Smart strategies to address workforce development challenges
Changes in technology are spurring manufacturing to expand in the U.S., speakers said this week at a trade show.
Key steps are virtual twins and real relationships.
Metal diffusion bonding is an essential joining method for achieving a high-purity interface when two similar metals require superior structural integrity. The process involves applying high temperature, and pressure to metals mated together in a hot press causes the atoms on solid metallic surfaces to intersperse and bond.
Information technology and operations technology are unlikely candidates for a successful marriage. But to ensure that manufacturers thrive in the digital age, OT and IT must find ways to work together—or to at least, as on Tinder, swipe right to indicate interest.
In a broad-ranging display of high-precision manufacturing proficiencies, Murata Machinery USA demonstrated its turning, fiber laser, punch press and automated storage technologies Sept. 18-20 at its biennial North American technology showcase.
I experienced the end of the Third Industrial Revolution as I began my career in manufacturing. Closed government and private networks gave way to an open network called the Internet.
The institutes that make up Manufacturing USA need to move at the speed of business, considering that the endeavor represents the U.S. government’s biggest investment in the digitization of manufacturing to date.
Manufacturers who have deployed the digital or smart factory have put down their pencils, found new uses for their clipboards and closed their spreadsheet programs in favor of using real-time data gleaned from condition monitoring of their machinery.
Metrology-grade laser scanners are expanding their range of applications. New users are finding the main attractions of laser scanners—speed and ease of use. What prevented more widespread use in the past were laser scanners’ perceived tradeoffs. Using one usually meant sacrificing accuracy or working with noisy data.
