Michael C. Anderson

Articles • June 12, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

Success detected for noncontact inspection

The most-recent trends in inspection technology include using powerful 3D software to compare the part to its CAD rendering, inspecting the part in-process—without having to take it out of the production line or cell—and, as much as possible, automating the inspection process.

Articles • June 2, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

One year into the future at GE

GE Power opened its "Factory of the Future," the 125,000-sq.-ft. Advanced Manufacturing Works (AMW) facility in Greenville, S.C., with great fanfare in April 2016. So, what's futuristic about the place?

Articles • May 25, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

Look Ahead: Fast process for depositing ultrahard coatings

A new CS-50 deposition system from Duralar Technologies uses a process called DualArmor that is capable of applying DLC coatings of 50µm or thicker — and apply them at rates averaging 15µm to 20µm per hour. Conventional DLC coatings, which have a practical total thickness limit of around 5µm, are deposited one or two atoms at a time. As a result, it can take more than 8 hours to deposit a 1µm-thick DLC coating.

Articles • May 24, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

Look Ahead: A grinding machine designed for sintered ceramics

Most manufacturers finish their sintered ceramic parts with grinding equipment designed for metals. Tratech Corp., however, has introduced what it says is the first commercially available CNC grinding machine designed specifically for the demanding needs of machining fully sintered ceramics.

News • May 24, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

ISM: Economic growth to continue throughout 2017

Economic growth is expected to continue in the U.S. throughout the remainder of 2017, say the nation's purchasing and supply executives in their Spring 2017 Semiannual Economic Forecast. Expectations for the remainder of 2017 continue to be positive in both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors. Sixty-four percent of respondents from the panel of manufacturing supply management executives predict their revenues will be 8.5 percent greater in 2017 compared to 2016, 12 percent expect a 9.6 percent decline, and 24 percent foresee no change in revenue.

News • May 19, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

AMT, SME partner for ‘Smart Manufacturing Experience’ in Boston in 2018

On May 16th at a reception held in conjunction with EASTEC, SME and AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology announced partnering on creating "a new kind of event," designed to "help fast-track the adoption of Smart Manufacturing technologies." That event, the Smart Manufacturing Experience, is scheduled to take place April 30 through May 2, 2018 at the Boston Convention Center.

Articles • May 19, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

Small shops warm up to work cells

As automation becomes more flexible and less expensive, work cells are propagating at smaller shops.

News • May 3, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

Did 3D printing metal just get a hundred times faster?

Last week, Desktop Metal, Burlington, Mass., a two-year-old startup, demonstrated the Desktop Metal (DM) Studio System, which it calls an "office-friendly" metal 3D-printing system for rapid prototyping, and the DM Production, a printer for the manufacturing market it claims is 100 times faster than current laser sintering machines.

News • April 28, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

3D printing gets faster, by jellin’

An issue slowing down 3D printing's advance into manufacturing is that the process itself is too slow to meet production requirements. Now, a collaboration between MIT, Steelcase and product designer Christophe Guberan presents a novel technique they call Rapid Liquid Printing, which can reduce the time of certain 3D printing applications from hours to minutes.

News • April 25, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

ABB and IBM partner to bring AI to the factory floor

ABB and IBM have announced a strategic collaboration that brings together ABB's industry-leading digital offering, ABB Ability, with IBM Watson Internet of Things cognitive capabilities to unlock new value for customers in industry, utilities and transport & infrastructure.

News • April 15, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

PRAB on Maximizing Steel-belt Conveyor Life

Typically in a scrap handling process, the how and where the scrap is collected and disposed of is not part of the conveyor system's design—but should be. That how and where could be crucial to the longevity of your conveyor. PRAB Inc., Kalamazoo, Mich., has a free, downloadable white paper on "The Importance of Design Elements in Maximizing the Life of Your Steel Belt Conveyor," that details what to be aware of.

News • April 9, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

Omax profiles Indiana’s go-to waterjet expert

At the Omax Corp. blog, writer Gretchen Salois profiles Waterjet Cutting of Indiana, which often attracts customers "because they know they can hand over drawings for an intricate job Friday afternoon, and receive them first thing Monday," she writes. The company cuts everything from skid plates for Indy 500 cars to magnets for the oil industry to elevator weights for buildings throughout the company's hometown of Indianapolis.