Industry News

News • May 24, 2018

Hexagon AB acquires ProCAM SRL

Hexagon AB, Stockholm, a leading global provider of information technologies that drive productivity and quality across geospatial and industrial enterprise applications, acquired ProCAM SRL, an Italian distributor of CAD/CAM solutions and complementary software.

News • May 24, 2018

Index Corp. names distributors

Index Corp., Noblesville, Ind., as part of a revitalized sales, marketing and service strategy, partnered with five new, highly qualified distributors and realigned sales territories.

News • May 24, 2018

Top five risks impacting manufacturing plant floor operations

While manufacturers around the world have reached new heights in technology adoption and equipment innovation, there are still many pain points that hinder optimization, efficiency and even safety on the plant floor. Sensai, an augmented productivity platform for manufacturing operations, unveiled a list of the top five plant floor risks that reduce efficiency, drain productivity and negatively impact business results if left unattended.

News • May 24, 2018

Mike Roberts joins Kitagawa North-Tech Inc.

Kitagawa North-Tech Inc., Schaumburg, Ill., a standard chucks, advanced chucks, custom-engineered workholding and steady rests manufacturer, announced that Mike Roberts of ITEX Workholding joined the company as regional sales manager for the Southwest region of the U.S.

News • May 21, 2018 • Greg Bartlett

A tipping point for tapping

As discussed in the current issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine in the feature article "Specialization on tap," material-specific taps continue to evolve. Sources anticipate increasing specialization of the materials used for taps across industries.

News • May 21, 2018 • Al Youngwerth

CNC automation: Should we?

Myths and debates swirl around the questions of using robots to automate CNC operations. From "Should we automate?" and "Can we automate?" to "How should we automate?" Are they true or not? Let's look at a few of the most-discussed topics regarding robotic CNC automation.

News • May 21, 2018

CNC Software hosts local Girl Scout troop

On April 10, 2018, CNC Software Inc. hosted local Girl Scout troop #65023 for a tour of its corporate offices. Area Girl Scouts in 5th and 6th grades were able to see where Mastercam CAD/CAM software is developed and learn how it is used by thousands of companies worldwide to manufacture products they see and use every day.

News • May 18, 2018

Does your state tax manufacturing machinery?

State sales tax bases are both too narrow and too broad.

News • May 18, 2018

U.S. manufacturing output rises

U.S. factory output rose in April, although new estimates of manufacturing and overall industrial production showed less growth in prior months than initially believed, casting a shadow over the economic outlook.

News • May 18, 2018

Avantech adds larger, cutting-edge CNC equipment

Avantech recently added two new, large bridge-style CNC machines, significantly enhancing its capability to provide large-scale tooling for customers.

News • May 16, 2018 • Kip Hanson

Skipping school

I admit to some bias against school. From about fifth grade on, our educational system and I were rarely on speaking terms. Think oil and water rather than peas and carrots. Needless to say, I left at my earliest opportunity. Aside from that thing with my daughter pulling the fire alarm, my kids were far better students. So when it came time for them to make the big decisions, I kept my opinion to myself and did what most parents do these days: Encourage them to get their college degrees.

News • May 16, 2018

Year-to-date US cutting tool consumption up 6 percent in March

March U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $207.08 million, according to the United States Cutting Tool Institute, Cleveland, and The Association for Manufacturing Technology, McLean, Va. This total, as reported by companies participating in the Cutting Tool Market Report collaboration, was up 8.8 percent from February's $190.32 million and up 3.5 percent when compared with the $200.05 million reported for March 2017. With a year-to-date total of $581.02 million, 2018 is up 6 percent when compared with 2017.