Lean at NUMMI September 1, 2005 To remain competitive in the fiercely contested North American automotive industry, the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI, Fremont, CA) assembly plant, a joint venture between Toyota Motor Corp. (Aichi Prefecture, Japan) and General Motors Corp. (Detroit), has rededicated its efforts in lean manufacturing during the past few years by applying key tenets of the Toyota Production System (TPS).
Waterjet vs. EDM October 1, 2005 A wave of skepticism swept through me when I received the assignment to write this story. Why would anyone compare wire electrical discharge machines (EDMs) to abrasive-waterjet cutting? After all, they are different technologies suited for different kinds of work.
Micromanufacturing is Growing July 1, 2004 Many industries have been making parts with micron dimensions for some time, but in the last few years, the market for miniaturization has expanded. The demand is not only for small parts, but also for small complex features on larger parts. This is due chiefly to the switch to modules in which the functions of several parts or subsystems are not handled by a single complex unit.
Programming CMMs May 1, 2004 Off-line programming software tools for CMMs allow manufacturers to increase measurement capacity and throughput by programming CMMs, probes, and fixtures before parts are made.
What’s the Connection? June 1, 2004 A lot of attention is paid to the “business end” of CNC toolholders–the part that actually holds the tool.
A Look at Boeing’s Outsourcing Strategy March 1, 2004 “Offloading.” That’s what The Boeing Company (Chicago) calls it. Whatever the terminology–we’ll go with outsourcing–it’s a big trend in the aerospace industry.
Tooling and Workholding Systems August 1, 2002 “We are developing solutions for power workholding such as hydraulic swing clamps and block clamps, because the real estate on a fixture is so valuable,” says Jason Betz, product specialist for Carr Lane Roemheld (St. Louis). “This pushes the use of smaller workholding components as much as possible because the more parts on the fixture the greater the productivity.”
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