Industry News

Gear Motions Inc., Syracuse, N.Y., is partnering with Southeast Industrial Solutions, Atlanta.

As reported in The Wall Street Journal, nearly 200 parents of high school students in Fort Collins, Colo., recently gathered for "Parents' Night." Their children, they were told, could have great, well-paying careers while being "the next generation of makers." The venue? Woodward Inc., an engine and equipment components plant looking for ways to line up the next generation of employees amid a dearth of manufacturing workers nationwide. "We're really trying to get after the parents—the parents are influential with their kids," said Keith Korasick, Woodward's vice president of operations, who started as a machinist there 26 years ago. "Our message to the parents was, 'There's another option.' You can't have everybody be a lawyer."

Stanek Tool LLC, New Berlin, Wis., a manufacturer and employee-owned business specializing in the design and production of complex hydraulic workholding fixtures and precision machined components, appointed Kevin Lichtenberg CEO.

Aircraft Tooling, a Dallas-based repair center for the aviation industry, was surprised to find that Universal Robots could withstand the high temperatures and harsh environment while performing metal powder and plasma spray processes. The UR "cobots" have been in operation for 3 years without breakdown or service requirements.

Single Source Technologies, Auburn Hills, Mich., a distributor of machine tools and consumables, is collaborating with SmalTec International LLC, Naperville, Ill., to bring the EM203 and GM703 microprecision EDMs to SST's West, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions.

​​​A year ago, a leading aerospace manufacturer approached Sandvik Coromant with a machining challenge. The operation in question was finishing deep titanium pockets, a common feature in structural aircraft components.

The skills gap is a well-known, widespread dilemma across the manufacturing industry. Now that the gap is a mainstream problem, what are the steps industry leaders can take to solve it?

Open Mind Technologies AG has announced that its hyperMILL CAM software has provided 5-axis programming to successfully replicate a basketball hoop. The basketball hoop was machined on a GROB G350 5-axis machining center using conical ball barrel cutters from OSG.

In response to the question of whether custom CNC aluminum is better for the CNC machining process, the answer is "yes" in the majority of cases. Today, demand for CNC machining is on the rise, and to ensure superior quality parts and components, customization makes a significant difference.

Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence, North Kingstown, R.I., will open its newest Hexagon Solution Center on Jan. 11 in Irvine, Calif.

Eriez Manufacturing Co., Erie, Pa., appointed Modern Tools Inc., Stoneham, Mass., the company's exclusive HydroFlow Fluid Filtration Systems sales representative agency for Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

J.M. Sales-USA, Troy, Mich., is the representative in North America for Swiss Tool Systems AG, Bürglen, Switzerland, a modular boring system provider.