Industry News

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.

Doosan Machine Tools hosted a record number of attendees from 50 countries at the 2019 edition of the Doosan International Machine Tool Fair (DIMF) held in Changwon, South Korea. A total of 80 machines were on display, including 38 new or upgraded models.

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.

In connection with the Ceratizit Open Days 2019 press event May 13-15, I visited several of the cutting tool manufacturer's German facilities (in Stuttgart, Balzheim and Kempten), as well as Ceratizit Reutte in Breitenwang, Austria. The Luxembourg-based Ceratizit Group has combined its Ceratizit, Komet, WNT and Klenk brands under the name Team Cutting Tools.

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.