General Shop Equipment & Supplies

The Institute for Supply Management reported that the April Purchasing Managers' Index registered 57.3 percent, a decrease of 2 percentage points from the March reading of 59.3 percent.

Sandvik Coromant Co., Fair Lawn, N.J., and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Edmonton, Alberta, extended their contract until 2022.

Machine tool distributor Kaast Machine Tools Inc., Ardmore, Pa., appointed Ebony Goldsmith office manager.

Mahr Inc. has partnered with the University of Rhode Island's (URI) engineering department to offer students the opportunity to work on real-world engineering and manufacturing problems. As part of the URI capstone project, students in their senior year are selected to take part in a year-long capstone project focused on automation of submicron precision finishing of ring gages.

To celebrate Mikron Tool SA's 20th anniversary, a dozen employees will cycle from the Rottweil branch in Germany to the parent company in Agno, Switzerland, over four days. The participants are using the trip to support the Greenhope Foundation, which benefits children with cancer.

Manufacturing, which shed nearly a third of its workforce between 2000 and 2010, is rebounding as a solid path to the middle class. The industry has taken a more tech-intensive twist, making skills like practice in 3D design critical for future employment. Schools are taking notice.

Peter E. Nuskey, a Southampton, Pa.-based mechanical consultant and custom machining provider, said he had to cut 0.115"-wide clevis slots in the end of 1/4"-dia. 304 stainless steel rods. However, no commercial cutters are available for that slot width, according to Nuskey.

The UNi5X 5-axis high-speed vertical machining center from Chevalier Machinery Inc. reportedly offers high accuracy, enhanced productivity, low manpower and high profitability.

Google and relayr, a leading provider of industrial internet of things (IIoT) solutions, have together helped Aluvation, an aluminum heat-treatment company, disrupt the way automotive companies traditionally process aluminum components for vehicles.

Peter E. Nuskey, a mechanical consultant and custom machining veteran, wrote that he received a request for a 8.312"-dia. hole saw saw to cut holes in 1/4"-thick, multiple-wall polycarbonate. Saws this size are not commercially available.

Sidney Pimenta Paiva, 60, took over management of the U.S. subsidiary Mapal Inc. effective April 1.

The precision tooling company founded by Heinz Kaiser in Rümlang, Switzerland, celebrates its 70th anniversary this year.