Taking automation to a new level with advances in 3D vision April 3, 2018 If there’s one thing you can say without reservation about manufacturing today, it’s that everybody wants more automation and flexibility. With advanced 3D vision and a multiaxis robot, companies can now automate to a degree their executives only dreamt of a few years ago.
Good Times in Thermoplastic Composites March 30, 2018 Thermoplastic composites are gaining traction in manufacturing applications, offering benefits like lighter weight, faster production times, longer shelf life and easier shipping compared with metals or other composites.
Which Technologies Should Come First, Second, Third? March 6, 2018 Analytics solutions. The industrial Internet of Things. Robotics. Automation. Manufacturers looking for tech solutions that will help them control costs and gain a competitive edge have many great options. In fact, deciding what type of technology to invest in and why can seem overwhelming.
Reducing waste on the shop floor with mobile power April 4, 2018 Speed, safety and efficiency are important to running a successful manufacturing floor. The more efficient workers are on the floor, the quicker products can be finished and sent to their destination. The major opponent to efficiency on the floor is, of course, waste.
Removing mental roadblocks to improving operations January 30, 2018 It’s a familiar scenario at the factory. Quality issues have reared their ugly heads, requiring rework, causing backorders, delaying shipments, and driving tense daily customer calls. Meanwhile, the team works to address production issues using a mix of day-old post-mortem reports, shop-floor observations captured on notepads, and other operational data summarized on spreadsheets and sticky notes.
Agile hardware development can quicken product lifecycle January 16, 2018 In today’s booming software landscape, you see highly dynamic teams quickly iterating to develop and improve their products. Yet while the world’s software creators have learned to “move fast and break things,” hardware developers are still (slowly) moving to adopt a more agile product development methodology.
New Generation 3D Lasers Grow Metro-Detroit Job Shop November 2, 2017 Sometimes succession of a family business from one generation to the next doesn’t always go as planned. Take, for example, Laser Specialists Inc. (Fraser, MI). Incorporated in 1986, the company was positioned at the forefront of laser cutting technology.
To Get on Industry 4.0 Path, Focus on the Here and Now October 11, 2017 Industry 4.0 is inevitable, and everyone is looking to find a way forward. But manufacturing leaders who focus only on the technology involved will be frustrated—because the new industrial revolution is just as much a culture and people thing as it is a technology thing.
SLM Solutions Exec Weighs in on Important AM Market Trends October 10, 2017 Winthrop Sheldon of SLM Solutions spoke with Editor in Chief Brett Brune at the Aerodef 2017 conference in Texas.
AM, Big Data, VR, AR all crashing DFM’s party—in a good way October 17, 2017 Design for manufacturing has been around for decades, but industry insiders say the next few years will be critical as technologies like additive manufacturing (AM) and virtual reality (VR) shape the future of the industry.
