After campus had largely shut down, several labs and departments at the venerated engineering school organized with local hospitals to manufacture critical parts needed to fight the coronavirus.
As U.S.-based companies try to stay ahead of COVID-19, global supply chains are under renewed scrutiny. Are uncertainties and delays caused by global crises worth the short-term cost savings?
Sometimes it takes a little extra effort and ingenuity to solve a problem. In the case of the February 2020 cover of Modern Machine Shop, it took a lot of each — and a cheap plastic spaghetti container.
The versatility of waterjet cutting is well known, but its reputation as a maintenance intensive technology holds it back. Predictive maintenance may change that.
As the cost of machine tools drops and the Baby Boomer generation enters retirement, the nature of competition between machine shops is trending toward data democratization and shop management software.
With the barrier to entry for machine shops so low, competitive advantage is not necessarily tied to the ability to machine parts. Increasingly, it is a shop’s ability to document and streamline digital processes that sets it apart from competition.
By investing in five-axis machining technology, Advance CNC Machining has done more than just add new capabilities to its roster. It has found a way to achieve something that most of us strive for: a way to work “in the zone.”
Modern Machine Shop editors routinely visit machining facilities to report on shops that are succeeding. Here is what our editors found on seven recent shop visits, all related to using labor more efficiently.
My behind-the-scenes tour on the shop floor of Baker Industries began and ended with its Emco Mecof PowerMill, one of the biggest five-axis machining centers in the United States. The tour also shed light on the company’s highly aggressive approach to new equipment purchases.
News announcements by aerospace manufacturers and suppliers flew fast and furious throughout the Paris Air Show, but — at least for this writer — the long-awaited debut of the world’s largest engine and a series of announcements by Oerlikon took center stage.
With its new Precision Center, Methods Machine Tools is locking down environmental variables that could impact machining processes. Why? So North American manufacturers will no longer need to send parts, tooling and material to Japan or somewhere else to have intricate, sensitive or challenging test cuts performed.