The Year of Living Digitally March 9, 2017 When Kimberley Hagerty became lean transformation manager at Pratt & Whitney’s Hot Section Module Center, she quickly realized that the company, while flush with the most advanced technology needed to make “the world’s most advanced jet propulsion system in the world,” lacked the “most advanced processes and systems that supported the manufacturing of that technology,” she told people attending The Digital Transformation, a smart manufacturing seminar SME held here recently.
Innovative Safety Concept Adds Flexibility to Modular Production March 9, 2017 A dynamic safety concept has been implemented in the Industrie 4.0 demo production plant of the SmartFactoryKL consortium on the basis of an industrial, Ethernet-based communications protocol.
Advances in Titanium Machining—Do More on Less Floor February 6, 2017 The demand for titanium components by the aerospace industry began as a whisper about 15 years ago and steadily grew to a sustained, raucous shout over the last five and likely won’t quiet for several more.
There is No Hold on Innovation in Workholding January 6, 2017 When it comes to creative workholding solutions, Kurt Industrial Products Division doesn’t hesitate to replace one or even two of its old vises with a new one to get a better product.
For Trump Team, Advice and Dissent January 21, 2017 Within a month of the presidential election in November, the National Council For Advanced Manufacturing (NACFAM) and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) came out with policy recommendations for the burgeoning Trump administration.
Laser Takes Heat Out of Tough Tool Grinding December 1, 2016 Cutting tool maker Shape-Master Tool Co. (Kirkland, IL) needed to expand its tool grinding capability beyond that of its conventional machines or run the risk of losing work to the competition.
Oilfield Shop Gets into Small Parts Watchmaking December 1, 2016 When work in the oil field dried up due to poor economic conditions, Knust-Godwin LLC, a Texas oil & gas supplier, faced new challenges following transitioning into small parts machining. Rather than hunker down and wait out the cyclical downturn as many shops would do, David Prickett, sales manager, and Knust-Godwin management agreed they should work to diversify the company’s customer base.
ERP Software for Small Shops December 5, 2016 Modernizing the smaller shop with the latest digital tools available from enterprise resource planning (ERP) software developers
Time for Monumental Thinking in Additive November 2, 2016 As additive manufacturing emerges from a long infancy, the industry is grappling with a key challenge: A file format and design tools from the 20th century are being asked to do 21st century jobs.
Maybe it’s Time to Try Some ‘Swiss Cheese’ November 1, 2016 These days the most important theme in superabrasive grinding wheel development isn’t the abrasive, it’s the bond. The diamond or CBN grains do the cutting, but the bond plays a decisive role in exposing the grains to the workpiece and enabling coolant to remove heat.