Industry News

02/29/2016
SmartCAMcnc, Springfield, Ore., recently announced the opening of a new instruction center for training CNC programmers to use the SmartCAM Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) software family. The new facility is located at the company's corporate headquarters in Springfield.
02/29/2016
Forklifts—the workhorses of the plant floor—are more valuable than ever at ITAMCO (Indiana Technology and Manufacturing Cos.). The Plymouth, Ind.-based manufacturer of gears and other precision components connected its forklifts to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), which integrates machine tools and other manufacturing equipment with networked sensors and software. 
02/29/2016
Imagine a machining process that removes material five times faster than milling and 10 times faster than sinker EDMing, machines Inconel and hardened steel with ease, holds tolerances to ±0.0006" and utilizes the same tool to process thousands of parts with virtually no tool wear. Machine builder EMAG LLC USA, Farmington Hills, Mich., calls this process pulsed electrochemical machining (PECM). A subset of electrochemical machining, PECM is far more accurate than the decades-old ECM and has matured into a viable alternative to more-traditional machining processes over the past few years, according to the company. 
02/29/2016
When Zach Kaplan visited the White House last June for a National Week of Making event, he had no idea it would mean giving away 50 of his company’s 3D carvers (tabletop milling machines). The CEO of Inventables Inc. (www.inventables.com), Chicago, Kaplan and 99 other conference attendees were challenged to provide ideas on how they could help President Barack Obama with his “Nation of Makers” initiative. Kaplan’s suggestion? Put an Inventables 3D carver in one school in each of the nation’s 50 states. What’s more, Kaplan wants to have a 3D carver in every school in the U.S. by the end of this decade. 
02/25/2016
Röhm Products Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., a subsidiary of Röhm GmbH, recently opened a new office in Monterrey, Mexico, in an effort to expand the company's sales, service and support capabilities to meet increasing demand for high-quality clamping and gripping technology throughout Mexico and Central America, the company reported in a Feb. 22 news release.
02/24/2016
An online San Francisco Chronicle report posted Feb. 18—"Hacker ethos comes to the factory floor"—suggests that large and small manufacturers alike "are beginning to think and operate like software companies." And, just for the record, that's a good thing, say the authors: Mark Muro, a senior fellow and the policy director of the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, and Kelly Kline, the economic development director and chief innovation officer of the city of Fremont, Calif.
02/17/2016
Single Source Technologies (SST), a North American distributor of machinery brands based in Auburn Hills, Mich., recently announced the acquistion of Automation Solutions Inc. (ASI), effective as of Jan. 18, according to a Feb. 9 SST news release.
02/17/2016
Solar Atmospheres, Hermitage, Penn., recently announced a collaboration with Pressure Technology Inc. (PTI) that will offer an added-value service to PTI's HIP (Hot Isostatic Press) Facility in Concord, Ohio, according to a Feb. 15 news release. The collaboration is the result of an escalation of components being printed via additive manufacturing as well as the increased production of engine blade manufacturing to support newer more efficient aircraft, according to Solar Atmospheres. Such market forces means that hot isostatic pressing (HIPing) is in more demand for the densification of many materials.
02/17/2016
NTB Interstate University of Technology Buchs, an institute that specializes in engineering informatics, recently announced a new website, gtc-tools.com, which provides information to the public on the Generic Tool Catalog (GTC) cutting tool data exchange format, according to a joint news release issued Feb. 9. The GTC data exchange format was developed through collaboration among machining hardware and software leaders Siemens PLM Software, Sandvik Coromant, Iscar and Kennametal.
02/14/2016
MBFZ toolcraft GmbH, Georgensgmünd, Germany, recently announced that it has secured extra site space for future expansion at its Handelsstraße site, according to a Feb. 8 company news release. Toolcraft, which has manufactured precision parts made from metal and plastic for 27 years, said its expansion plans are the result of steadily increasing demand.
02/10/2016
The Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII), Chicago, announced Feb. 10 that it has issued $15 million in national contract research awards that include funding to test and aid compliance with the nation’s cybersecurity standards for digital manufacturing, according to a news release from the group. The money will be distributed among six new projects with 27 DMDII partners in 17 states.
02/03/2016
BENZ Inc., Charlotte, N.C., today announced it will be holding a Heavy Metal Sale to commemorate the company’s upcoming expansion and relocation from Charlotte to Hickory, N.C. During the promotional period through Feb. 19, BENZ will offer 25 percent off select live tools, Solidifx Modular Quick Change Systems and angle heads.
02/02/2016
Laser Mechanisms Inc., Novi, Mich., announced Monday that it has acquired Livonia, Mich.-based Visotek, a provider of Smart Laser Tools™ that are said to simplify the use of lasers in any environment. The acquisition is expected to complement Laser Mechanisms' core business of providing industry-leading laser beam delivery solutions.
02/02/2016
CARVEsmart, a division of Bellatex Industries and maker of the original quick-change vise jaw system featuring dovetailed jaw technology, announced a deal giving the Orange Vise Co. an exclusive opportunity to offer CARVEsmart patented features in the Orange Vise Integrated Jaw System (IJS). With CARVEsmart dovetail and clamp features machined directly into the Orange IJS vise, there is no need for master jaws, which is said to save 1.5" of opening, according to a CARVEsmart news release issued Feb. 2.
02/02/2016
With the acquisition of Prometec GmbH, Aachen, Germany, Sandvik Coromant "strengthens its offering in digital manufacturing," according to a Sandvik news release issued Feb. 1. A supplier of advanced solutions for monitoring and controlling of machining processes in production machines, Prometec will be integrated with  Sandvik Coromant, a product area within Sandvik Machining Solutions.
02/01/2016
Though up two-tenths of 1 percentage point since December 2015, economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in January for the fourth consecutive month as measured by the Manufacturing ISM Report on Business, which is published monthly by the Institute for Supply Management, Tempe, Ariz.
01/31/2016
While data used to calculate the 2015 A.T. Kearney U.S. Reshoring Index contradicts reports of a reshoring trend for U.S. manufacturing, the index itself should not be construed as opposition to reshoring efforts, according to A.T. Kearney, the Chicago-based global management consulting firm that publishes the index. 
01/31/2016
Irvine, Calif.-based CGTech, the developer of Vericut CNC verification and simulation software, recently formed a subsidiary company in South Korea. Headquartered south of Seoul, CGTech-Korea is responsible for marketing, sales, technical support and reseller support throughout South Korea, according to a company news release.
01/28/2016
Women in Manufacturing (WiM) and Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management recently announced the creation of a Leadership Lab for Women in Manufacturing, which will provide executive education and training to WiM members in mid- to high-level management roles in the industry.
01/27/2016
The National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS), Fairfax, Va., last year awarded a record number of credentials to individuals seeking to start or further a career in manufacturing, NIMS announced in a Jan. 26 news release. In 2015, NIMS issued 21,420 industry-recognized credentials, with 18,901 of them issued in the United States, the organization reported. Compared to 2014, that's a 20 percent increase in U.S. credentials issued by NIMS.