In preparation for mass customization, for starters, Japanese and German tech research officials today committed to expanding their joint work to establish a “social-technical or maybe ‘cyber-social’ environment where ‘digital companions’ and production lines communicate with humans” working in manufacturing, Andreas Dengel said in an interview with Smart Manufacturing magazine here at the CeBIT (Centrum der Büroautomation und Informationstechnologie und Telekommunikation) fair.
In the aerospace world, as in all sectors of manufacturing, the race is on for faster, more automated and connected machining operations. Aerospace builders have steadily pushed for more automotive-like automation over the past several years in order to improve productivity and more effectively handle large order backlogs in commercial aviation.
New work materials are developed continually to improve the capabilities of finished parts, making them lighter and stronger, among other properties. When these materials catch on, cutting tools must adapt to their often challenging properties.
It is common sense—a vehicle that weighs less requires less fuel to move it. A number of studies show that reducing the mass of a vehicle by 10% results in anywhere from 4.5 to 6% better fuel economy—well worth the effort.
From Boeing 787s to new Navy destroyers, fiber-reinforced composites are gaining in use. As production scales up, more-efficient manufacturing remains a focus. One key to that efficiency is tooling for composites. These molds and forms give the final shape to a part, and are often integral to their final curing.
Understanding the flow of energy within a plant is key in defining a roadmap to decarbonization
Desktop Metal Inc., the company founded in 2015 with no plan to produce a production-level printer, is now promoting 3D printing for high-volume serial production under its AM (additive manufacturing) 2.0 initiative.
To be competitive in today’s dynamic manufacturing environment, small- and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) need to implement mechanisms to facilitate the effective processing of multiple streams of highly volatile and time-sensitive customer requirements.
Looking back on a long career of learning, sharing, and always trying to do your best.
Shops need both chemical and five-axis laser texturing capabilities to generate patterns that were once considered unattainable.