Industry News

TYKMA Electrox, Chillicothe, Ohio, a worldwide supplier of industrial laser systems, in February introduced a new brand identity following the year-old merger between TYKMA Technologies and Electrox Laser Marking Systems.

Bunting Magnetics Co., Newton, Kan., which produces a line of metal detection, magnetic separation and material handling equipment, recently promoted Robert Bunting to general manager of the company's Magnet Materials Division, which is located in Elk Grove Village, Ill.

LMC Workholding, which opened for business as the Logansport Machine Company, Logansport, Ind., in 1916, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year by highlighting the company's continuing expansion. "We've been the name to know in workholding since 1916, and we're expanding and growing to continue to meet the demand of our customers and the industry," said LMC Workholding President and CEO Jay Duerr in a recent company news release. "We're proud to have made it to 100 years in business and we're looking forward to serving our customers for many more years." nn

Gear Motions, a leading precision gear manufacturer, has named Paul Andruszko vice president of its Buffalo, N.Y., operations, which includes its Oliver/Pro-Gear and Niagara Gear divisions. Andruszko has more than three decades of experience in the gear industry, and most recently served as general manager of the company's Niagara Gear division.

Solar Manufacturing, Souderton, Penn., recently announced that Marty Benegalia, president of Southern Thermal Systems, will assume the role of a sales representative focusing on areas in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas and Louisiana. Benegalia joins Solar Manufacturing with a technical background of 20 years in metallurgy and heat treating, as well as experience in the petrochemical and oilfield equipment industries.

Imagine a machining process that removes material five times faster than milling and 10 times faster than sinker EDMing, machines Inconel and hardened steel with ease, holds tolerances to ±0.0006" and utilizes the same tool to process thousands of parts with virtually no tool wear. Machine builder EMAG LLC USA, Farmington Hills, Mich., calls this process pulsed electrochemical machining (PECM). A subset of electrochemical machining, PECM is far more accurate than the decades-old ECM and has matured into a viable alternative to more-traditional machining processes over the past few years, according to the company.

Forklifts—the workhorses of the plant floor—are more valuable than ever at ITAMCO (Indiana Technology and Manufacturing Cos.). The Plymouth, Ind.-based manufacturer of gears and other precision components connected its forklifts to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), which integrates machine tools and other manufacturing equipment with networked sensors and software.

When Zach Kaplan visited the White House last June for a National Week of Making event, he had no idea it would mean giving away 50 of his company's 3D carvers (tabletop milling machines). The CEO of Inventables Inc. (www.inventables.com), Chicago, Kaplan and 99 other conference attendees were challenged to provide ideas on how they could help President Barack Obama with his "Nation of Makers" initiative. Kaplan's suggestion? Put an Inventables 3D carver in one school in each of the nation's 50 states. What's more, Kaplan wants to have a 3D carver in every school in the U.S. by the end of this decade.

The Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation published a report in January about megatrends that are reshaping manufacturing. Titled "Manufacturing Megatrends: The Impact of Megatrends on U.S. Manufacturers," the report was authored by MAPI Director of Councils and Business Research Jenn Callaway, and is based on surveys conducted with manufacturing executives.