Industry News for 04/2018

Swedish engineering group Sandvik will buy French software company Metrologic Group for 360 million euros ($435 million) on a cash and debt-free basis to boost its digital manufacturing capabilities. Metrologic Group’s software includes automation and robotics control, as well as services for calibration and 3D measuring. It is used in the automotive, aerospace, energy and general engineering sectors, among others.

Celebrate the grand opening May 2 and 3 of Morris Midwest LLC's office and tech center at 2323 Corporate Drive in Waukesha, Wis. See live cutting demonstrations on CNC machines from leading builders integrated with tooling, accessories, software, automation and more. Discuss manufacturing challenges with Morris Midwest's productivity specialists, application engineers and technology partners. Learn about best practices and the latest advances in manufacturing. Network with industry leaders and peers. Enjoy a free, hot lunch; snacks; coffee; and other refreshments.

If you're an exhibitor planning to showcase a product or service at IMTS 2018, please click here to send a press release and image of the product or service to Cutting Tool Engineering Editor Alan Richter.

One benefit of expanding manufacturing employment is that workers are paid a premium. However, there is less of a pay advantage in manufacturing than there used to be. This suggests that policies to expand manufacturing employment should be accompanied by policies that maintain or strengthen compensation standards.

February U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $190.12 million, according to the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute and the Association for Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the Cutting Tool Market Report collaboration, was up 3.5 percent from January’s $183.61 million and 8.7 percent when compared with the $174.98 million reported for February 2017. With a year-to-date total of $373.73 million, 2018 is up 7.4 percent when compared with 2017.

Diacid 1550 is a bio-based emulsifier with a growing reputation among metal working fluid formulators worldwide. Because of its ability to create a more stable metalworking fluid and provide corrosion inhibition, Diacid is a trusted addition to formulations used to machine super alloy metals. This means that customers can expect precision even in the high-heat and high-pressure environments of jet and rocket engine manufacturing. That’s The Ingevity Effect.

The most fundamental elements of any metalcutting process, cutting tools are by their nature consumable. They wear until they are no longer effective. A traditional approach to metalcutting tool management employs wear analysis alone, focused on manipulating tool materials, geometries and application parameters to improve part output and tool life in a selected operation. To maximize the efficiency of your facility’s entire manufacturing process – boosting part-processing productivity and impacting the bottom line – you must go further in the pursuit of optimization.

CNC machines rely on certain fundamentals to achieve peak performance for maximum productivity. This not only includes the machine but importantly the infrastructure of the facility, specifically ancillary services such as power, air and coolant.

There are many advantages to financing your equipment purchases instead of paying cash. Stearns Bank vice president of business development, Michelle Fuchs, has helped many businesses reap the benefits of commercial equipment financing. They’ve learned that financing, rather than cash, is the best approach for the long-term health of their business.

United Grinding Group AG held an event in its Kuřim, Czech Republic-based Walter Maschinenbau GmbH production facility to announce its new flow assembly line. Speakers included Walter CEO Jürgen Schock and flow assembly line project manager Markus Schulze, both of whom welcomed guests and introduced the new innovation prior to pressing a symbolic start button with the entire project team to launch the new line.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that manufacturers added 22,000 workers in March, extending the 32,000 gain in employment in February. It was the sixth consecutive month with robust hiring growth in the sector, averaging 27,167 per month over that time frame.

John and Miles O’Brien are two of a few South Bend, Ind., business founders whose product is still being manufactured in the United States. John and Miles, born in Ireland in 1868, were identical twins whose family immigrated to the U.S., settling in Connecticut in the 1870s. At the age of 35, they went into business for themselves in a one-room building at the corner of West Washington and Johnson streets in South Bend. They began manufacturing lathes, at the time the most vital machine for any industry using metal or steel parts.

Fredon Corp. of Mentor, Ohio, received the 2018 Technology Best Practices Award from the National Tooling and Machining Association. Fredon’s use of a machine utilization tracker is an example of how manufacturers are using the internet of things and cloud technologies to improve performance on the factory floor, a company news release stated.

EMAG LLC announces its plans to hold its annual Technology Days at the North American headquarters in Farmington Hills, Mich., June 6-7. On June 6, the event will run from noon til 9 p.m. On June 7, from 8 a.m. til 2:30 p.m. The event will include a variety of machine tools under power for live demonstrations, plus a series of technical and market presentations by industry experts from the company.

There’s a very old parable, thought to have originated in the Indian subcontinent, of six blind (or blind-folded) men asked to describe an elephant. They reach different conclusions depending upon which part of the elephant they touch: side – it’s like a wall; leg – it’s like a tree; trunk – it’s like a snake; tusk – it’s like a spear; ear – it’s like a fan; and tail – it’s like a rope.

The accurate diagnosis of a bearing failure is imperative to prevent repeated failures and their additional expenses. While performing failure analysis is commonly left to outside vendors, the actual collecting of information can make a great difference in correctly diagnosing a bearing failure.

U.S. manufacturers face an aging workforce, concerns regarding safety best practices, ongoing movement toward lean manufacturing and the rapid emergence of new technologies. At the same time, people are struggling to pay bills, find work that provides a living wage, and support themselves and their families.