Michael C. Anderson

Articles • December 12, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

Poll offers snapshot of what matters to CNC users

The CNC Cookbook software developer recently polled its 100,000 newsletter subscribers to find out what they most value and most dislike about their CNCs.n

News • December 8, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

Getting started with IIoT

I attended 'Integr8,' an Industrial Internet of Things conference hosted by Automation Alley at Detroit's Renaissance Center last month. At numerous breakout sessions, a common question from participants was, "How do I get started with getting my shop floor connected?" This was an event full of experts enthused by the possibilities that IIoT hold for manufacturers, so I was pleasantly surprised to hear many of them reply, in effect: "With moderation."n

News • December 4, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

ISM: Manufacturing expands in November at a slightly slower pace

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in November, and the overall economy grew for the 102nd consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business. The November PMI registered 58.2 percent, a decrease of 0.5 percentage point from the October reading of 58.7 percent. This indicates growth in manufacturing for the 15th consecutive month led by expansion in new orders and production, offset by supplier delivery improvement and declines in raw material Inventory.

News • November 30, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

In digital manufacturing, the supplier’s real product is intellectual property

In the digitized manufacturing world being born, the product that a job-shop produces is less a piece of engineered metal and more a piece of intellectual property. So said Tom Kelly, the executive director and CEO of Detroit's Automation Alley. That difference brings risks but also unprecedented opportunities for those who are ready.

News • November 17, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

Are you ready to ‘Integr8’ IIoT technology?

Earlier this week we shared the conclusions of the McKinsey Report, which concluded that it may be possible for U.S. manufacturing to grow by 20 percent and add more than 2 million jobs by 2025. That was the good news. It can only happen, however, if manufacturers embrace Industry 4.0 technology. The Integr8 conference in Detroit showed how to get started.

News • November 16, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

McKinsey Report: U.S. Manufacturing could grow by 20% and add 2 million jobs by 2025

The McKinsey Global Institute released new research this week that outlines opportunities to boost manufacturing by up to $530 billion, or 20 percent, over current trends by 2025—and create more than 2 million jobs. The report also provides fresh details on why the US manufacturing sector has suffered steep declines.

News • November 8, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

‘Rosie’ and women in manufacturing—a reader responds

Last week's blog post on the successors of Rosie the Riveter inspired a reader to share her own experience as an early woman in manufacturing. Lois Anderson was tasked with walking into plants in Southwestern Michigan to convince dubious managers and workers to use new methods to improve their production quality and efficiency. In the end, she helped them excel.

News • November 7, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

ISM: Manufacturing expands in October; 14th consecutive month of growth

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in October, and the overall economy grew for the 101st consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business. The October PMI registered 58.7 percent, a decrease of 2.1 percentage points from the September reading of 60.8 percent. This indicates growth in manufacturing for the 14th consecutive month and continues expansion consistent with pre-hurricane levels.

News • November 3, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

Controls and networking: a reader responds

My October 20 post on adding capabilities to your current CNC brought a response from a reader who who shares a problem. "We have a few Kitamura MyCenter 4XiF VMCs with FANUC 16iMB controls running daily on our shop floor," he writes, "The control hasn't given us a single problem since they powered on for the first time. However, we haven't been able to get the machines onto our network and we have given up trying."

News • October 27, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

Manufacturers to women: ‘Daughters of Rosie, we need you!’

In a clear echo of the 'Rosie the Riveter' campaign of WWII, manufacturing organizations in 2017 are striving to let women know that their talents are needed, the work is important and rewarding, and unlike in their grandparents' time, the jobs are permanent.

Articles • October 26, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

Look Ahead: All together now

The toii Platform, created by thyssenkrupp Materials Services GmbH, is said to effectively communicate with a wide array of systems and devices that will help fulfill the promise of the industrial internet of things (IIoT).

Articles • October 25, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

Look Ahead: Securing robots’ ‘personal space’

Collaborative robotics has three aspects: the human, the robot and the workspace where the task is to be completed. Much of the media coverage has focused exclusively on the robots themselves.