Look Ahead

When choosing an edge inspection and burr detection system, users generally try to balance accuracy and speed. The EdgeInspect system from Novacam Technologies Inc., however, acquires and analyzes edge properties and detects burrs with micrometer precision and at speeds previously unimaginable.

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).

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.

Omax Corp. developed the MicroMax JetMachining Center with help from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), which awarded the company a Small Business Innovation Research grant. The investment has paid off.

Trochoidal milling is a relatively new cutting strategy that involves the overlapping of circular toolpaths with linear movement. It is well-suited for difficult-to-machine materials and thin-walled components.

An item in the Look Ahead department of the August 2017 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine features large-volume, high-accuracy robots.

G2 Technologies has developed a customizable, automated 3D inspection system in response to a customer's need to inspect small electronic connectors. This niche is very specific, but impacts aerospace, automotive and other industries. The global market for the connectors industry is projected to reach $80.3 billion by 2022, according to G2.

The welDYNA laser scan head from SCANLAB America Inc. uses beam oscillation to improve both joining and cutting applications. Designed for multiple-kilowatt lasers of high beam quality, the scan head features a digital servocontrol and an integrated sensor system for real-time monitoring.

It takes knowledge and skill to get a robot to do exactly what a manufacturer wants. A new interface designed by Georgia Institute of Technology researchers is reportedly simpler and more efficient than most control interfaces and doesn't require significant training.

Desktop Metal Inc., a 2-year-old startup, developed a different method of metal 3D printing that it calls an "office-friendly" system for rapid prototyping. The Desktop Metal (DM) Studio system is based on a new approach—Single Pass Jetting (SPJ), which was created by the inventors of the binder-jetting and the single-pass inkjet processes.

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.

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.