Industry News

With words like quality, innovation and superior service defining this global manufacturer, it was only natural that the company would seek a partner with equally high standards when it came time to source its new centerless grinder.

Avon Machining LLC in Shelby Township, Michigan, needed enterprise resource planning that would integrate seamlessly across manufacturing operations and provide easier access to real-time information. The company decided to implement ERP from Plex Systems Inc.

Manufacturing is in the midst of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, also known as Industry 4.0, and constant plant floor changes are forcing companies to keep up with the rapid pace or risk becoming lost and falling behind.

Master Fluid Solutions continues its commitment to its customers across the globe with the announcement of its new precision machining center. Known worldwide for its TRIM, long-lasting, premium-performance and aerospace-approved metalworking fluids, Master Fluids Solutions continues to invest in the development of state-of-the-art cutting and grinding fluids to surpass their worldwide customers’ ever-increasing needs for more efficient metalworking fluids that deliver exactly what is needed directly to the point of cut.

CNC Machines announced that it has chosen Kevin Bruffet of Orlando, Florida, as the recipient of its first-ever Veteran to Machinist scholarship. CNC Machines, a Florida-based used CNC machine dealer, established the veteran-exclusive scholarship program late last year as a means of supporting both the longevity of the American manufacturing industry and veterans returning to civilian life who want to start new careers.

Before dying at the age of 100 in December, James Galuppo, founder and owner of Etna Tool & Die Corp., urged his only child, Flavia, not to sell the company headquarters. She might have considered that a significant sacrifice. New condos surround the building, 42-44 Bond St., a chic block in Manhattan. A triplex is going for $13.5 million in one of them. Another condo is home to Chuck Close and Warren Beatty.

The United States had as many people working in the manufacturing sector in December as 69 years earlier. The 32,000 positions added in that month took the number of jobs in manufacturing to 12.84 million. In November 1949, there were 12.88 million manufacturing workers at the end of a sharp recession. But the economy in 1949 was unlike that of the U.S. in 2019. Then, some 30 percent of American civilian workers outside the farm sector were in manufacturing. Now, that percentage stands at just 8.5, about as low as ever.

AXYZ International, a leading global manufacturer of CNC machines and CNC knife systems, announced the launch of a new brand identity and logo. AXYZ Automation Group is now the official name that represents all three of their brand identities: AXYZ, WARDJet and CNCshop.com.

From January to November 2018, the Institute for Supply Management reported that Buffalo, New York's Purchasing Managers' Index was consistently higher than the national PMI, averaging 72.4, which was more than 10 points above the national average. With a long history as a manufacturing hub and recent growth, it's not surprising that there are many great manufacturing jobs available in the community. Moreover, the types of jobs advertised are changing. Instead of traditional manufacturing positions, employers are hiring for roles like machinist and programmer, which usually offer higher wages and better advancement opportunities.

Today, the WMF Group, which was founded in 1853 as Metallwarenfabrik Straub & Schweizer and has been part of the French SEB Group since 2016, represents the best in cooking, drinking and dining. More than 2,200 employees at the Geislingen headquarters and the nearby Hayingen plant alone are engaged in the development and production of high-quality cookware and cooking knives.

Lightweight Innovations For Tomorrow, a national manufacturing innovation institute, announces its Heller FP 6000 5-axis machining center has been installed, and is ready for use, at its research and manufacturing facility in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit. With the installation of this machine, Heller is assisting LIFT and its members to further develop next generation processes in lightweight metal manufacturing.

Almost every machine shop uses facemills for roughing, semifinishing and finishing, but many of these shops miss out on increased material-removal rates because they run yesterday’s tooling on today’s machine tools. The larger spindle tapers and higher horsepower ratings, feeds and speeds of modern machines need to run with the latest in facemilling cutter and insert technology to maximize a machine’s facemilling potential and thus significantly speed up production, increase efficiency and reduce cost per part, especially on larger workpieces.

Expand existing capacity or turn down orders? Many companies are caught in this dilemma. Every time a company turns down an order, it risks losing that customer and potential orders. If the company has no alternative but to accept new orders, at some point the existing machines will reach their limits. What then?

Whether they’re required for downstream manufacturing steps or for error-free functioning, surface characteristics are decisive with regard to part and product quality. Processes such as deburring and precision surface finishing are becoming more and more significant as a result – regardless of whether the parts are produced by means of erosion, forming, primary forming or additive manufacturing. DeburringEXPO, the world’s only trade fair that deals exclusively with the removal of burrs and the production of precision surface finishes, will be held at the Karlsruhe Exhibition Centre from Oct. 8-10, 2019.

CNC machining is one of the most common methods used to manufacture parts and products. The use of computer numerical controls allows parts to be manufactured using a highly automated process, which has the upper hand on many conventional manufacturing methods in terms of speed, production rate and accuracy. However, determining the right material for the process can be a daunting task.

It is time to put smarter manufacturing into production. An increase in the data and sensors available to the manufacturing industry has made it much easier to gather data on manufacturing efficiency through the internet of things. However, IoT systems tend to look at sensors at an individual level, which limits the ability to forecast anomalies across a manufacturing operation, as each sensor can measure only a specific part of the operation. To address this issue, a team of researchers has created a framework for system-level anomaly prediction in manufacturing.

As the aerospace industry in Canada and around the world continues to increase its use of automated composite manufacturing techniques to produce large aircraft components, the industry is eager to find solutions to manufacture reliable, safe, and cost effective composite structures. The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and Fives are working together to improve the efficiency of manufacturing composite parts. They are developing an advanced profilometer that will provide faster and more accurate part inspection.

It becomes increasingly important as the table travel is increased. Ambient temperature changes are one obvious source of thermal expansion. As the positioning table warms, its constituent parts undergo expansion, at a specific rate for any material. Accordingly, to permit any two users to agree on what constitutes an “accurate” positioning system, all critical dimensional measurements world-wide are understood to take place at 20 degrees C (68 degrees F).

Connecticut’s manufacturing future continues to evolve. The dirty, dark and dangerous shop floors of yesterday have increasingly become bright spaces with smart technology. Advanced manufacturing, robotics and the internet of things are more than buzzwords—they’re happening. But with all the advancements on the manufacturing floor comes a corresponding need to improve the approach to developing the workforce necessary to ensure success.

The big technology platforms get all the attention these days. But the biggest tech news of 2019 may turn out to be the rise of manufacturing platforms: companies that rewrite the rules of production and product development and in the process create opportunities for local manufacturing.