General Shop Equipment & Supplies

Carey Manufacturing makes pedestrian products -- the same handles and latches it's turned out for 40 years. But it's making a name for itself these days because of an unusual distinction. Almost half its workers are women, and women outnumber men on the factory floor.

The Reshoring Initiative, in conjunction with the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA), invites companies that have successfully reshored parts or tooling made primarily by metal forming, fabricating or machining to apply for the first National Reshoring Award. There will be one award for buyers and one award for suppliers.

Quicktech i-42 ROBO and i-60 ROBO 4-axis mill/turn centers feature integrated 6-axis Mitsubishi robots for fast, automated loading and unloading of medium-diameter (i42: 42mm/1.68", i60: 60mm/2.36") bar stock. In addition to carrying out highly productive turning, the machines can perform complex milling with standard live tools, according to the company.

DEWALT announces updates to Tool Connect , a system originally launched in 2015 that used Bluetooth technology to manage batteries on the jobsite. Now, Tool Connect features a three-part inventory management solution that encompasses the Tool Connect Inventory Manager web portal, the updated Tool Connect mobile app and connected products.

NSI Laser, Fremont, Calif., in April opened a new applications laboratory (App Lab) intended to meet the rising demand for new and advanced laser micromachining processes. The App Lab is a direct "response to the whole electronics industry moving toward high density interconnect (HDI) and finer geometry PCBs," according to a company news release.n

Economic growth is expected to continue in the U.S. throughout the remainder of 2017, say the nation's purchasing and supply executives in their Spring 2017 Semiannual Economic Forecast. Expectations for the remainder of 2017 continue to be positive in both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors. Sixty-four percent of respondents from the panel of manufacturing supply management executives predict their revenues will be 8.5 percent greater in 2017 compared to 2016, 12 percent expect a 9.6 percent decline, and 24 percent foresee no change in revenue.

Local high schools investing heavily in technical education have noticed interest from an unexpected subset of students: females. Late last year the Sheboygan Area School District built new advanced manufacturing labs at both high schools under a program called "Red Raider"—and similar manufacturing education centers have been constructed in high schools in Plymouth and Sheboygan Falls in recent years.

In the 100th year of its history, 2016, the BMW Group ordered the 100th EcoCFlex system from Dürr Ecoclean. The anniversary specimen of the flexible robot cell forms part of a three-unit package and has received a special painting. The machines have been serving in a volume production environment at the Steyr engine plant since May 2017.

CAM software developer DP Technology Corp. announced the release of ESPRIT 2017, the latest version of its flagship product. ESPRIT 2017 delivers a smarter, simpler, faster machining process with expert toolpath, streamlined user control, and accelerated processing power, the company reports.

On May 16th at a reception held in conjunction with EASTEC, SME and AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology announced partnering on creating "a new kind of event," designed to "help fast-track the adoption of Smart Manufacturing technologies." That event, the Smart Manufacturing Experience, is scheduled to take place April 30 through May 2, 2018 at the Boston Convention Center.

The 2018 versions of PowerMill and FeatureCAM are available. The focus this year was on user experience and the software includes many new enhancements.

SmartCAMcnc has announced the release of SmartCAM v2017. SmartCAM v2017 delivers new verification technology, as well as expanded rotary axis and code generation support, and improvements to the user interface and rough milling functionality. The SmartCAM CAM software family consists of toolpath creation applications for CNC milling, turning, fabrication and wire EDM.