Quality Standards November 7, 2017 With user costs rising and automation still not at the optimum level in China, the best option for pulling small and medium enterprises along on the smart manufacturing journey is cloud technology, Huawei Technologies’ He Fred said here today at a conference titled Manufacturing in the Age of Experience.
Big Data Analytics Can Save Manufacturers Millions by Improving Process Efficiencies November 2, 2017 Data mining and Big Data are hot topics. Your company develops process mining software; how does it differ from data mining?
Lasers on the Cutting Edge November 1, 2017 In the last seven to eight years, solid-state lasers have come to dominate laser welding and cutting,” said Tom Bailey, product specialist for Trumpf Inc. (Farmington, CT). While Trumpf still produces CO2 lasers, for most applications solid-state lasers literally outshine them.
Smart Tools’ Target: Data Analysis, Not Paralysis November 28, 2017 The road to manufacturing success today runs through the mountain of data that tools are generating in metalcutting applications, and most importantly communicating and reacting to in real time on the shop floor.
Power of AM to approach zero inventory is growing October 17, 2017 What is good about inventory? Being able to find a part when you need it. What’s not so good about inventory? Where to even start…
The IT Director Who Guided Hitachi to 'One Common Code Set'—From Norman, OK October 17, 2017 The 70-acre Hitachi campus in Norman, Okla., where Michelle Mertens serves as IT director for Hitachi computer products employs just 400 people. And while that pales in comparison to the more than 700 people Hitachi employs in Asia, her factory led a worldwide initiative under which Hitachi unified its shop floor systems.
New materials hard to come by for medical device makers October 17, 2017 When it comes to using new materials, medical and dental device makers are ultra-conservative—because they need to clear devices through a thicket of federal regulators.
Airbus, Boeing, Lockheed singing praises of composites October 12, 2017 Starting with the primitive laminates of the Wright Brothers era, the use of composites in aircraft has evolved over the last century from small amounts on nonstructural components to up to half of some aircraft and use on critical structures, such as wings. A key benefit is reducing weight.