Is Leveraging the IoT Really ‘Smart Manufacturing’? October 29, 2018 Industry 4.0 is often referred to as smart manufacturing, where technology enables interconnectivity for machines and manufacturing software and systems. It also provides “Big Data,” increased visibility and remote access to manufacturing assets.
Diesel Propulsion Takes to the Skies January 8, 2019 In a small town in northwestern Wisconsin, a dedicated group of engineers, designers, and machinists are working with a visionary management team on a concept that could have a revolutionary effect on general aviation and impact other forms of flight.
Adopting MBD is About More Than Technology January 4, 2019 There is a lot of promise in the coming adoption of Model-Based Definition (MBD) in industry. MBD is the practice of attaching useful information to a 3D CAD model, such as tolerances or material properties. This should be especially good news for manufacturing engineers.
Aerospace Machining Solves Challenges Big and Small April 3, 2019 Aerospace machining encompasses machines small and large. These range from the Tornos SwissNano to the Makino MAG3, as Rich Sullivan put it. He is the OEM manager for Iscar Metals Inc., Arlington, Texas.
Mastercam Blends New Technology, Support and Beta Testing to Improve CAM Performance March 8, 2019 In 2018, CNC Software Inc., Tolland, Conn., reached several milestones: its 35th anniversary as a company, 250,000th installation, a new user website and the introduction of Mastercam 2019.
Adding it Up at IMTS 2018 August 8, 2018 Additive manufacturing (AM) pioneer Charles Hull introduced the first commercial 3D printer, the SLA-1, in 1987. Jaws dropped, machinists wondered about their next career, pundits said it spelled the death of traditional manufacturing. None of that happened, thankfully; in fact, some said 3D printing was a bunch of hype, good for little more than investment casting patterns and proof of concept prototypes.
Hot Techniques for Cutting High-Temperature Alloys August 1, 2018 For Dale Mickelson, Yasda product manager at Methods Machine Tools Inc. (Sudbury, MA) and author of several books on hard milling, tackling heat-resistant superalloys (HRSAs) requires the perfect combination of machine, workholding, tooling, tool paths and coolant.
Rummaging in the IMTS Tool Box for Tooling Solutions September 25, 2018 One thing remains clear about IMTS 2018: Solutions to virtually every conceivable tool holding or workholding challenge could be found, if visitors to the exposition took the time to walk aisle after aisle in search the latest advanced technology, whether in the supplier’s booth or at work on machines in builder booths.
Workholding Solutions to Reduce Costs, Increase Throughput April 24, 2018 At the Nirvana Machine Shop on planet Perfection, every workpiece is clamped to a custom-built fixture mounted on a dedicated machine tool. Each workpiece is dimensionally identical to the one before and the one after. All the fixtures are totally automatic—instantly positioning, clamping, machining, inspecting, and releasing the part with the ultimate precision.
Replaceable Tip Drills Offer Versatile Design Improvements April 24, 2018 Since their introduction about 20 years ago, replaceable-tip drills have become increasingly accurate and cost-effective alternatives to solid carbide units.