20 women making their mark in robotics & automation February 1, 2021 Listen to this Smart Manufacturing magazine cover story: Twenty women making their mark in robotics & automation
The New Imperative: Improving Operations Through Industry 4.0 December 11, 2019 When it comes to being successful, manufacturers today have more tools than ever to succeed. Chris Mahar, Associate Editor of Manufacturing Engineering, talks with Jeff Lage, President, Advanced Manufacturing Technologies at Ellison Technologies, about how Industry 4.0 is helping manufacturers improve operations through data collection and insights. Providing tips on how businesses can get the most capacity out of their machines, remove waste and enable their machines do more.
Going Beyond Chip Making: Saving Time November 22, 2019 Every manufacturer aims for faster, better parts. While chip making time is often the focus when it comes to time savings, Chris Mahar, Associate Editor of Manufacturing Engineering, talks with Steven Baier, Vice President of Sales for Haimer USA, about time savings that go beyond cutting time.
Applications Expand for Versatile Thread Milling March 1, 2018 Thread milling, a fundamental metalworking process to create threads, is often the operation of choice when working with difficult-to-machine materials, such as titanium, tool steels, stainless steels, hardened steels and other superalloys.
Sunnen Products Company acquires BTA Heller February 2, 2018 Sunnen Products Company has acquired BTA Heller Incorporated, a US-based manufacturer of deep hole tooling and systems for primary hole generation. This move aims to expand Sunnen’s honing expertise to include tooling for initial hole creation and other complementary bore sizing and finishing processes.
Tough Slotting Solution Was Just the Beginning of Savings for Replaceable Tip Cutting Tool February 5, 2018 At Flexco Inc. (Downers Grove, IL), finding a solution to speed up slot-milling with Chip-Surfer replaceable tip solid-carbide cutting tool from Ingersoll Cutting Tools (Rockford, IL) has led to benefits in a host of other operations as well. Flexco, a manufacturer of belt conveyor components, estimates that retooling with Chip-Surfer replaceable solid-carbide tip cutting tools has saved about $200,000 a year overall on slotting operations and the company expects to save as much again on mill-turn operations.
General Carbide Acquires Automotive Tooling Supplier, Only Tool January 23, 2018 General Carbide Corp. (Greensburg, PA) has purchased automotive tooling supplier Only Tool (Ypsilanti, MI). Only Tool has developed its expertise in cold-form tool manufacturing under the leadership of co-owners Ray Fender and Mick Ruffolo, who, under terms of the agreement, will continue to operate the business.
Medical Parts Maker Ups Efficiency, Capacity of EDM Machining January 4, 2018 With each new contract and change order to increase part volume and improve delivery, Johnson Matthey Medical Components expanded capacity and capabilities in the same way—by purchasing more equipment. The San Diego, CA-based company would invest in another EDM to meet growing demand for orthopedic, endoscopic, cardiology and neurological medical devices, which is at an all-time high. The tactic was effective, but costly.
Cutting Tool Manufacturer Fills Machinist Skills Gap in its Community January 4, 2018 Rapid growth has spurred a cutting tool manufacturer to reach out to its community to grow the pool of young people available to join its workforce. You don’t have to look farther than the lobby of Midwest Industrial Grinding Inc. (MITGI) to find evidence of its commitment to workforce development for its own benefit as well as that of its Hutchinson, MN, manufacturing community.
Machine Tool Orders Post Mixed Results in November January 15, 2018 Machine tool orders posted mixed results in November, slipping a bit on a monthly basis while recording a solid gain compared with a year earlier, according to a monthly report by the Association for Manufacturing Technology (McLean, VA).