Industry News

The Commerce Department on Friday provided its first statistical snapshot of the American economy in the first quarter, the gross domestic product estimate. The economy barely grew, expanding at an annual rate of only 0.7 percent. The growth was a sharp decline from the 2.1 percent annual rate recorded in the final quarter of last year. It was the weakest quarterly showing in three years. Consumption, the component reflecting individual spending, rose by only 0.3 percent, well below the 3.5 percent rate in the previous quarter.

ABB and IBM have announced a strategic collaboration that brings together ABB’s industry-leading digital offering, ABB Ability, with IBM Watson Internet of Things cognitive capabilities to unlock new value for customers in industry, utilities and transport & infrastructure.

One of the oldest die casters in the US, New Products Corporation, turned 95 on April 22. Founded in Benton Harbor, Mich., in 1922, the company is a global supplier of custom, precision die cast aluminum and zinc parts for applications in industries including automotive, military, industrial equipment, medical instruments, appliances, transportation, and furniture.

For years, cyber insurance was purchased mostly by consumer-facing businesses such as retailers and financial-service providers. But as factories are getting more tech-savvy and digitally integrated with other parts of the company, manufacturers are starting to realize that keeping those networks safe is essential, according to this Wall Street Journal report.

In a blog, Dann Demazure, applications engineer at Datron Dynamics, wrote: Machinists ask me all the time, “When do I go fast and when should I go slow with a single-flute endmill?” Well, as you can imagine, there are a lot of variables at play regarding feed rates for single-flute endmills, but let’s try to break it down.

Superior Drilling Products Inc., Vernal, Utah, designs, manufactures and repairs drilling tool technologies. SDP operates a state-of-the-art drill tool fabrication facility where it manufactures solutions for the drilling industry as well as custom products. Cameron Dick manages the firm’s machine shop.

Customers need to be careful when hiring services from Metrology Services Providers. There are many “Ma and Pa” business’ that may be run by technically capable people, but are lacking the depth to provide customers with a full range of support, especially when the unexpected occurs. The following list provides customers with a checklist to ask providers.

Weiler Abrasives Group, a leading provider of abrasives, power brushes, and maintenance products for surface conditioning, appointed Chad McDonald as the new vice president of sales, U.S. and Canada. In his role at Weiler, McDonald will oversee all sales activities in the U.S. and Canada, including field sales, national accounts and manufacturer’s rep groups. He will also be responsible for continuing to strengthen Weiler’s relationships with distribution partners, end users and industry associations.

Detroit, Mich., is a haven for CAD designers according to a top 10 ranking of cities to live in for the profession.

Since 2005, igus has been a major supplier sponsor of a variety of student robotics and engineering competitions. Now, as a part of its YES (Young Engineers Support) Program, the company is celebrating National Robotics Week with their continued support of thousands of student engineers around the world.

When Johnathon Wojciechowski of Bensenville, Ill., was 7 years old, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, and for the last 7 years has altered his life to battle this debilitating disease. Now recently having started high school at Fenton, Johnathon has received a highly trained Diabetic Alert Dog (D.A.D.) from the Ron & Vicki Santo Diabetic Alert Dog Foundation, with partial sponsorship from Heidenhain Corp., Schaumburg, Ill.

TriMet Consulting, Wichita, Kan., has announced the launch of its consultancy to serve the growing number of manufacturers who want on-demand, expert-level CNC programming, CMM programming and other 3D data-driven services for industrial design-to-inspection applications. The company says it has assembled an “A-team” of industry advisors with market knowledge and hands-on expertise in manufacturing and metrology applications. TriMet Consulting has industry connections with top tier OEMs, a mastery of industry best practices, and an experienced team to deliver superior programming results for CNC milling applications and CMM inspection routines.

Penn State industrial engineering researchers are part of a collaborative team that has received $1.2 million in funding to develop an advanced framework that will allow engineers to share and process engineering data as well as formally represent design and manufacturing-related knowledge throughout the product design lifecycle. The 18-month project is funded by the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII). The project is titled "Lower Life Cycle Costs, Improve Design and Performance Robustness through the Digital Thread."

The W.A. Young & Sons Foundry and Machine Shop, Rices Landing, Penn., has a shiny new plaque designating it a National Historic Landmark. Rivers of Steel Heritage Corp. has been making repairs to the building since purchasing it from the Greene County Historical Society in 2009.

Typically in a scrap handling process, the how and where the scrap is collected and disposed of is not part of the conveyor system's design—but should be. That how and where could be crucial to the longevity of your conveyor. PRAB Inc., Kalamazoo, Mich., has a free, downloadable white paper on "The Importance of Design Elements in Maximizing the Life of Your Steel Belt Conveyor," that details what to be aware of.

Colson Group USA, a manufacturer of casters, wheels and other mobility products, continues to make significant investments to its production and distribution operations while reshoring manufacturing.

Techniks Industries, Indianapolis, in April announced it had acquired the tooling assets of Parlec Inc., a Rochester, N.Y., company. With the acquisition, Techniks expands its broad product offering of aftermarket machine tool accessories, and greatly enhances its manufacturing and distribution capabilities to distributors and OEMs located throughout North America, according to a company news release.

At the first general session of NTMA’s annual meeting near Jacksonville, FL, Chris Kaiser, President/CEO of BIG KAISER, presented a donation for $4,100 to benefit the NTMA’s National Robotics League (NRL). 

Spring Technologies, Boston, which offers CNC software solutions, in April announced that it had joined AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology, which represents and promotes U.S.-based manufacturing technology and its members.

Marposs, Auburn Hills, Mich., in March appointed Philipp Janssen as product manager for its forming and stamping monitoring solutions, which were acquired through the Brankamp GmbH acquisition in 2012. Janssen will be responsible for the development of product strategies for Marposs’ process monitoring solutions for cold forming and metal forming operations.