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Hexagon to acquire MSC Software for $834 million

Sweden-based information technologies provider Hexagon AB has announced an agreement to acquire MSC Software Corp., the Newport Beach, Calif. based provider of computer-aided engineering solutions such as simulation software. The agreed-upon purchase price is $834 million. The acquisition is subject to clearance and standard regulatory filings and is expected to be complete in April of 2017.

U.S. Manufacturers' slow walk to Industry 4.0

A Boston Consulting Group survey finds that US companies consider digital technologies a priority, but that many manufacturers feel no urgency and have no strategy to implement them. For example, nearly 90% of manufacturing leaders regard adopting new digital industrial technologies as a way to improve productivity, but only about one in four see opportunities to use these advances to build new revenue streams.

$1.5 million Cloud-based Machine Monitoring Research Project to Begin

Penn State reports that it will team with researchers and analysts from Case Western Reserve University, the GE Global Research Center and Microsoft on a $1.5 million collaborative research project to develop a cloud-based wireless sensing and prognostic system for monitoring manufacturing machinery. The initiative will make it possible for such a system to detect early signs of wear, aging and fault conditions in the machines.

Challenges in Digitizing Manufacturing via ERP Systems

A look at "how manufacturers make the most of machine data" in CIO magazine goes over the challenges as well as the benefits of using ERP. A major source for the article is Magnus Wiktorsson, professor of production systems at Mälardalen University in Sweden. Wiktorsson outlines four key challenges for companies looking to digitize their manufacturing processes, which are worth reading.

Cracking the code

12/01/2016
Author:
James Harvey
Presented here is the second part of a two-part series of columns about the importance of becoming familiar with CNC programming code. The following describes the steps involved in manually writing a program.
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Achieving machining effectiveness

12/01/2016
Author:
Stas Mylek
In the first part of this two-part series, I looked at what actually happens in the cutting zone and how that knowledge allows end users to select the best possible cutting tool and CAD/CAM strategy for a particular material to optimize material removal. This second part covers why it is important to adopt this approach not only for all CNC machining processes, but as a significant production cost-saving measure companywide and industrywide.
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NIST: Fortify Manufacturing, Save $100 Billion, by Closing Tech Gaps

To spur significant innovation and growth in advanced manufacturing, as well as save over $100 billion annually, U.S. industry must rectify currently unmet needs for measurement science and "proof-of-concept" demonstrations of emerging technologies. This is the overall conclusion reached by economic studies funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of four advanced manufacturing areas used to create everything from automobile composites to zero-noise headsets.

In Screen We Trust

10/01/2016
Author:
Alan Richter
IMTS 2016 featured more tools and systems for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) than ever, observed Cutting Tool Engineering Editor Alan Richter in his October 2016 Lead Angle column.
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Becoming Familiar With Code

10/01/2016
Author:
James Harvey
With the advent of CAM software, generating G code is no longer the big deal it was a few decades ago. A CAM system will generate all the G code you need in a matter of seconds. Presented here is the first part of a multiple-part series of columns on the subject.
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