General Machining & Manufacturing Processes

Swedish engineering group Sandvik will buy French software company Metrologic Group for 360 million euros ($435 million) on a cash and debt-free basis to boost its digital manufacturing capabilities. Metrologic Group's software includes automation and robotics control, as well as services for calibration and 3D measuring. It is used in the automotive, aerospace, energy and general engineering sectors, among others.

My Jan. 29 blog post, "Simple steps improve shop websites for hiring," received an insightful reply from Gerry Anger, president of Granger Sales Inc.

I once worked in the cubicle next to Mike, the shop's estimating guy. He sat there all day using an electronic pen to trace the outlines of parts on paper drawings. He painstakingly determined the length of each journal, the depth of each hole and the number of cubic inches contained in each milled pocket before feeding that information into the company's estimating software. That's all Mike did.

Prophesee SA (formerly Chronocam) introduced its first commercial implementation of the company's event-based vision technology for machines. The Onboard reference system is aimed at developers of vision-enabled industrial automation systems such as robots, inspection equipment and monitoring and surveillance devices.

WDS Component Parts Ltd. has introduced a range of stainless steel lift off hinges (or detachable hinges) for cleanroom environments where corrosion resistance is critical. The development of these new parts has been built on the company's experience in the medical and health care sectors, and provides a range of hinges that is suited to the broadest spread of cleanroom applications.

The new F-712.PM1 high-speed optical power meter from PI (Physik Instrumente) converts optical signals and currents of photodiodes into a high resolution, logarithmic analog voltage signal. Its high bandwidth of 20kHz enables faster optical alignment, when used in conjunction with PI's high-speed FMPA photonics alignment systems for SiP (Silicon Photonics) applications. The extended wavelength range of 400nm to 1,550nm allows working in both the visible and infrared range without switching.

Celebrate the grand opening May 2 and 3 of Morris Midwest LLC's office and tech center at 2323 Corporate Drive in Waukesha, Wis. See live cutting demonstrations on CNC machines from leading builders integrated with tooling, accessories, software, automation and more. Discuss manufacturing challenges with Morris Midwest's productivity specialists, application engineers and technology partners. Learn about best practices and the latest advances in manufacturing. Network with industry leaders and peers. Enjoy a free, hot lunch; snacks; coffee; and other refreshments.

If you're an exhibitor planning to showcase a product or service at IMTS 2018, please click here to send a press release and image of the product or service to Cutting Tool Engineering Editor Alan Richter.

Learn how to achieve good chip control when drilling with indexable drills. Effective chip control is the most important factor in indexable insert drilling operations and is essential for quality hole making. Poor chip evacuation can result in poor surface finish and can lead to tool breakage and damaged components.

There's a new woman in my life, and my wife is jealous. Really? I admit that I've been a little preoccupied lately with automating my house, but to say that I talk to Alexa more than the mother of my children is unfair. No, it's not obsessive behavior; it's an experiment in what's possible.

The industrial version of the 3D inspection, robotized, collaborative and autonomous solution KMR iiwa is now available with Metrolog X4 i-Robot. KUKA Systems Aerospace and Metrologic Group thus confirm their partnership and commercialize an enhanced, more robust version of their turnkey 3D measurement solution.

One benefit of expanding manufacturing employment is that workers are paid a premium. However, there is less of a pay advantage in manufacturing than there used to be. This suggests that policies to expand manufacturing employment should be accompanied by policies that maintain or strengthen compensation standards.