A&D Parts Maker Goes OCD on OTD, Thrives With New Tool April 26, 2019 On-time delivery (OTD), a measurement of the level of finish goods or services delivered when promised and in full, is a signal of efficiency that reveals how well operations is doing.
EXCLUSIVE REPORT: The Nascent State of Cyber Defense April 26, 2019 Road to maturity involves safeguarding supply chains, treating security with the same urgency as safety, for starters.
When Your Ship Comes in and Needs Sizing Up April 26, 2019 When drilling a well, clearing a forest or excavating a building site, experienced operators count on their toughest equipment to help them get the job done.
Special Report: In Blockchain We Trust April 26, 2019 The technology behind the rise of cryptocurrencies is widely expected to bring ‘a common source of truth’ to manufacturing.
Laser Cutting Powers Up April 10, 2019 Implementing a comprehensive laser cutting system is not a task for the faint of heart. In addition to the financial outlay, requirements include planning for a complete system, not just the laser, according to Dustin Diehl, laser division product manager, Amada America Inc., Buena Park, Calif.
In Laser Welding, Power Needs Precision April 8, 2019 With great power comes great responsibility, the saying goes. And with greater laser power being used to weld sheet metal, tubes, copper and aluminum, operators have a greater responsibility to deliver that power with a precision that avoids defects.
AM, Spare Parts, and the Rise of the Micro Factory March 8, 2019 Manufacturing got smart when companies figured out how to make products in one market and sell them in another. Today, we call this supply chain logistics. But somewhere along the way, the innovation chain connecting supply (manufacturing) and logistics (the supporting infrastructure) started to diverge.
Software, CNC Interface Gains Push Programming Productivity March 1, 2019 Connected manufacturing and digitization technologies are spurring many of the major innovations in CNC machine controls that help machine shops cut metal and create parts as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Combined with AI, IoT, Blockchain Can Meet Many Supply Chain Challenges February 12, 2019 Blockchain technology is becoming a key player in modernizing supply chains to enable easy tracking, automate transactions and delivery, and build end-to-end trust, Chandra Narayanaswami, principal research staff member, Member IBM Academy of Technology at IBM Research, told people attending a smart manufacturing session at the MD&M West conference here last week.
How a Small, Influential Maker of Robots Sees Human Workers February 25, 2019 The human factor is sometimes just too cumbersome in manufacturing. Take the German chipmaker Infineon: By using an autonomous robot called Scout from MetraLabs for the last several years, the automotive supplier shrank to 10 from 300 the number of minutes it takes to collect the clean-room data needed to measure the presence of rare gases in the air.