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The American Manufacturing Communities Collaborative, in collaboration with the Northeast-Midwest Institute and the Century Foundation, is a new national organization building on the foundation of the 24-region Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership initiative, helping regional communities across the U.S. devise and implement sustainable economic development plans that lead to good-paying jobs in thriving manufacturing sectors.

Most manufacturers have invested in some type of technology to run their businesses, whether it's new equipment, robotics, software or business intelligence tools. Each year, Plex Systems Inc. conducts a survey that gathers insights on how manufacturers use technology to solve day-to-day challenges, as well as major industry challenges. The fourth annual State of Manufacturing Technology Report reveals that manufacturers investing in technologies that enable a connected environment are more resilient and optimistic about the challenges ahead.

The struggle among manufacturers to fill open jobs is likely to continue because of the shrinking labor pool and growing need for workers with high-tech skills. Those are conclusions in a report from the National Association of Manufacturers, a trade group for manufacturers, including thousands of small businesses. In a survey in March, manufacturers said their inability to attract and retain talent was their biggest concern as it was for the previous two-and-a-half years. A quarter of those surveyed said they’ve had to turn down business opportunities because they didn’t have the staffers needed to fulfill contracts.

A New Haven, Connecticut-based worker training organization is getting $3.45 million in state funding to expand a program to grow the workforce in the manufacturing sector. Funds will be used to build upon a program launched in February at Gateway Community College that took 19 unemployed and underemployed workers and provided them with an intensive five-week training course. “Every single one of them had a job before they graduated,” said William Villano, president and CEO of Workforce Alliance. “This (is) a good program for people that want to change careers or high school graduates who aren’t going to college.”

Global demand for toolholders, specifically arising from the automotive and defense and aerospace industries, will witness a relatively steady growth through 2028, as predicted by Future Market Insights (FMI) in its recently released market intelligence report. While the demand for toolholders will be largely driven by emerging economies, in particular the manufacturing sector, China is likely to make substantial investments in high-performance cutting tools, considering the robust manufacturing and industrial output in the region.

A new market study, titled, "Diamond Tools Market: Global Industry Analysis 2013–2017 and Forecast 2018–2028," studies the global diamond tools market and offers deep-dive analysis for the next 10 years. The report on the global diamond tools market estimates the key macroeconomic and forecast factors that are projected to drive the growth of the diamond tools market.

One of the laments of the machinist is that designers don’t always consider whether their designs can actually be made. Form Factory founder Brian Ross has embraced that thought and turned it on its head. Ross created his company to cater to clients in a wide variety of industries that all need one thing: high-precision prototypes.

Over 1,500 international visitors experienced new technologies from precision machining and current trends in the manufacturing industry at the Grinding Symposium 2019 held May 8-10 by the United Grinding Group in Thun, Switzerland. Customers, experts and company representatives used the opportunity for one-on-one conversations.

“We knew we were facing a problem when we had tens of jobs open and not a single qualified candidate was applying,” said CEO of Precise Tool and Manufacturing, John S. Gizzi. “Customers were ordering parts, but we had to wait to machine them because so many of our machines sat unmanned.”

Making chips means making money, so keeping the spindle turning is critical for a company's bottom line. Timothy Mooney, Midwest regional sales manager for  Starrag USA, distributors of  high-precision machine tools, said his customers strive for a 75 percent spindle engagement time "That is the only time that they are making money."

Metal working facilities constantly strive to reduce machining times, and saving a  minute or two here or there can really add up. According to John Zaya, workholding product manager for Big Kaiser, time savings can be achieved using flexible workholding systems. This is especially true for companies that have a high part mix, low volume, and when parts might be tall, large, or oddly shaped.

Metal cutting used to be about making chips, but in modern manufacturing it is just part of the story. In today's digital world, metal might be a product's core component, but data is the raw material that drives improvement. That was clearly the case at DMG Mori's Chicago Innovation Days held May 13-16 at the company's Hoffman Estates, IL, facility.

Multi-tasking machines for big parts, small parts and everything in between were on display at the Discover More with Mazak Midwest 2019 event. The May 9 event featured a variety of multi-axis machines. Kevin Bates, general manager - Midwest Region at Mazak Corp., provided Cutting Tool Engineering with a tour of some of the high-productivity technology on display at Mazak's Midwest Technology Center, Schaumburg, IL.

Work/life balance, believing in – and supporting – its people; these are core principles of ARCH Cutting Tools. Dave Fisher is an example of how the organization lives those principles.

Modern maintenance professionals understand the basic importance of their computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS). After all, it is an essential tool when it comes to scheduling and tracking maintenance work. Yet, a CMMS has so much more potential as a value provider to the business. To untap its true power, let us first discuss the holistic approach to maintenance.

Loyal to the motto "Where the customer is, we will be," Mapal established an additional subsidiary in Fountain Inn, South Carolina.

Many industrial production processes wouldn’t be possible without fans—they play a decisive role in the drying, suction or cooling of materials. Often the stability and efficiency of the entire production process may even be dependent on the fans used. The challenging task for Elektror airsystems becomes clearer against this backdrop: The company is one of the international leaders in the production of industrial fans and side channel compressors. Elektror has been relying on UNI HEAT from EMAG eldec since mid-2018 for the production of the electric motors used in its fans: The system ensures quick and precise induction heating of the empty stator housing before the joining process with the motor winding. The process reliability and flexibility of the entire sequence are essential for the rapid “one-piece-flow” at Elektror.

Fetch Robotics announced the results of the inaugural FetchIt! Mobile Manipulation Challenge. The competition was designed to advance the state of technology for applying mobile manipulators, which are autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) fitted with robotic arms, for use in manufacturing and related applications.

ITAMCO (Indiana Technology and Manufacturing Companies) is part of a team developing a new runway mat for the U.S. Air Force. Runway mats are a critical component of expeditionary airfields (EAFs). EAFs are portable airfields that can be constructed, used, broken down after the completion of a mission, and moved to another site for re-use.

Jamestown is slowly becoming a manufacturing hub in western New York. New Flyer of America Inc. is one of the country's largest manufacturers of transit buses. The company's plant in Jamestown has been open since 2016 in a former grocery store.