Industry News

For the fifth consecutive season, igus is a sponsor for Botball, an educational robotics program produced by the KISS Institute for Practical Robotics. The Botball Educational Robotics Program provides STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) skills that are immediately applicable in college and demanding industries.

Okuma America Corp holds the 2013 Technology Showcase event on Dec. 10-12, 2013, in Charlotte N.C. The event gives attendees the opportunity to witness the latest technology via hands-on demonstrations, and allows them to learn how this new technology can be applied to their specific manufacturing challenges.

Tool Alliance, a manufacturer of solid and indexable carbide cutting tools, has announced that the updated Ultra-Tool 2014 catalog is now available. The new catalog can be downloaded under the "Downloads" tab at www.toolalliance.com. "We are thrilled about the updated and expanded catalog," said David Povich, president of Tool Alliance. "Ultra-Tool has taken the very best of all our technologies and consolidated them within our Monolith end mills."

E. Zoller GmbH & Co. KG, Pleidelsheim, Germany, has partnered with Machining Cloud GmbH, Stans, Switzerland, on the new Machining Cloud Intelligent Manufacturing application, a platform that offers applications, resources, services and information from a centralized database. Machining Cloud can advise parts manufacturers regarding best practices specific to each manufacturing process, according to the company.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration launched two new Web resources to assist companies with keeping their workers safe from exposure to hazardous chemicals. While many chemicals are suspected of being harmful, OSHA's exposure standards are out-of-date and inadequately protective for the small number of chemicals that are regulated in the workplace. The first resource OSHA has created is a toolkit to identify safer chemicals that can be used in place of more hazardous ones.

CGTech, Irvine, Calif., the developer of VERICUT CNC verification and simulation software, and ZOLLER Inc., Ann Arbor, Mich. , a leading presetting and measuring machine manufacturer and expert in the field of tool management, have announced a new product to better serve the customer base of the two companies.

OMAX Corp. has integrated a company-wide custom-designed automated management system. This system, developed in house by OMAX, helps eliminate bottlenecks, provides active real-time measurable data and makes it possible to quickly adjust to fluctuating production schedules.

Control Gaging recently broke ground on a new Ann Arbor, Mich., facility, where the company will engineer and manufacture precision measurement systems for the machining industry. The company, which has outgrown its current location, is building a new 24,500-sq.-ft. facility.