Industry News

More than 2,000 companies will be exhibiting manufacturing solutions at IMTS 2016.

Multiple-axis machining offers many benefits to parts manufacturers that can correctly harness and implement the capabilities of this technology. Ultimately, it is an effective step towards factory automation, offering the opportunity to condense multiple machine operations into one, saving takt time, total production time, production cost and improving tolerances.

The Manufacturing Leadership Council recognized Lockheed Martin with four awards in three manufacturing categories.

Researchers are developing a prototype welding system that will demonstrate the field deployment capabilities of flexible hybrid friction stir welding technology.

A 57-year-old maintenance worker was crushed fatally by a 4,000 pound machine part while performing maintenance inside of a sand core machine at a Warrensburg, Mont. aluminum foundry.

For the second straight month, job numbers in the U.S. economy were relatively strong, with each above the consensus estimate, according to the National Association of Manufacturers.

Pittsburgh-based Kennametal Inc. says it's cutting 1,000 jobs over the next 15 months, citing weak demand for the coal-mining and gas-drilling cutting tools it makes.

Applications are now being accepted for a machine tool training program at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology Elizabethton this fall.

Bunting Magnetics Co., Newton, Kan., named Wendy Doll territory manager for Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and portions of California and Nevada. The company makes magnetic separation and material handling equipment.

Farmington Hills, Mich.-based EMAG LLC held an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony June 8 to celebrate the opening of its new laser welding laboratory. The facility features equipment and a staff of experts to enable automotive supply-chain companies to better fabricate differential gears, camshafts and other components using laser welding technology. 

Holmes County, Fla., home to a cluster of metal machining and fabrication outfits that employ skilled machinists and welders, has seen the manufacturing industry provide a solid foundation for economic opportunity and demand for a skilled workforce.

Heller Machine Tools, Troy, Mich., is the first manufacturer to finance energy upgrades through a 2010 program authorized by the state of Michigan that allows municipalities to fund energy-efficiency improvements through a special assessment on a property. 

Titanium is the leading material for artificial knee and hip joints, but a discovery by Rice University physicists shows that the gold standard for artificial joints can be improved with the addition of some actual gold.

Penn State Behrend’s new Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation Center, a $16.5 million, 60,000-sq.-ft. building, will house Penn State Behrend’s mechanical engineering program, the college’s largest major, in terms of enrollment, and the industrial engineering program.

Scientific Cutting Tools (SCT), Simi Valley, Calif., has added the capability of coating its own cutting tools on premises in the form of a new coating machine from Platit which enables the coating of up to 500 tools in 4 hours.

GTI Spindle Technology Inc., Manchester, N.H., recently opened a state-of-the-art facility in North Carolina that the company said is capable of repairing and rebuilding high-precision spindles, including those made by Makino, Mazak, Kessler, Gamfior, Enshu and OKK.

Mitutoyo America Corp., Aurora, Ill., recently celebrated the grand opening of its newly renovated M3 Solution Center in City of Industry, Calif.

Riten Industries offers a free 30-day, risk-free trial program to metal workers who are undecided about committing to this different type of workholding tool. Face driving can completely turn or grind a workpiece in a single cycle, without stopping to flip and rechuck the part, reducing cycle time and increasing productivity.

It is a matter of course for manufacturers of rail and train components to ensure that quality products and services continue to be delivered to the industry every day. Increasing reliability through new tools, materials and machining techniques, as well as supporting productive and cost effective maintenance of existing infrastructure, is crucial.

A new report produced by Research and Markets, a market research company based in Dublin, forecasts a compound annual growth rate of 7.6 percent for the global digital manufacturing market through the year 2020.