Industry News

In the digitized manufacturing world being born, the product that a job-shop produces is less a piece of engineered metal and more a piece of intellectual property. So said Tom Kelly, the executive director and CEO of Detroit's Automation Alley. That difference brings risks but also unprecedented opportunities for those who are ready.

Photo etching is a fast, efficient and cost-effective method for the manufacture of small precision metal parts using etchant chemistries. It is well-suited for development, prototype and production volumes, and has the ability to ramp up from low- to high-volume runs extremely quickly. Photo etched parts are burr and stress-free, the complexity of shape is unlimited, and there is absolute flexibility to change the design at any time as the process uses easily altered digital tooling.

Regal Cutting Tools, Roscoe, Ill., has been part of Hononegah Community High School's Workplace Readiness Program for years, including job shadowing and training workshops. The company also is very involved in Beloit Memorial High School's technical programs, providing mentorship, summer apprenticeships and internships. The success of the programs with Regal Cutting Tools and other companies has created a problem. "I never have enough students to make my level three machining class run," said a machining and welding instructor at Beloit Memorial. "The reason why is because they're pilfered off the machining two class to work for these different companies. It's an excellent sign of demand."

There were a lot of deep discussions about holemaking at UNISIG's recent open house and seminar series for magazine editors. UNISIG engineers explained different methods of deep-hole drilling, including gundrilling and BTA drilling, and provided an overview of the machines and related systems the company builds to perform these operations. Hands-on demonstrations in UNISIG's 62,000-sq.-ft. plant augmented the classroom discussions.

To reduce training time and improve worker safety in the high-risk environment of industrial manufacturing, Tobii Pro Insight conducts eye-tracking studies. For example, the Stockholm, Sweden-headquartered company reported that its research consultants conducted an eye-tracking study at the metal foundry of H&H Castings Inc., York, Pa., and the attention-based study revealed unique insights that will contribute to quicker onboarding of new workers, new efficiencies in its operations, new training guidelines and reductions in the risk of accidents.

ShareAmerica introduces Rochelle White, an example of a next-generation manufacturing worker: "White, 28, of Chicago, represents the next generation of American workers getting groomed for advanced manufacturing jobs. She is in the final phase of a free, 13-month program at Building Self Determination Industries, which operates a manufacturing company on the city's South Side, where unemployment and poverty rates are high. Once White completes the program, she will be a certified robotics technician."

Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence today announced its support for Workshops for Warriors (WFW), a non-profit school created to train military veterans in the field of advanced manufacturing. Hexagon has contributed several portable ROMER Absolute Arms to help expand the program into metrology education with industrial grade equipment and expert mentoring.

My Nov. 20 blog post titled "Manufacturers favor a digital workplace transformation but hold tight to their wallets" generated an insightful response from Jesse Z. Melton, owner of Harpers Ferry Toolworks.

Drilling has long been the cornerstone of the machining process, consuming roughly 50 percent of all tools and creating 75 percent of all chips. So it comes as no surprise that shops interested in reducing costs and increasing productivity should look first toward the full optimization of their holemaking processes with today's advanced solid-carbide and indexable-insert drill technologies.

A recent survey has 80 percent of manufacturers and energy companies implementing or developing a digital workplace transformation plan. Only 18 percent are allocating at least a quarter of their budget toward these efforts over the next 12 months, however—and that's the minimum percentage needed to get started, according to Dan Chalk, director of solution engineering for NTT Data Services, Plano, Texas.

Kitagawa-NorthTech Inc., Schaumburg, Ill., which specializes in standard chucks, advanced chucks, custom-engineered workholding and steady rests, announced that Shawn Luschei has rejoined the company as senior manager of sales for North America.

Christopher "Chris" Mendicino established Kairos Manufacturing Solutions, Sturbridge, Mass., in partnership with Adion Systems, Vancouver, British Columbia, the developer of ProShop comprehensive enterprise resource planning management software, to sell and support ProShop in the New England region.