Economy

Deloitte University Press, New York, has launched what it calls a "massive open online course" (MOOC) on the business implications of additive manufacturing, titled "3D Opportunity: The Course on Additive Manufacturing for Business Leaders," designed to help educate the market on the business drivers of additive manufacturing.

CNC Software, Inc., Tolland, Conn.-based developers of Mastercam CAD/CAM software, is one of the two initial underwriters of Purdue University's MSTEM3 Grant Initiative, aimed at changing young peoples' perception of manufacturing through the eduFACTOR multimedia resource from Edge Factor. CNC Software has underwritten $50,000 to help increase the number of schools that can take advantage of the grant, while The Gene Haas Foundation has contributed $250,000. Because of the grant, upper elementary and high schools can qualify for eduFACTOR's suite of products for as little as $99 per year.

Heritage Cutter is the new "brand family" name for cutting tools manufactured by Data Flute, Pittsfield, Mass., as well as Brubaker Tool and Weldon, both based in Millersburg, Pa. The toolmakers are now united under the new Heritage Cutter family of brands. Brubaker was founded in 1881, Weldon is nearly 100 years old, and Data Flute specializes in high-performance carbide endmills.

Allied Machine & Engineering Corp., Dover, Ohio, broke ground July 15 on the second phase of its expansion project. The project involves a 30,000-sq.-ft. addition to its West Third Street facility, which includes R&D space, training areas, offices and a cafeteria. The addition is expected to cost $15.1 million.

H-D Advanced Manufacturing Co., Pittsburgh, acquired San Diego-based Sungear Inc., a manufacturer of precision gears and assemblies for the aerospace industry.

Machine tool builder Hwacheon Machinery America (HMA) will relocate to a new headquarters and technical center in the Chicago suburb of Lincolnshire, Ill., on July 15.

Jacob Prak, CEO of Michigan Manufacturing International (MMI), Stevensville, Md., announced the completion of a new MMI plant in Hosur, India, joining MMI locations in Mumbai, Coimbatore and Bangalore, India, and Shanghai, Fuyang, Ningbo, Jinan, Shenzhen, Dongguan and Hong Kong, China.

Manufacturers nationwide are struggling to find skilled labor, and several community colleges and technical centers around the country have stepped in to fill the void, including a technical training center in Phoenix that offers CNC and manual machining programs. The Maricopa Skill Center offers two machining certificates: CNC machining and manual machining. Students in the program attend class 6 hours a day, Monday through Thursday. The CNC machining program takes about a year to complete.

Toolmaker TDC Cutting Tools Inc. announced the expansion of its operations and established its global headquarters in Seneca, S.C., resulting in 38 new positions at the facility. The company will invest $8.2 million in the construction of the new TDC Overseas campus, including a 32,000-sq.-ft. office building and a 10,000-sq.-ft. recycling center.

Since the economic slowdown in 2008, the global sales of business aircraft has been less than 50 percent of the annual sales in 2007; however, as aircraft fleets get older and the economy improves, pent-up demand may stimulate purchases.