Industry News

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In support of its continued growth throughout the United States, Edgecam has hired a new regional sales manager to focus on the expansion of both sales and services in the state of Michigan. Based in Southfield, Mich., new Regional Sales Manager Mike Ambro brings more than 20 years of manufacturing industry experience to Edgecam.

MachiningCloud, a product content provider for cutting tools, CNC machines and workholding, today announced a partnership with IMCO Carbide Tool Inc., enabling the precision cutting tool maker's product data to be published online. MachiningCloud represents a new channel through which IMCO will provide its customers with digital product data they need to run today's data-hungry shop software, according to a joint news release issued by the two companies Jan. 6.

Mastercam developer CNC Software Inc., Tolland, Conn., late last month announced a partnership with the Onshape App Store that offers an open marketplace for a wide selection of CAD applications and seeks to modernize the way CAD users find and buy engineering apps. In the past, the comapny noted, desktop CAD users had to search multiple application vendor websites to find compatible products to purchase, register, license and install. 

Roush Yates Engines in December announced a partnership with Mastercam that makes the CAD/CAM software company the “Official CAD/CAM Software” of Roush Yates Engines. “Mastercam’s commitment to innovation and first class customer service perfectly align with Roush Yates Engines’ vision,” said Doug Yates, president and CEO of Roush Yates. “Their dedication to providing state-of-the-art software tools for CAD/CAM manufacturing, and superior software products are why Roush Yates has partnered with Mastercam.”

OMAX® Corp., a global leader in advanced abrasive waterjet technology, has increased the capacity of its state-of-the-art training center in Kent, Wash., to provide OMAX and MAXIEM® JetMachining® Center owners with enhanced resources for improved productivity and profitability. As a key element of the company’s headquarters and manufacturing campus, the training center features a new technology classroom that supplements an existing equipment lab.

Hexagon Metrology announced last November that the company was changing its name to Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence and rebranding to reflect increasing capabilities in data-driven industrial manufacturing solutions. The change aligns the business more closely with Hexagon’s overall strategy to offer software-centric information technology solutions that improve quality and productivity across entire industry workflows, according to a Nov. 12, 2015, company news release.

In October 2015, TRUMPF purchased approximately five acres of land adjacent to Interstate Highway 90 in Hoffman Estates, Ill., a northwestern suburb of Chicago. Located within one of the core zones of the sheet metal business in North America, this site will serve as the future home of the TRUMPF Technology Center and the center of excellence for Industry 4.0, according to the company.

College students with an interest in bringing together software and hardware solutions to improve manufacturing operations now have an opportunity to leverage their creativity through the MTConnect Student Challenge, a competition that invites submissions for both ideas and applications utilizing the MTConnect standard. 

CNC machining and manufacturing services provider Paramount Precision Products, Oak Park, Mich., has acquired the CNC machining company Numerical Productions Inc., Indianapolis. Paramount, a minority-owned supplier intends to expand its machining services to manufacturing companies throughout the Midwest.  

3D Systems, Rock Hill, S.C., has completed its acquisition of all shares of Israeli CAD/CAM software firm Cimatron Ltd. for approximately $97 million, inclusive of Cimatron's net cash. 

Widia, a Fort Mill, S.C.-based toolmaker, has launched its NOVO desktop and tablet application, which gives users on-demand delivery of cutting tool data and expertise for reduced product development and manufacturing lead times, according to the company. NOVO assists shop personnel in a number of intuitive ways. It can help define machining features and reduce the product set to those that can do the job, taking into account constraint requirements such as material, tolerance and machining sequence for both single tools and multi-tools.

On Sept. 10, the Guinness World Record for the "World's Largest Coin Mosaic" was broken during the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) in Chicago. In an effort to raise awareness of the role the manufacturing industry plays in the U.S. economy and the opportunities it presents for the next generation of workers, the mosaic incorporated more than $65,000 worth of coins to represent the amount of money manufacturing contributes to the U.S. economy each second.

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.

MRO distributor MSC Industrial Supply Co., Melville, N.Y., has launched its new ControlPoint inventory management solution, which combines MSC's existing suite of software, hardware and service expertise into a unified inventory management portfolio that allows customers to leverage technology to achieve greater visibility and control over their MRO spending, with the goal of improved productivity and profitability across the supply chains, according to the company.