Industry News

Hetec GmbH, a machining technology specialist and supplier for tool, mold, and machine construction, has automated its production using the pallet handling system PHS 1500 Allround that helped tie together 5-axis machining centers into one high-production system.

There has been a prevailing myth that manufacturers need to purchase brand new machine tools to incorporate flexible manufacturing systems (FMS). That is not true. Automating existing machine tools is possible and common.

With its 5-axis CNC machines running 24 hours a day up to 7 days a week, Tech Manufacturing, a Pennsylvania-based supplier of machined metal parts for aerospace clients such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Bombardier, looked to Moxa for smarter operation and real-time machine performance data.

How robots help to qualify for the workplace of the future.  

To combat the loss of more seasoned operators to retirement, job shops are turning to more modern, automated surface grinders.

The automotive industry is a driving force when it comes to innovation and development of micro-systems, with demand for high volume production, unlike the more niche applications in the aerospace sector.  Two technologies, photo-chemical etching and micromanufacturing are migrating to this technologies.

Tecnalia Research & Innovation, a leading private and independent research and technology organization in Spain, uses its material and manufacturing expertise to develop innovative designs in the most challenging materials for the cutting tool industry.

Through calculating its carbon handprint and footprint, Fastems has taken its first steps towards understanding how automation enables more sustainable product development and how to reduce the company’s environmental impact. 

Today’s manufacturing customers expect fast turnaround times, competitive pricing, and on-time delivery of quality parts with every job. Achieving these outcomes requires a variety of capabilities called the “Great 8 of Manufacturing.”

Part of the RENK group, Horstman is a manufacturer and global supplier of suspension systems for heavily armored and tracked vehicles. It also produces safety-critical engineering components allied to its core products for the sub-sea and aerospace industries. Because of the critical nature of its products, the company has invested in new CMM technology.

Linamar Powertrain GmbH produces connecting rods with extreme efficiency, and consistently fulfills the OEM‘s quality requirements. With its quick retooling feature, the Saturn double-surface grinding machine from Junker is not only flexible but also an economical and reliable solution for the precision production of diverse connecting rods.

In 2018, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) predicted that manufacturers would turn increasingly to eCommerce to improve their processes — following examples set by Amazon, Tesla and Uber. This may seem outlandish, but a leading hydraulics manufacturer designed and acquired a tool in just ten days, with Sandvik Coromant’s eCommerce platform.

While some of this momentum comes from COVID-19 pandemic-related shortages and shutdowns and supply chain back-ups; in the long-term reshoring has the potential to save U.S. manufacturers critical production time, reduce transportation costs and could better support just-in-time production by reducing capital tied up in stock.

How simultaneous high-current and high-frequency have positioned the ANCA EDG as the benchmark for PCD manufacture.

When drilling holes in most aerospace components, manufacturers have three chances of getting the hole correct — after which, it will be impossible to rework the hole within the required design specifications.

Through collaborative partnerships with customers and their partners, Seco Tools monitors trends and identifies challenges, developing the knowledge required to overcome the industry’s most demanding issues. Putting customers at the heart of research and development (R&D) has paid rich dividends for Seco Tools in terms of identifying and developing new products and solutions that can help change the face of manufacturing around the world.

For metalworking operations looking to cut expenses, recycling cutting fluids is an avenue worth exploring. 

Now is the time for machine shops to embrace a new generation of tooling solutions to tackle steel ISO P turning challenges and make their production more efficient and productive.

ZYGO caught up with Dr. Mark Malburg of Digital Metrology and Carl Musolff of Musolff Consulting to discuss how to get the most out of surface parameters. Their years of front-line experience provide valuable insight into precision manufacturing processes, and why choosing the right type of metrology, and examining the correct parameters, are critical to controlling the manufacturing process.

How does ERP turn an overweight, inefficient manufacturing business into a lean, fit, and supercharged manufacturing machine?