Impressions of IMTS 2016
Things changed this year. New technologies and a new generation were prominent, and together they are helping to take this show into its next era.
Read MoreThe Role of Employee Incentives in Successful Automation
This shop doesn’t emphasize lights-out production so much as leveraging automation while the lights are still on. One key to this is a wage and compensation plan that rewards employees for maximizing automation’s impact.
Read MoreVideo: Cub Manufacturing, Another Student-Run Shop
The success of a student-run high school manufacturing business in Wisconsin is leading other school systems to launch similar programs.
WatchWhy Was This Machine Chosen for Composites?
General Tool adds a metalcutting machining center with the expectation that this machine is likely to perform a significant amount of machining of CFRP.
Read MoreVideo: Robot Lets Short-Run Shop Take on Large-Quantity Work
The robot needing no guarding on the shop floor offers an accessible way for a shop to expand its capacity by running unattended through nights and weekends.
WatchCobots and Beyond
Collaborative robots address a challenge that will continue to be addressed.
Read MoreVideo: Multipurpose Tool Developed Using Various Operations
3D printing, waterjet, CNC machining and metal injection molding all figure into the journey this military-inspired invention has taken so far.
WatchVideo: Machine Shop in San Quentin Prison
The TV program “Titan” will become more directly focused on machining instruction as its creator incorporates his teaching in the prison into the show.
WatchEquipped for Composites
What machine tool features make sense for composites? A shop machining critical aircraft parts in both metal and composites describes the key features of the machine it bought with an eye toward CFRP.
Read MoreOptimized Machining out of the Box
Four tooling-related companies partner to supply dynamically stable milling for improved productivity on existing machine tools. Users do not have to measure the dynamics of their machines. Instead, tooling tailored to the machine arrives as a complete assembly, along with software for quickly determining the parameters that tooling can be used to achieve.
Read MoreAdditive + Subtractive Won’t Need Further CNC Advances
Today’s control technology is ready for these machines, and for more challenging integrations than this.
Read MoreIs the Best Use of Additive Manufacturing in the Details?
Rather than growing the entire part, the more efficient use of additive manufacturing might be to grow the features onto a pre-existing blank.
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