General Machining & Manufacturing Processes

Dorner's flexible-chain conveyor platform, SmartFlex, is now available in an 85 mm width standard option. With this addition, SmartFlex Conveyors are now available in 4 standard widths: 65 mm (2.6"), 85 mm (3.3"), 105 mm (4.1") and 150 mm (5.9").

The U.S. manufacturing industry is rushing to embrace technology as a critical part of its processes and plans to make new technological investments in 2017, but barriers to Industry 4.0 adoption still exist, according to Automation Alley's 2017 Technology Industry Report. According to the report, 85% of national manufacturing executives said their company plans to increase budgets for technological advancements; nearly a third of them plan to increase their budgets by 10% to 15%.

At Manufacturing Tomorrow, Greg Dyer of Randstad Commercial Staffing writes about "The hottest jobs in manufacturing in 2017." He notes "new technology, innovative production systems, a growing preference for American-made goods and a decline in offshoring are transforming U.S. manufacturing. There is an increased demand for technology-savvy workers to not only capitalize on the next industrial revolution, but to fill a critical void left behind by retiring workers." The hottest manufacturing jobs this year are: "production supervisor, maintenance mechanic, driver, machine operator and warehouse supervisor."n

HEIDENHAIN updates its successful angle kit encoder line again by modifying the ECA 4000 angle ring encoder series for use in safety-related applications. Of notable use in machine tools where dangerous conditions exist, this new ECA 4410 encoder is also useful in many automation applications such as in robotic arms for example.

Omron Adept Technologies Inc.'s LD-series mobile robot can gather information about its surroundings and automatically generate a map with just one run through any given environment.

One roadblock for parts makers to begin implementing Industrial Internet of Things technology is psychological: Implementation sounds like a big, time-consuming undertaking. It can be, of course. But a good way to start might be to take about 20 minutes and fire up Smart Attend, an all-in-one manufacturing-facility communication system from Smart Attend Inc.

Amada Miyachi America announces the release of four new higher power models to the LF series family of fiber laser welders. The addition of the new models will address thicker materials or increase processing speed for a given application. The company now offers an LF series fiber laser in power levels ranging from 250 watts to 1000 watts in the same form factor and with the same features.

Mitutoyo America Corporation (MAC), Aurora, Ill., on March 10 named Matt Dye as president and Doug Adkins as executive vice president, according to a company news release. Dye's predecessor, 40-year company veteran Shigeyuki Sasaki, has moved to Germany to support Mitutoyo European operations in an advisory role.

Somma Tool Co. announces the development of a broach toolholder that is reportedly uniquely interchangeable among any style of ER collet chuck. The compact, adjustment-free, offset, rotary broach toolholder will thread to an existing ER (16, 20, 25 and 32) collet chuck and features a built-in 1-degree wobble cutting edge for offset rotary broaching.

Thomson Industries Inc. offers users of its industry leading PC series precision linear actuators an optional, pre-mounted and pre-tested servomotor. Bundling linear actuators with servomotors simplifies ordering, reduces the need for additional validation after installation, increases reliability, and reduces the total cost of owning and operating an actuator system, according to the company.

Although toolholders are known to be critical components in the precision machining process, the unique details that differentiate a "standard" toolholder from one that is designed for more precise, high speed work can be subtle. Like the parts they are used to create, precision toolholders are machined to exacting tolerances to create the optimum fit within the spindle, concentricity and balance. The more precise the work, the more these factors come into play.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly employment report, 28,000 new manufacturing jobs were added in the U.S. in February—more than double the January number. Over the past 3 months, manufacturing has added 57,000 jobs. The rate of increase in February marked the fastest pace of manufacturing job creation since late 2014.