Industry Reports

The cutting edges of cutting tools don't actually produce chips. Instead, the pressure of a rapidly spinning tool on a workpiece plasticizes part of the parent material, creating a shearing effect that forces the material to ride up the tool.

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.

Joel Neidig, the business development and technology manager at Indiana Technology and Manufacturing Companies (ITAMCO), Plymouth, Ind., was among several guest speakers selected to present at the third innovation forum of "Building Tomorrow's World," which was part of Autodesk University 2015 in Las Vegas.

In a February report that seeks to add some context to manufacturing's role within the U.S. economy, the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation Foundation (MAPI), Arlington, Va., suggested that the manufacturing value chain accounts for about one-third of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and employment.

The University of Louisville and UL (Underwriters Laboratories), a global safety science organization, in May announced plans for a 3D printing training facility—named the UL Additive Manufacturing Competency Center—that is set to open this fall adjacent to the university campus.

3D printing, once only in the realm of science fiction, is gaining popularity. In this military video, Staff Sergeant Scott Johnson talks about how Air Force Research Laboratory scientists at Wright-Patterson AFB are using additive manufacturing to provide the military with better equipment.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) produced this video report to highlight some of the backstory behind building a 3D printed electric car in full view of everyone who attended IMTS 2014 in Chicago. The video notes that the collaboration among Local Motors, Cincinnati Inc., the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and DOE's Advanced Manufacturing Office helped spur the advancement of 3D printing technology.

IMTS 2014 opens ... and it's going fast.n

Scientists at the Australian National University have invented a method to make a high-powered lens that can transform a smartphone into a high-resolution microscope, according to the university. The lenses are made by using the natural shape of liquid droplets, and can cost less than a penny to produce.

A Rockwell Automation representative talks about the Ethernet trend based on open standards and how its potential application for many industries. The video captures a robot arm sorting and aligning pucks. Driving the automation are Stratix switches, which were jointly developed by Cisco and Rockwell Automation.

Like many manufacturers across the U.S., Greendale's Kinetic Company faces a shortage of skilled labor. Long-term, highly skilled employees are retiring, leaving the knife-making company with a younger, less experienced workforce. With that challenge in mind and armed with a Workforce Advancement Training (WAT) grant, managers from Kinetic Company teamed with Milwaukee Area Technical College to enhance the skills of their incumbent workers.

The Madison Area Technical College, Madison, Wis., addresses the value of its 2-year machine tooling program, which emphasizes moldmaking and tool and die skills in the second year.