Lean at NUMMI September 1, 2005 To remain competitive in the fiercely contested North American automotive industry, the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI, Fremont, CA) assembly plant, a joint venture between Toyota Motor Corp. (Aichi Prefecture, Japan) and General Motors Corp. (Detroit), has rededicated its efforts in lean manufacturing during the past few years by applying key tenets of the Toyota Production System (TPS).
Autonomous Mobile Robots Drive Manufacturing Versatility September 3, 2020 Robotics have come a long way since the first industrial robot was installed at General Motors. Denise Ebenhoech, Regional Head of Advanced Robotics Applications at KUKA Robotics, sits down with Chris Mahar, Associate Editor, to discuss recent developments within mobile robots. From cleans rooms to job shops to moving entire airplane assemblies, autonomous mobile robots are helping manufacturers succeed in today’s advanced manufacturing landscape.
Tackling Downtime and Inefficiencies with Software November 20, 2019 Turning to software over paper reports does more than just save trees. Chris Mahar, Associate Editor of Manufacturing Engineering, talks with David McPhail, President and CEO of Memex Inc., about how manufacturers can utilize technology to improve efficiency, reduce downtime and boost productivity and profits across their business.
Software, CNC Interface Gains Push Programming Productivity March 1, 2019 Connected manufacturing and digitization technologies are spurring many of the major innovations in CNC machine controls that help machine shops cut metal and create parts as quickly and efficiently as possible.
AM, Spare Parts, and the Rise of the Micro Factory March 8, 2019 Manufacturing got smart when companies figured out how to make products in one market and sell them in another. Today, we call this supply chain logistics. But somewhere along the way, the innovation chain connecting supply (manufacturing) and logistics (the supporting infrastructure) started to diverge.
How the Auto Industry Will Adopt 3D Printing January 8, 2019 Nobody knows just yet how the auto industry will adopt 3D printing. But Desktop Metal Inc. (Burlington, MA) is in a better position than most to make an educated guess.
Tracking the Trends From 2018 and Beyond January 11, 2019 I get to observe, read about or write on manufacturing trends nearly every day. Around this time of year (mid-December), lots of manufacturing Top 10 Trends lists are published. I was curious about how many of these trends SME Media has covered in the last year and plans to cover in 2019.
Delta Machine Co.: High Torque Retention Provides Stability for Machining Exotic Metals October 31, 2018 Titanium, stainless steel, aluminum and other super-alloys and exotic materials are on the rise for use in component manufacturing in growth industries such as aerospace, medical, and automotive.
SPONSORED BY 3M: Five Common Reasons Manufacturers are Bonding with Industrial Tapes December 5, 2017 Manufacturers are always looking for ways to keep ahead of the competition. And with advancements in bonding technologies, they’ve been able to explore new ways in doing just that. Industrial-grade, double-sided acrylic foam tapes such as 3M™ VHB™ Tapes are increasingly being used in place of more traditional mechanical fasteners such as screws, rivets, bolts, and welds—in order to permanently bond components together.
Five-Axis CAM Slices Into Food Processing November 2, 2017 Urschel Laboratories has come a long way since its founder William E. Urschel introduced the gooseberry snipper to Michigan canneries in 1910. Today, the company’s innovative machines are used by virtually every food processing manufacturer worldwide to slice, dice, trim, grate, and process foods that are stored in pantries and refrigerator shelves. For the record, Urschel’s gooseberry snipper machine handled the removal of a stem and thick bud appendage from the berry.