Industry Trends & Analysis

Have a great idea for a machine tool but lack the cash to fund its commercialization? Crowdfund it! That's what Matthew Hertel did when he leveraged a Kickstarter campaign to raise more than $355,000 for the development and creation of his Pocket NC 5-axis milling machine.

In a guest editorial, CEO and author Steven L. Blue argues that "Smart manufacturing should start with people, not machines" and that companies should "start by building a workforce that is engaged, enlightened, and empowered. A workforce that trusts in its leadership."

Could it really happen? An unnamed source tells Nikkei Asian Review that iPhone maker Apple has asked two Taiwan-based iPhone assemblers, Foxconn and Pegatron, to examine the feasability of manufacturing the devices in the U.S.

Reuters reports that America's manufacturers are urging President-elect Donald Trump to back off from his most threatening trade rhetoric and pursue a more nuanced approach to trade with China and Mexico, avoiding unilateral tariff actions and focusing on negotiations.

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd. and the Council on Competitiveness have released their 2016 Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index. In it, CEO survey respondents were asked to rank nations in terms of current and future manufacturing competitiveness. Top performing nations have each demonstrated strengths across multiple drivers of manufacturing excellence.

There was plenty to see, eat, drink, learn and hear at the United States Cutting Tool Institute's (www.uscti.com) 2016 Fall Meeting, held Oct. 15-17 at the Omni Royal hotel in New Orleans, writes Cutting Tool Engineering Publisher Don Nelson.

People in the industry continue to proactively do something about overcoming the skills gap, and I'd like to highlight two such efforts.

The Kentucky Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (KY FAME) is a partnership of regional manufacturers and local educational institutions working to implement dualtrack, apprenticeship-style training with the goal of creating a pipeline of highly skilled workers, according to the organization's website. To help get the word out about the program, KY FAME recently produced a video to introduce itself.

With rising salaries, labor unrest, environmental devastation and intellectual property theft, China is no longer an attractive place for Western companies to move their manufacturing, writes Vivek Wadhwa. "Technology has also eliminated the labor cost advantage. [China] built its dominance in manufacturing by offering massive subsidies, cheap labor, and lax regulations.

Los Angeles Times reports: Factories south of the border are fueled by American goods and services—creating a silver lining for at least some workers in the U.S.