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Manufacturing Day - Oct. 7: This week, the U.S. Census Bureau joins a group of public and private organizations in celebrating the importance of the manufacturing sector of the nation’s economy. This marks the fifth annual organized observance of Manufacturing Day. The Census Bureau releases manufacturing statistics that inform businesses and policymakers. Collectively, the data paint a picture of the state of this important economic sector.

Emuge Corp. has announced the opening of a new technology center, located at the company’s North American headquarters in West Boylston, MA, USA. The center, designed to be a full-service resource for manufacturers to apply cutting tool application strategies, is equipped with the latest 3 and 5-axis vertical machining centers, precision measuring devices and tool monitoring, in addition to an interactive classroom for training and seminars. The technology center will serve customers across the U.S. and Canada, enabling manufacturing professionals to test cut their applications and develop milling, drilling, and threading strategies to optimize tool life and performance and reduce cycle times.

Here's a look at manufacturing from the point of view of potential investors: At Nibletz ("The Voice of Startups Everywhere Else"), Jane Brown writes, "For an idea to be commercially viable it has to be in the Goldilocks zone—one that’s neither too old nor too new. And many manufacturing ideas fall within that ideal zone." She goes on to offer six ideas to consider before making the leap into manufacturing.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering is the new home of a unique machine that is capable of 3D milling precise to one nanometer. The machine, called the ROBONANO α-0iB, is the first of its kind in North America, and it brings extremely advanced technological capabilities that could represent the future of advanced manufacturing. The ROBONANO, which is on a multi-year loan from the Japanese robotics manufacturer FANUC, is housed in the laboratory of Sangkee Min, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at UW-Madison. The ROBONANO’s extremely precise capabilities offer Min and colleagues new research opportunities, which he hopes will open up improved and novel approaches to manufacturing.

"Global capital investment, a main engine of economic growth, remains stagnant amid concerns over a slowdown in emerging markets and the U.K.'s vote to leave the European Union, writes Mikio Sugeno in Nikkei Asian Review. "Masahiko Mori, president of major Japanese machine-tool manufacturer DMG Mori, painted a downbeat picture of global business investment in an interview with The Nikkei, saying that a full-scale recovery is still two to three years away." Mori explains his reasoning in this Q&A with Sugeno.

“Manufacturers who conduct a lot of machining know that the cost of productivity of a machining operation is inextricably connected to the selection of the cutting tool and the process for managing them,” writes GE Industry Analyst Andy Henderson in a GE Digital blog post. “In the utopian future, the manufacturing intelligence system will automatically control how cutting tools are used and automatically optimize the cost of machining operations.”

Handshake, which offers B2B commerce technology for manufacturers and distributors, announced key findings from its 2016 Manufacturing & Distribution Sales and Technology Survey Report. This annual survey explores how manufacturers and distributors around the world are changing the way they sell and deliver products to their customers in the wake of new challenges, disruptive technologies and shifting customer expectations.

Optomec, Albuquerque, NM, a global supplier of production-grade additive manufacturing systems for 3D printed metals, launched a new tool series today at IMTS 2016 that reportedly enables low-cost, high-value metal additive manufacturing.

A video posted by Cutting Tool Engineering (@cteplus) at IMTS 2016.

Tweets by @CTEplus at IMTS

“The 30-foot-by-35-foot pit in a concrete floor is empty, shiny and immaculate as it awaits the arrival of a massive machine for use by Connecticut manufacturers to cut, shape and do a range of other tasks with composite materials,” writes Stephen Singer in the Hartford Courant. “At the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology in East Hartford, the large rectangular hole resembling a swimming pool and reaching a depth of 4 ft. in parts will be filled later this year by the 130,000-lb, high-speed industrial machine [that] will be used to shape, cut, grind and otherwise fashion aerospace and other industry components made of composites.”

"With rising salaries, labor unrest, environmental devastation and intellectual property theft, China is no longer an attractive place for Western companies to move their manufacturing," writes Vivek Wadhwa. "Technology has also eliminated the labor cost advantage. [China] built its dominance in manufacturing by offering massive subsidies, cheap labor, and lax regulations. With technologies such as robotics and 3D printing, it has no edge."

At GreenBiz, Mark Johnson, director of the Department of Energy's Advanced Manufacturing Office, describes the importance of manufacturing innovation to the burgeoning U.S. clean-energy industry.

Los Angeles Times reports: Factories south of the border are fueled by American goods and services—creating a silver lining for at least some workers in the U.S.

Small businesses that use data to help make decisions are more strongly growing revenue as compared to their counterparts who use data on a limited basis, according to new research from Exact and Pb7 Research. The findings show that businesses across the U.S. and Europe who lean on data insights reported revenue growth of 21 percent in the last financial year, as compared to 9 percent for businesses reporting limited use of data.

5ME recently acquired 51 patents in four patent families from Creare, an innovator in cryogenic systems and fluid dynamics. The acquisition gives 5ME control of the intellectual property related to cryogenic machining – specifically, the process of transmitting liquid nitrogen at -321° F through the spindle/turret and tool body, directly to a cutting tool’s edge.

The Make & Elevate Manufacturing Leadership Series will take place September 12-14 to coincide with IMTS (International Manufacturing & Technology Show). The series offers two components: the three-day “Mastermind Forum” and a “One-Day to Elevate Workshop,” both designed to help manufacturing leaders take their businesses to the next level.

It is a reminder of the race between the hare and the hedgehog: Materials are becoming stronger, tougher, more resistant. But the manufacturers of precision tools manage time and again, often in collaboration with research institutes, to also efficiently machine the most demanding materials after a relatively short time. In this interview Professor Dr.-Ing. Dirk Biermann, Director of the Institute of Machining Technology (ISF) at the Technical University of Dortmund, explains the current developments and challenges surrounding the tool.

PTC announced that Fastems, a Finnish manufacturer of factory automation systems with North American headquarters in West Chester, Ohio, will integrate PTC ThingWorx technology into its flexible manufacturing systems. The new technology will facilitate remote systems monitoring and condition-based maintenance. These new service options will enable its customers to increase system uptime and production capacity.

SLM Solutions played its part helping athletes strive for gold at the Rio Olympics by providing selective laser melting metal additive manufacturing technology to help bicyclists improve their equipment. SLM Solutions customer Erpro & Sprint is a leading company in the field of digital manufacturing in France, offering a range of 3D printing services at its facility just north of Paris.