Industry News

Automated inspection equipment can offer advantages, such as enabling lights-out machining, but manual methods are typically less expensive and can provide quicker results. One example is a manually operated gage for inspecting round cutting tools.

Renishaw Inc. announced a new 133,000 sq. ft. office and warehouse facility in West Dundee, Ill., about 40 miles from Chicago. The two-story facility will be the company’s new North American headquarters, but also includes space for product development, testing, warehousing and distribution.

Midwest Industrial Tool Grinding Inc. (MITGI), which manufactures and markets standard and custom cutting tools, has been named Manufacturer of the Year in the small company category by the Manufacturers Alliance, a Minnesota association that promotes education and peer-to-peer mentoring in the state's manufacturing industry.

Wall Colmonoy, a global group of materials engineering companies engaged in the manufacturing of surfacing and brazing products, castings and engineered components, this month appointed Nathan Stroud as commercial director for its European headquarters in Wales, U.K.

Waterjet systems manufacturer Jet Edge Inc., St Michael, Minn., promoted Michael Wheeler to Engineering Manager.  Wheeler is responsible for managing all aspects of Jet Edge’s engineering, including technical writing, inspection, sales engineering and estimating, research and development and product development.

A joint research project known as “Scaling Ultrafast Laser Productive Precision Processing Technology”, or ScULPT, was conceived to develop an efficient, powerful, ultra-short pulsed laser system with a tenfold increase in throughput on the machining of different types of glass and metals.

Georgia will see an influx of more than 500 new aerospace manufacturing jobs at Columbus-based Pratt & Whitney, which reportedly will invest $386 million into expansion.

Whereas the retention knob is an unmistakably critical component of the machining process, conventional retention knobs, when installed in a toolholder, may deform the precision taper because of the elastic nature of a toolholder’s thin walls. This taper deformation prevents a toolholder from properly mating with the spindle of a CNC machine. JM Performance Products Inc. has worked to overcome this manufacturing bind with its lower-deformation High Torque Retention Knobs.

To maintain and grow its production levels on its newest jet engines, engine components and aircraft systems, GE Aviation investments reached $4.3 billion in its U.S. operations during 2011–2016, with another $1.1 billion invested in its international sites, the company reports. That U.S. amount includes $214 million to establish five new plants here.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported that hiring in December 2016 was at a four-month high, while the number of manufacturing hires tied that of November for its best monthly performance since 2010. Separately, the BLS said that manufacturing companies created 5,000 new jobs in January for a second straight month of growth. That’s good news for those who remember the dark days of the Great Recession—but for employers who have more work to be done than workers to do it, it’s a headache. One solution has been to reach that next generation early—while they’re finishing high shool.

In an article posted Feb. 9 at Forbes.com, Bill Conerly of Conerly Consulting LLC, Oswego, Ore., discussed how U.S. manufacturers need engineers to thrive because engineers invent products and optimize production methods.

Drake Manufacturing Services Co. LLC, Warren, Ohio, named Bruce Dibble director of sales for North America. Drake builds machines for producing threads and gears.

Paris-headquartered simulation software developer SPRING Technologies announced the nomination of CEO Gilles Battier as a new member of the GIFAS AERO-PME Committee. GIFAS is an economic interest group that spearheads France’s aerospace industry ecosystem.

Machine tool builder INDEX Corp., Noblesville, Ind., named Craig Foster regional sales manager for the upper Midwest and Gino Viviani regional sales manager for the western U.S.

Machine tool builder Cincinnati Inc., Harrison, Ohio, named Kristina Frontino regional sales engineer for northern California, Nevada, Utah and southern Idaho.

Saw manufacturer Simonds Saw LLC named David Miles president. Miles will succeed Ray Martino, who will continue to serve as CEO of Simonds Saw and as president and CEO of Simonds International.

Bunting Magnetics Co., Newton, Kan., named Suzanne Hurst human resources manager. The company makes magnetic separation and material-handling equipment.

Down, but getting back up: December 2016 U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $176.04 million, according to the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute (USCTI) and AMT — The Association for Manufacturing Technology. This total was up 4.4 percent from November’s $168.69 million and up 12.5 percent when compared with the total of $156.49 million reported for December 2015, as reported by companies participating in the Cutting Tool Market Report collaboration. With a year-to-date total of $2.042 billion, 2016 is down 4.3 percent when compared with 2015.

It's always encouraging to read an article about a thriving machine shop, such as one by Cori Urban presented at MassLive.com. Gary T. O'Brien, president and owner of Knight Machine & Tool Co. in South Hadley, Mass., keeps his maternal grandfather's oak toolbox in his office. Andrew Kriesak worked at the Van Norman Machine Tool Co. in Springfield as a machinist, and the toolbox is, for his grandson, a symbol of success.

For the 2020 Olympics and Paralympic games in Tokyo, recycled electronics will be used to make the needed 5,000 medals.