Prototyping critical in manufacturing
The effective use of prototypes can lead the way to continuous improvement.
Operation / Process
Prototyping / Rapid Manufacturing
5G test bed reduces measurement lag time
By 2020, 5G is expected to be the standard for mobile communications. It will provide transfer rates of up to 10,000 Mbps of data and allow many devices to operate simultaneously
For this shop, it’s about more than making parts
Western Precision Products backs up its commitment to high-quality service and a top-notch customer experience by investing in the equipment and technology to get the job done.
Changing workflow: Bringing work to the workpiece
Picum MT, a startup at Leibniz University in Germany, is collaborating to redefine the manufacturing workflow, which traditionally has involved moving a workpiece from machine to machine or from station to station.
Collision detection minimizes damage to machine tool, workpiece
Last year, Sandvik Coromant Co. introduced its CoroPlus Collision Detector, which is designed to effectively use data to minimize damage to both a machine tool and a workpiece in the event of a crash.
Research on the factory floor
Since 2013, members of the MIT Media Lab community have set out from their research groups every summer to observe work in about 10 factories in China. Last summer, they went with a different approach—not just to visit but to collaborate on experimenting and cooperative design with two facilities in or near the city of Shenzhen. The hacking manufacturing summer course in August focused on the theme of soft robotic materials, and three instructors and seven lab students worked with a digital knitting factory called K-Tech and a flexible printed circuit board manufacturer called King.
Look Ahead: 3D printing picks up the pace
Desktop Metal Inc., a 2-year-old startup, developed a different method of metal 3D printing that it calls an "office-friendly" system for rapid prototyping. The Desktop Metal (DM) Studio system is based on a new approach—Single Pass Jetting (SPJ), which was created by the inventors of the binder-jetting and the single-pass inkjet processes.
Rapid prototyping on a CNC machine tool
Machine tool builders, tool suppliers and software developers now deliver technology that makes it possible for CNC operators to set up jobs in minutes rather than hours, and deliver parts in days instead of weeks.
Low-cost 3D printer for shop operations
A new breed of 3D printers has begun producing parts made of engineering-grade plastics and fully dense metals suitable for long-term use in a variety of applications. These include jet engine components, engine mounts, medical implants and a host of other products that were once machined or fabricated by conventional means. And, compared to earlier-generation machines, the new additive-manufacturing equipment offers enhanced part accuracy and has lower processing times and acquisition costs.
NIST: Fortify Manufacturing, Save $100 Billion, by Closing Tech Gaps
To spur significant innovation and growth in advanced manufacturing, as well as save over $100 billion annually, U.S. industry must rectify currently unmet needs for measurement science and "proof-of-concept" demonstrations of emerging technologies. This is the overall conclusion reached by economic studies funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of four advanced manufacturing areas used to create everything from automobile composites to zero-noise headsets.
Non-profit engineering research group adds electron beam system to toolbox
EWI, a non-profit organization dedicated to innovating and implementing advanced manufacturing technologies for industry, soon will add an Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM) system to its R&D toolbox. Chicago-based Sciaky Inc. announced the sale of its EBAM system in a news release issued July 20.
Small shop with new tech on aerospace radar
Once word got out that PTooling, a self-described small, family-owned machine shop in Amherstburg, Canada, had added a Lasertec 65 3D laser deposition welding and milling machine to its arsenal, major aerospace manufacturers began knocking on its door.