General Machining & Manufacturing Processes

No, this story does not begin with "once upon a time," since it is far too serious, vivid and full of unique facts for a fairy tale. The German partition created different living conditions in both parts of Germany. Moreover, since August 13, 1961, when a dividing wall was built, the citizens in the Eastern part were deprived of any possibility to move to the West. Thus, living conditions and priorities could develop in a contrary direction under totalitarian control.

Solar Atmospheres announces the addition of Tom Gundic to its Greenville, South Carolina, facility. Gundic has accepted the position of plant manager, bringing with him over 14 years of vacuum heat treating and brazing experience, with significant time spent leading teams in the highly demanding environment of Nadcap and AS9100 quality systems.

Walter has reached an agreement to acquire the Melin Tool Co., a privately owned, Cleveland-based company and manufacturer of solid-carbide and HSS end mills, drills and countersinks. Melin is a growing company, supported by innovations in the solid-carbide endmill product family making the acquisition a strategic fit to increase Walter's milling business in North America.

Productive Robotics Inc. announced the launch of its updated software for the company's full line of OB7 collaborative robots. The software update enhances OB7's connectivity, allowing for efficient integration with other equipment and for easily accessible status monitoring.

Methods Machine Tools Inc. has introduced the compact high-precision Nakamura-Tome MX-100 multitasking turning center, offering high productivity milling and turning for a wide array of part manufacture, including medical. A rigid construction, as well as advanced software, smart features and a 96-tool capacity, provide exceptional accuracy and productivity. The new machine tool is equipped with a powerful 15-hp upper tool spindle with 20,000 rpm and turning capability. A 8,000-rpm milling turret offers 12 tool stations with 24 indexing positions.

North American Tool Corp., South Beloit, Illinois, has announced the appointment of Steve Mayse as director of manufacturing.

Tungaloy's DeepTri-Drill line of indexable deep-hole drills now includes FH3135-grade guide pads.

Single Phase Power Solutions introduces the 50-hp 1-to-3 Microgrid Power Source featuring a patented BELLE motor with Written-Pole technology to deliver three-phase power from single-phase utility service. The 50-hp 1-to-3 can be used to operate a 25-hp motor three-phase motor, and multiple other motors up the remaining 25 hp of capacity.

Manufacturers are looking to lower costs and increase speed without sacrificing quality. This means getting more done in less time with less manpower, less scrap and fewer mistakes. To do this, the manufacturing industry is investing more in automation.

The manufacturing industry got a huge boost from President Donald Trump's election, seeing a groundswell of job gains during his first year in office. But the trade war with China has undone that progress. Jobs in the sector have stalled out and turned negative in 2019.

U.S. companies aren't likely to pack up manufacturing operations in China and move back home amid the trade war. That's because supply chains are "very difficult to put together and equally difficult to disentangle," said Stephen Roach, senior fellow at Yale University.

Smart manufacturing, or Industry 4.0, is transforming manufacturing back into an economic powerhouse. Industry 4.0 helps companies digitally transform manufacturing operations to provide new capabilities, reduce costs, empower teams, improve decision-making and create better ways of doing business. An integral part of smart manufacturing is the concept of the digital thread, which is key to capturing and managing the information associated with manufacturing operations.