Industry News

Mr. Robert Elgass will assume all tasks from Mr. Uwe Schröter as of October 15, 2018 as “Director Sales and Marketing”, responsible for the Global Sales Strategy for all MCU.

Chicago, IL – MC Machinery is excited to announce Scott Lindley has joined the team as the new Pacific Northwest Regional Sales Representative.

SUWANEE, Ga., October 30, 2018 — RÖHM Products of America, a provider of clamping and gripping technology for the metalworking industry, offers further support for its Southeastern customers with the addition of Mike Brewer to its field sales team as Regional Sales Manager for Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi.

HANOVER, N.H.—Oct. 30, 2018—Hypertherm, a U.S. based manufacturer of industrial cutting systems and software, today announced the formation of Hypertherm Ventures, a new corporate venture capital (CVC) arm, to foster greater interaction with the technology venture community.

DALLAS, TX — OCTOBER 25, 2018 — OnRobot, a specialist in end-of-arm tooling for collaborative robots, has opened its first US headquarters in Dallas, Texas.

Blairsville, Pa. — October 25, 2018. The National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) proudly announces that its Board of Directors approved the addition of six new Alliance Partners: Advanced Technologies Incorporated; Aleph Objects, Inc.; Mission Critical Composites; MZA Associates Corporation; Verify Inc.; and Youngstown State University (YSU).

HARTLAND, Wis., (October 25, 2018) — Darren McKune has been named Regional Sales Manager covering Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi for Dorner.

Birmingham, Ala. – Motion Industries, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Genuine Parts Company, is pleased to announce the addition of Hal Midkiff as Product Sales Manager, Process Pumps and Equipment.

Fives has joined forces with Simsa to create Fives Grinding Mexico.

Heimatec Inc., a specialist in live tooling for the North American machine tool industry, announced today that it will become part of a new corporation, Platinum Tooling Technologies, Inc.

umati (universal machine tool interface) moves one step ahead towards becoming a generally accepted standard. VDW, the German Machine Tool Builders’ Association and the OPC Foundation establish a so-called joint working group. Interested parties are cordially invited to participate with immediate effect.

Russ Hubbard - Creating Unique Environments in Portland, OR

The manpowered shop floor of the past is being replaced by smart manufacturing facilities where tech-savvy workers, aided by intelligent robots, are creating the products and services of the future. As Microsoft Cloud and Enterprise approaches 2019, it's looking ahead to the trends that will define intelligent manufacturing, as well as help empower clients to better evaluate and manage operations, build innovative products and services and grow manufacturing businesses.

Many headlines today allude to a skills gap in manufacturing, referring to a lack of skilled labor needed to fill rapidly expanding employment opportunities in the manufacturing industry. After all, U.S. manufacturing added 327,000 jobs in the past year, pushing the industry to its best annual job gain in more than 20 years. When manufacturing companies collaborate with schools to show students that manufacturing is not just a viable career path but a rewarding and lucrative one as well, we all benefit.

Materials scientists at Duke University and UC San Diego have discovered a new class of carbides expected to be among the hardest materials with the highest melting points in existence. Made from inexpensive metals, the new materials may soon find use in a wide range of industries from machinery and hardware to aerospace.

I recently read an article discussing how the Environmental Protection Agency will now allow asbestos-containing products to be manufactured and sold in the United States on “a case-by-case” basis, apparently reversing parts of the organization’s 1963 Clean Air Act and the 1989 Asbestos Ban and Phase-Out Rule. While that’s good news for the mesothelioma attorneys you see every night on TV, it’s bad news for American workers, a number of whom will soon be tasked with mining and processing the dangerous material once known as “the magic mineral” for its heat, electrical and chemical resistance.

Since 2006, sales of vinyl records have been increasing steadily. No one is happier than Pheenix Alpha. Working from its original 20th century blueprints for a vinyl record press, the company is starting to manufacture an updated version of the press with 21st century bells and whistles.

“Nation longs for one more day with dying manufacturing sector.” That headline, published in 2014 by the satirical website The Onion, anticipated both President Donald Trump’s fears and the retorts he gets from his critics. He campaigned on a promise to bring back jobs in manufacturing after decades of decline. To people who see the future of the U.S. economy in services, these promises seemed backward. When he was head of the National Economic Council, Gary Cohn reportedly asked Trump which he would prefer: sitting in a nice air-conditioned office or standing on his feet all day. In 2018, it looks as if the president is winning the day.

Precision grinding results in the material removal of metals of all kinds and crystalline materials of all kinds, i.e. glass, quartz, ceramic, ferrite, abrasives, stone and other materials that cannot be machined with conventional cutting tools. These materials are too hard, abrasive, and require dimensions, tolerances and surface finishes otherwise not achieved easily or cost effectively with any other method.

Sometimes manufacturing can feel like a battle between David and Goliath. But in the era of automation, think Industry 4.0, manufacturers are discovering the advantages to being smaller. Automation technology has leveled the playing field and now smaller means nimble, niche and, for the first time, heading in the same direction as the big guys.