Industry News

Thermal systems manufacturer Watlow has been working to bolster a shrinking manufacturing workforce in the US, and its efforts have been recognized. The Missouri Association of Manufacturers has awarded the company a Made in Missouri Leadership Award because of its support of STEM education, training programs and economic development initiatives.

At the BWM Group's engine plant in Steyr (Austria), in a reference project accompanied by the Technical University of Vienna, Ecoclean Monschau has significantly raised the energy efficiency of a flexible EcoCFlex Classic robot cell that had been in service for several years. The system's electric power and water consumption were each cut by around 30 percent.

Fabrication/manufacturing is a very discrete industry and is on a run to shift towards additive manufacturing instead of the conventional machining process. And as a result, 3D CAD sketching and modeling tools are accepted as the most lucid geometrical medium for design articulation.

The CNC Cookbook blog recently polled its readers regarding their use of CNC control systems. According to the results, the five most-used CNCs are FANUC, Haas, Mazak, Siemens—and Centroid, which jumped up 9 places from last year's poll. The company is less well known that those other four but has a growing niche among "do-it-yourself" manufacturers.

The mood of MFG Day, the annual celebration of U.S. manufacturing that took place Oct. 6, doesn't cease after the plant tours and information sessions end and the participating students, parents and educators head home.

Mitchell Metal Products, Merrill, Wis., has received the first National Reshoring Award in recognition of the company's success bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. The award, given by The Reshoring Initiative and the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA), honors a company that has effectively reshored products, parts or tooling made primarily by metal forming, fabricating or machining.

Vibration is a fact of life in almost every machining operation. Whether you're milling, drilling, turning, or grinding, vibration can result in chatter that can ruin a part. Fighting chatter has generally been a matter of adding more mass to the machine, but if you're clever about things, chatter reduction can be accomplished electronically, too.

International automotive technology, systems and components supplier DENSO, Southfield, Mich., is expanding its U.S. footprint with a $1 billion investment in its Maryville, Tenn. location. The investment is meant to significantly increase the role North America plays in the global trend toward vehicle safety and electrification, according to the company.

Most inspection-in-manufacturing features these days are about precision metrology equipment. This one is about people. More frequent rotation of (human) plant inspectors at medical device manufacturing facilities could benefit consumers and lead to fewer product recalls. That's the finding of a seven-year review of Food and Drug Administration inspections of and subsequent recalls at such facilities.

Vero Software Ltd., Cheltenham, England, hired Bill Horvat as outside sales account manager based in Delavan, Wis., to represent the Surfcam and Edgecam brands.