Industry News

Grayson College has unveiled its $1.4 million Advanced Manufacturing Lab for the school’s Career and Technology Center, writes Rhea Bermel in the Herald Democrat. The lab will provide space for large industrial machinery, classrooms and storage and will be used largely to educate students participating in the Advanced Manufacturing Program.

Baker Industries Inc. has installed a 5-axis Mecof PowerMill to begin large-scale machining operations. The 11-month construction and build project garnered a financial investment of $3.4 million and has positioned Baker Industries to take on some of the largest machining programs in the industry.

Like most businesses, manufacturing is subject to cycles of stagnation and acceleration. Historically, improved manufacturing has led to the growth of the service sector, which in turn has led to a diminished manufacturing base. Manufacturers will no longer be able to produce a “one size fits all” product and hope the buying public will respond. Consumer input will be required, and processes will have to be adaptable to quickly respond to changes in demand.

Brynäs IF are one of Sweden’s best ice hockey teams. We discover how combining the latest knife blade steel and the best boot innovations keep them ahead of the competition.

Since 2013, members of the MIT Media Lab community have set out from their research groups every summer to observe work in about 10 factories in China. Last summer, they went with a different approach—not just to visit but to collaborate on experimenting and cooperative design with two facilities in or near the city of Shenzhen. The hacking manufacturing summer course in August focused on the theme of soft robotic materials, and three instructors and seven lab students worked with a digital knitting factory called K-Tech and a flexible printed circuit board manufacturer called King.

If you want to produce high-precision profile inserts, your tapered diamond grinding wheels need to be dressed on a regular basis. Haas opts for the profile accuracy of the XING dressing technique inside the machine.

There was nothing at their first meeting that suggested to Chris Salow that Amanda Hutchings would one day be president of his Peak Manufacturing Corp. and take it to record revenue. It was 2007, and she was applying for a job as marketing manager at his Shop Rat Foundation, a Jackson area-based nonprofit that teaches area high school kids how to operate factory machinery and prepare for skilled, well-paying jobs upon graduation. She was 22, and although she had graduated from Baker College with a degree in business administration with honors, she was so nervous about the interview that she had broken out in hives.

The Chicago-based Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute is opening its manufacturing floor to manufacturers and academic institutions that need to quickly test process improvements. “We are seeing a manufacturing renaissance in Chicago, and the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute is adding to that momentum,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said. “By opening their doors, sharing equipment and providing expertise to small businesses, startups and students, DMDII is ensuring Chicago’s advanced manufacturing ecosystem will be stronger for generations to come.”

If a spindle breaks down, what is your company’s plan of action? Is it the most practical and efficient way to deal with a down spindle? Spindles need maintenance at varying intervals based on the length and design of their operation. Normal use of any machine will cause wear and tear, the spindle being the component that receives the majority of the wear. It is necessary for spindles to run at the right speeds and feeds to minimize wear. Because of this, a good spindle program should consider the specific operational information of each individual spindle.

Manufacturers are optimistic about what 2018 will bring, according to a survey. Jensen Werley of BizWest Media LLC writes that one of the three main areas of priority is talent and that half of participants said they expect to increase hiring despite the top barrier to growth being a labor shortage. The most important strategies for attracting and retaining talent are listed as increasing compensation packages, conducting internal training and apprenticeships, developing strategies to reduce turnover and being more deliberate about succession planning.

John Dauber and Kevin Tucker of Camfil APC, Jonesboro, Ark., have written a white paper about airborne mists emitted during machining processes, which pose numerous risks to human health and safety. It is important to understand the regulations that limit these emissions, as well as the various technologies available to achieve compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and other regulatory agencies. This paper discusses what you can do about mist collection issues in your facility, how to evaluate which type of collection system is most suitable for your application and how to establish an overall safety program that will best protect employees and equipment.

When is the best time to sell your CNC machine? How should you prepare it to sell? How can you optimize your profit? Chicago-based Machinery Marketing International addresses these questions in the e-book "Selling CNC Machines." The guide covers considerations for selling old CNC machines.

Dormer Pramet is launching a webinar series to occur the fourth Friday of every month. The first three sessions are open for enrollment. These 30-minute sessions, which will be led by round tool and indexable product experts, are free and designed to expand participants' knowledge of cutting tools. The webinars are geared toward professionals in the fields of sales, technical support and customer service.

I’m one of those annoying people who stays current on technology. I store my stuff in the cloud, patch my software religiously and have my fifth smartphone in as many years. Despite my geeky tendencies, however, I’m apprehensive about the effect that Industry 4.0 and the industrial internet of things will have on … well, the industry. Call it smart manufacturing if you like, but many shop owners and managers—especially those who grew up with black-and-white TVs and rotary phones—might secretly call it scary manufacturing instead.

A smart floor eliminates missing information, reinforces standards and keeps people safe. A smart floor answers questions. Marking floors is one of the fastest, easiest ways to direct behavior and create visual communication in a work environment. Floor markings not only communicate what is supposed to happen but reinforce existing standards in the workplace. Floor marking products, such as floor decals, A-frame signs, floor marking tape and floor symbols, promote safety and improve efficiency, saving time and money and reducing injuries. By utilizing these types of products, a facility can become a safer, more productive workplace.

Hands-on learning is quickly becoming the best-known way for students to fully grasp concepts and curriculum, especially in the world of technical education. To this end, classrooms have started to change in accommodation for this type of hands-on teaching. This early exposure to machine tools preps kids for the work they’ll see throughout their careers.

Whether an interviewer or interviewee, it is important to be prepared when discussing a job opening. An e-book provides 110 typical questions and answers for production interviews, as well as tips for how to prepare.

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in December, and the overall economy grew for the 103rd consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The December Purchasing Managers' Index registered 59.7 percent, an increase of 1.5 percentage points from the November reading of 58.2 percent. This indicates growth in manufacturing for the 16th consecutive month, led by strong expansion in new orders and production, with hiring growing at a slower rate and supplier deliveries continuing to struggle.

When mass finishing—finishing many parts simultaneously—in a vibratory finishing system, the tendency is to use ceramic or plastic preformed cutting media, said Steven Schneider, technical sales manager at surface finishing company Kramer Industries Inc., Piscataway, N.J. Ceramic tumbling media are made with abrasive filler, much like a grinding wheel. For plastic tumbling media, plastic is mixed with abrasive filler and cast to shape. Ceramic media use aluminum oxide as filler, and plastic media use quartz or silica for cleaner results.

For our February issue’s Industry Briefs department, I’m writing an article about the Deburring Application Laboratory at Matrix Design LLC. The company designs, builds and installs robotic automation systems for deburring parts, as well as machine tending and material handling.