General Machining & Manufacturing Processes

The Valley Morning Star (Harlingen, TX) reports on how tool and die technology at Texas State Technical College has given student and former college dropout Andy Juarez "a new lease on life." Juarez plans to get his associate degree this Fall. "After speaking to supervisors at Arlington-based United States defense contractor and industrial corporation, Raytheon, he has a position waiting for him immediately after he graduates." The whole story is at the link.

Riverside Tool Corp., Elkhart, Ind., a Techniks Industries company, has acquired Cape Coral, Fla.-based General Saw Corp.

Japan's manufacturing activity has fallen to an eight-month low in July, according to IHS Markit survey results. The Nikkei Flash Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for July is calculated to be a seasonally adjusted 52.2, following a 52.4 level in June. The Flash Manufacturing Output Index was pegged at at 51.4, down from 52.2 in June and the weakest growth in 10 months.

Increased ambient temperatures are tough on plant employees and equipment alike, especially sensitive electronics and controls housed within cabinets and enclosures. Vortec introduces Electric Vortex AC models, which are pre-wired, easy-to-install solutions that are operational in minutes to quickly cool sensitive electronics and controls.

J.W. Winco Inc. offers GN 414 metric, stainless steel, safety indexing plungers with pin in protruding position. These RoHS compliant safety-indexing plungers are used when the inadvertent retraction of the plunger pin is to be prevented.

Midwest Industrial Tool Grinding Inc., Hutchinson, Minn., has been named a finalist in the Workforce Development Award category for the Minnesota Business 2017 Manufacturing Awards.

When a large new vessel is put to sea, it usually is equipped with a tunnel thruster (or bow thruster), which acts as a side propeller system to allow for additional maneuverability of the ship at berth and on open sea. Using tunnel thrusters, captains have increased control and can turn around a ship on a dime, raising ship's efficiency.

Lincolnshire, Ill.-based GF Machining Solutions LLC's System 3R, which supplies modular workholding/tooling systems, automation and software, is celebrating its 50-year anniversary.

Optoflash is the newest and fastest addition to the Marposs' optical measuring line and can measure small-size shafts, fasteners and dental implants. Its robust external structure allows the Optoflash to perform static and dynamic measurements in the production environment with the same quality as it does in the lab, according to the company.

CADENAS is publishing Version 11 of its Strategic Parts Management PARTsolutions. The German software manufacturer aims to simplify the daily work of engineers and purchasers and to provide support for the optimization of design processes for the exploitation of hidden economic potential.

The 6 S system is a modified version of the lean manufacturing principle of 5 S. Developed by Taiichi Ohno, an industrial engineer for Toyota, lean production is a systemic method designed to optimize the efficiency of a business. Lean was born from the more specialized Toyota Production System, which is a system that helped Toyota grow from a small automobile manufacturer when it was founded in 1937 to where it is today: one of the largest manufacturing conglomerates in the world.

The clunky, AR device never really clicked with 'cool cache' in the public domain, but in the professional or industrial workplace Google Glass is turning out to be incredibly useful. Stripped of the Insta-photo, email-checking trimmings, the device is now being used to cleverly enhance workflows and make it easier for people to do their jobs.