Industry News for 07/2014

Midwest Industrial Tool Grinding Inc., Hutchinson, Minn., is a first-time finalist in two categories for the Minnesota Business 2014 Manufacturing Awards. Awarded annually by Minnesota Business magazine, the awards recognize achievements in 10 categories. This year, the toolmaker is a finalist in two categories: Best in Class (small company, 1 to 50 employees), recognizing companies for overall excellence in the manufacturing industry in Minnesota, and Image Award, honoring an organization for improving the industry's image and showing the appeal of careers in manufacturing. 

Deburring solutions provider Abtex Corp., Dresden, N.Y., acquired Bloomfield, N.Y.-based robotics manufacturer Nihmble Technologies to enable manufacturers to use robotics technology to integrate Abtex's deburring equipment into existing operations. Robotic systems can provide manufacturers a range of benefits when deburring, from enhancing the flow of a single operation to connecting multiple operations to deburring multiple surfaces of a part in a single step, noted Mark Fultz, Abtex owner and president.

Hexagon AB, a Stockholm, Sweden-based provider of design, measurement and visualisation technologies, has acquired CAD/CAM software provider Vero Software, Cheltenham, England. Brands in Vero Software's portfolio include Alphacam, Cabinet Vision, Edgecam, Radan, SURFCAM, VISI, and WorkNC. The company has offices in the U.K., Germany, Italy, France, Japan, U.S., Brazil, Netherlands, China, Korea, Spain and India supplying products to more than 45 countries through its wholly-owned subsidiaries and reseller network.

Machine tool builder Fadal Engineering, Troy, Mich., has joined forces with Saginaw-based, family-owned manufacturer Merrill Technologies Group (MTG) to launch a full-range Fadal CNC product line.

Deloitte University Press, New York, has launched what it calls a "massive open online course" (MOOC) on the business implications of additive manufacturing, titled "3D Opportunity: The Course on Additive Manufacturing for Business Leaders," designed to help educate the market on the business drivers of additive manufacturing.

Sandvik Coromant, Fair Lawn, N.J., is dedicating the months of July, August and September to raise money for "Workshops for Warriors." For every pound of carbide received for recycling during those months, Sandvik Coromant will donate $1 to the non-profit organization that is dedicated to training, certifying and placing veterans into manufacturing careers.  

Allied Machine & Engineering Corp., Dover, Ohio, broke ground July 15 on the second phase of its expansion project. The project involves a 30,000-sq.-ft. addition to its West Third Street facility, which includes R&D space, training areas, offices and a cafeteria. The addition is expected to cost $15.1 million.

Heritage Cutter is the new "brand family" name for cutting tools manufactured by Data Flute, Pittsfield, Mass., as well as Brubaker Tool and Weldon, both based in Millersburg, Pa. The toolmakers are now united under the new Heritage Cutter family of brands. Brubaker was founded in 1881, Weldon is nearly 100 years old, and Data Flute specializes in high-performance carbide endmills.

CNC Software, Inc., Tolland, Conn.-based developers of Mastercam CAD/CAM software, is one of the two initial underwriters of Purdue University's MSTEM3 Grant Initiative, aimed at changing young peoples' perception of manufacturing through the eduFACTOR multimedia resource from Edge Factor. CNC Software has underwritten $50,000 to help increase the number of schools that can take advantage of the grant, while The Gene Haas Foundation has contributed $250,000. Because of the grant, upper elementary and high schools can qualify for eduFACTOR's suite of products for as little as $99 per year.