Industry News

NSI Laser, Fremont, Calif., in April opened a new applications laboratory (App Lab) intended to meet the rising demand for new and advanced laser micromachining processes. The App Lab is a direct "response to the whole electronics industry moving toward high density interconnect (HDI) and finer geometry PCBs," according to a company news release.n

Weiler Abrasives Group, a leading provider of abrasives, power brushes and maintenance products for surface conditioning, announced last month that it appointed Bill Dwyre as Managing Director of the newly formed Americas business. This promotion, part of a larger restructuring, supports the integration of the "game changing" acquisition of Swatycomet in late 2015, launching the company into the global abrasive market space. n

Synova, a manufacturer of high-precision laser cutting systems, has relocated its North American Micro-Machining Center (MMC) operations to Secaucus, N.J. The MMC offers laser machining services such as application trials, single and recurring cutting jobs and machine demonstrations.

Mitsui Seiki USA Inc. in April announced that Scott Walker, long-time president, has accepted the position of chairman; Robb Hudson, former business and technology director, has been named chief executive officer; and William "Bill" Malanche, former executive vice president, has been appointed chief operating officer.

Kitagawa NorthTech, Inc., which offers standard chucks, custom engineered workholding and Steady Rests solutions, in April announced that Shaun Thomas joined the company as Senior Manager of Engineering & Manufacturing. In his position for the workholding company, Thomas will be instrumental in managing all design, engineering and manufacturing processes.

The Commerce Department on Friday provided its first statistical snapshot of the American economy in the first quarter, the gross domestic product estimate. The economy barely grew, expanding at an annual rate of only 0.7 percent. The growth was a sharp decline from the 2.1 percent annual rate recorded in the final quarter of last year. It was the weakest quarterly showing in three years. Consumption, the component reflecting individual spending, rose by only 0.3 percent, well below the 3.5 percent rate in the previous quarter.

One of the oldest die casters in the US, New Products Corporation, turned 95 on April 22. Founded in Benton Harbor, Mich., in 1922, the company is a global supplier of custom, precision die cast aluminum and zinc parts for applications in industries including automotive, military, industrial equipment, medical instruments, appliances, transportation, and furniture.

For years, cyber insurance was purchased mostly by consumer-facing businesses such as retailers and financial-service providers. But as factories are getting more tech-savvy and digitally integrated with other parts of the company, manufacturers are starting to realize that keeping those networks safe is essential, according to this Wall Street Journal report.

Weiler Abrasives Group, a leading provider of abrasives, power brushes, and maintenance products for surface conditioning, appointed Chad McDonald as the new vice president of sales, U.S. and Canada. In his role at Weiler, McDonald will oversee all sales activities in the U.S. and Canada, including field sales, national accounts and manufacturer's rep groups. He will also be responsible for continuing to strengthen Weiler's relationships with distribution partners, end users and industry associations.

Detroit, Mich., is a haven for CAD designers according to a top 10 ranking of cities to live in for the profession.

Since 2005, igus has been a major supplier sponsor of a variety of student robotics and engineering competitions. Now, as a part of its YES (Young Engineers Support) Program, the company is celebrating National Robotics Week with their continued support of thousands of student engineers around the world.

Penn State industrial engineering researchers are part of a collaborative team that has received $1.2 million in funding to develop an advanced framework that will allow engineers to share and process engineering data as well as formally represent design and manufacturing-related knowledge throughout the product design lifecycle. The 18-month project is funded by the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII). The project is titled "Lower Life Cycle Costs, Improve Design and Performance Robustness through the Digital Thread."