Industry News

Smalley Steel Ring Co., a designer and manufacturer of retaining rings and wave springs, donated an OMAX 2652 to the College of Lake County (CLC) in Grayslake, Ill.. The abrasive waterjet machining center is the college's first and broadens the CNC/Machine Tool Trades Department's ability to offer the waterjet technology skills sought by many employers recruiting CLC graduates, including Smalley.

Contract manufacturer Oberg Industries, Freeport, Pa., has invested in new equipment to expand its production of medium and large machined components and assemblies.

Earlier this summer Fastenal installed an additional FAST Solutions industrial vending machine within the Terex Mixer manufacturing plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Given how many vending devices (machines and lockers) Fastenal installs during a typical business day, it was a commonplace event — except in one regard: that particular machine represented the 50,000th FAST Solutions device concurrently installed at Fastenal customer sites worldwide.

College students with an interest in bringing together software and hardware solutions to improve manufacturing operations now have an opportunity to leverage their creativity through the MTConnect Student Challenge, a competition that invites submissions for both ideas and applications utilizing the MTConnect standard.

U.S. military veterans are finding post-service success at machine tool builder Fives Machining Systems, putting their troubleshooting skills and technical experience to work in field service and customer support positions. Since 2014, the company has hired nearly 20 former members of the various military branches at 10 field service locations throughout the U.S., as well as accepting veterans into its apprenticeship program.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Okuma America Corp.'s newly-expanded warehouse increases the company's capacity for mechanical repair and exchange service, providing faster spindle and cam box replacement service, according to the company.

Industrial Info Resources, a market research company based in Sugar Land, Texas, reported Aug. 5 that demand for aircraft parts has helped give rise to U.S. manufacturing plant expansions.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker today announced 12 new communities that have received designations under the Obama Administration's Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP) initiative. In May 2014, Secretary Pritzker announced the first 12 communities to receive the designation under this U.S. Commerce Department-led program, which is designed to accelerate the resurgence of manufacturing in communities nationwide by supporting the development of long-term economic development strategies.