Advanced Manufacturing Now

Suzanne Deffree, a brand director at UBM and its Advanced Manufacturing Group, discusses the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence and their impact on engineering and manufacturing jobs. She also talks about UBM's presence at three co-located events in Boston on April 18-19: the Embedded Systems Conference, BIOMEDevice Boston and Design & Manufacturing New England.

Diego Tamburini, principal industry lead for Azure Manufacturing, talks with Patrick Waurzyniak, senior editor of Manufacturing Engineering magazine, about the cloud and why manufacturing companies need to embrace it. In the cloud manufacturers can host their IT environments, run applications from CAD/CAE/PLM/ERP/MES, etc., develop their own applications, and much more. Tamburini and Waurzyniak also discuss IaaS, PaaS, SaaS and how they are different, security concerns, and how Microsoft fits into the world of the cloud.

Hod Lipson, co-author with Melba Kurman of the book "Driverless: Intelligent Cars and the Road Ahead," asserts that AV technology is going to change things for everyone, in all business and sectors. "It's a tsunami heading our way." And, says the Columbia University professor of engineering and data science, "deep learning" software is so good at understanding and perception that it far surpasses humans. "It can see in the dark, in the rain. It can see not with two eyes but with 20 eyes. It is part of the reason robots will be able to handle a larger variety of tasks because they won't need to confine themselves to just one type of component. They'll be able to package different objects with different shapes and sizes without being programmed in advance.

Adam and Pam Genei talk to SME's Chris Mahar at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. They own Mobsteel, a design/build company that manufactures automotive aftermarket products and builds custom cars, and Detroit Steel Wheel Co., the manufacturer of the original Smoothie Wheel. They realized their biggest challenge was making a product domestically.

In the highly competitive arena of the global auto industry there is little time to sit on one's laurels. To that end Jeep has substantially revamped its Cherokee for the 2019 model year. Mike Downey, Cherokee vehicle line executive, joined Manufacturing Engineering Editor Emeritus Jim Sawyer at the North American International Auto Show to explain how lightweighting served as an important tool in making sure that the Cherokee remains competitive.

The Brose Group is growing in the US. In fact, the operations of Brose North America, the US arm of the global auto supplier, are growing at a rapid pace. Brose North America President Michael Brosseau sat down with Manufacturing Engineering Editor Emeritus at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit to talk about the company's growth and the urgent need it has for workers to help keep the expansion on track.

Licensed aftermarket auto parts can be a source of profits for their non-OEM manufacturers and a source of brand building for automakers as well as a path to additional profits. John Clor of Ford Performance explains to Manufacturing Engineering Editor Emeritus Jim Sawyer how the process works, where the opportunity lies for small manufacturers who want to get into the game, and why precision manufacturing is crucial.

Vehicle electrification and autonomy are challenges facing automakers today and well into the future. But it's not only the OEMs that need to clear the hurdles that are changing the industry. The vendors who populate the supply chain must do so, too. Larry Bemis, vice president of Customer Success and Quality Assurance of Siemens PLM Software's manufacturing business unit, explains to Manufacturing Engineering Editor Emeritus Jim Sawyer how high these hurdles can be and what software can do to make it over the bar.

At the North American International Auto Show, P3 North America CEO Samit Ghosh and Smart Manufacturing Editor in Chief Brett Brune discuss the common pitfalls manufacturers encounter when they introduce smart and connected tech.

At the auto show in Detroit, Magneti Marelli USA's Bill Grabowski tells Smart Manufacturing mag about his firm's "Smart Corner" product, specifically about how it helps OEMs in terms of cost, weight and complexity.

At the auto show in Detroit, Rose Ryntz of Intl Automotive Components (IAC) Group, covers emerging trends, including electrification, autonomy and ride sharing, changing vehicle interiors. She also predicts how future vehicle interiors will look, feel and sound.

Auto dealer Ryan LaFontaine, chairman of the North American International Auto Show, reveals what AutoMobili-D is all about. He spoke with Brett Brune, editor in chief of Smart Manufacturing magazine.

One of the highly anticipated new vehicle introductions at the 2018 North American International Auto Show in Detroit was that of the 2019 Ram 1500. Not only is this half-ton pickup significantly improved over its predecessor in terms of capabilities and technologies, but it will be built in a factory that previously had been dedicated to assembling sedans. Rob Wichman, vehicle line executive for Ram Truck, and Mike Raymond, chief engineer for the Ram 1500, sat down with Manufacturing Engineering Editor Emeritus Jim Sawyer to outline what it took to arrive at the new pickup and the essentially new factory.

Half a dozen years ago American Makes was launched as the first institute of Manufacturing USA, the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation, a national network for manufacturing innovation focused on coordinating public and private investment in emerging advanced manufacturing technologies. The charge for America Makes: Accelerate the adoption of additive manufacturing technology in the US in order to increase domestic manufacturing competitiveness. The institute's executive director, Rob Gorham, sat down with Manufacturing Engineering Editor Emeritus James D. Sawyer at the recent North American International Auto Show to discuss the progress that's been made.

Samantha Farr, founder of and instructor for Women Who Weld, met with Manufacturing Engineering Editor Emeritus Jim Sawyer at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit to discuss how welding is one of the areas most afflicted by the skills gap and how her program can meet that need while bringing more diversity and equality to manufacturing.

While Dassault Systemes is best known in the manufacturing industry for its CATIA software, the company's interests are in fact much broader. Indeed, they span not just the globe but reach into outer space as well. Steve Madge, Dassault vice president for Industry & Global Affairs in High Tech, Future Transportation & Smart Cities, spoke with Manufacturing Engineering Editor Emeritus Jim Sawyer about how part of his job is to seek out mega trends so his company can boldly go where no other enterprise has gone before.

Diana Mannino, president of HBPO North America talks to Senior Editor Bill Koenig at the North American in Detroit. She discusses the company's product line, including front end modules for vehicles. HBPO also is expanding its production in North America, including two new plants in Mexico scheduled to open this year.

Dennis Berry, president of the Americas region of Chassis Brakes International, talks to Senior Editor Bill Koenig at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Berry discusses how the company is adding production in North America in Mexico. He also talks about how brake systems are evolving to be electric and getting rid of hydraulic systems.

Robert Evans, president of Freudenberg North America, talks to Senior Editor Bill Koenig at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Evans describes Freudenberg's automotive-related businesses, including sealing technologies, vibration control systems and filtration. The executive also talks about general industry trends, including electrification of vehicles.

Dennis Hoeg, North American COO for Nexteer Automotive, talks to Senior Editor Bill Koenig at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Hoeg discusses the company's Digital Trace Manufacturing system, which was introduced at the auto show.

Jeff Zuraski, executive director of research and development for Nexteer Automotive, talks to Senior Editor Bill Koenig at the North American International Auto Show. He discusses technology for autonomous driving vehicles. Nexteer used the auto show to introduce steering technologies for autonomous driving.

Jody Hall, vice president-automotive market for the Steel Market Development Institute, talks to Senior Editor Bill Koenig at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. She discusses how high strength steel is being used to make vehicles lighter. High strength steel was used by General Motors Co. and FCA US LLC to make new versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and Ram 1500 pickups lighter.

Jonathan Smoke, chief economist of Cox Automotive, talks to Senior Editor Bill Koenig about what's happening in the auto industry going into 2018. Smoke describes an industry that is still running strong but faces more "headwinds" than in the past few years. The interview took place at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

CEO David Johnson of Achates Power talks to Senior Editor Bill Koenig at the North American International Auto Show. The executive discusses the company's opposed-piston engine that was on display at the show in January. Johnson describes how the engine can achieve fuel efficiency. The engine has been in development for about two years.

Paul Aiello of robot maker FANUC talks to Senior Editor Bill Koenig at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Aiello talks about the company's efforts to interest students in manufacturing careers. FANUC had a collaborative robot at the auto show as part of those efforts. The auto industry is a major customer for FANUC.

Kevin Tynan, senior automotive analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, talks to Senior Editor Bill Koenig about auto industry trends during an interview at the North American International Auto show in Detroit. Tynan talks about why trucks are king. He also notes how the Detroit auto show has been affected by CES in Las Vegas, which is also held in January. Automakers now use CES to highlight future technology and the auto show highlights the "here and now," Tynan says.

Smart manufacturing is getting a lot of coverage in the media, and with good reason. In this podcast, Alan Rooks, Editor in Chief, talks with Frank Arteaga, Head of Product Marketing, Market Region NAFTA, for Bystronic about the definitions of smart manufacturing; how it can help OEMs and fabricators alike with profitability; how analyzing data can help with visualizing the fabricating process; and the best ways to make sense of all of the data pouring in on the manufacturing process.

Natalie Lowell, member and industry relations manager at SME, details all that the nonprofit is doing to help address the skills gap in the U.S. She details a formal level of membership at the high school level with value streams of SME resources to augment the success of the student, as well as educators' resources. Access to the SME Connect community is one of the resources available to encourage students to discover and explore a future in science, technology, engineering and manufacturing-related careers.

Robotic solutions are gaining in prominence and importance. In this podcast, Senior Editor Jim Lorincz talks with Simon Whitton, regional division manager, Kuka Robotics Corp., about how Kuka Ready-to-Use preconfigured robotic product solutions can integrated into existing shop operations, ensuring that sustainable and high-performance levels of manufacturing efficiency can be achieved.

The manufacturing of solid-carbide and PCD rotary tooling has improved markedly, and high-tech grinders have played an important role in this evolution. Circular and band saws have followed a similar evolution. In this this podcast, Editor in Chief Alan Rooks talks with Shannon Fox, North American sales manager for Vollmer of America Corp., a builder of tool grinding machines, and Dr. Roland Loroch, managing director of Loroch GmbH, a business unit of Vollmer that is focused on re-sharpening and measuring circular and band saws. The discussion focuses on how rotary tool grinding machines are creating more complex, tighter-tolerance tools, and new demands on circular and band saw blades.

Applications for robotic welding systems continue to grow, and those systems are becoming more sophisticated and agile. In this podcast, Editor In Chief Alan Rooks talks with Erwin DiMalanta, director-welding and cutting business line for ABB Robotics (Auburn Hills, MI) about emerging trends in robotic welding, lightweighting in the automotive and aerospace sectors and other issues. He also explores ABB's new Robotic Inspection System, which was developed through a collaboration between ABB and NUB3D, which develops digital, 3D inspection and quality-control solutions. The 3D white-light scanning sensor can access most areas of both simple and complex parts

A more diverse workforce that includes more women can help manufacturers fill the growing skills gap. In this podcast, Sandra Bouckley, president of SME, talks with Senior Editor Jim Lorincz about the need for increased diversity in the workforce and how it can increase productivity and creativity while producing new solutions to manufacturing issues. She also examines why women make up just 29% of the manufacturing workforce in the US and strategies for increasing that percentage.

Markforged has played a role in advancing the art and science of additive manufacturing. They have helped companies make great strides in getting the best results out of their 3D printing operations. Now, the company is helping manufacturers that are not involved in 3D printing to identify the opportunities where 3D printing could be used to make stronger products, manufacture them at less cost, and ship those products faster. In this sponsored podcast, Manufacturing Engineering Editor Emeritus Jim Sawyer interviews Applications Engineer Nick Sondej to learn how Markforged makes this happen.

Manufacturing operations are looking for the fastest, most reliable equipment to deliver components machined quickly and with the highest accuracy possible. At SOUTH-TEC, we discussed the advantages of the Swiss-style machine tool equipment offered by Tsugami/Rem Sales (Windsor, CT). Bob Budnovitch, engineering manager, training/turnkey, and Frank Maiocco of Tsugami/Rem Sales, spoke with Senior Editor Patrick Waurzyniak at SOUTH-TEC in Greenville, SC, about the latest machines that Tsugami displayed at the show and what customers can expect from the company's advanced machining equipment.

At the SOUTH-TEC show in Greenville, SC, we're joined by Greg Cooke, applications engineer for Promess Inc., in Brighton, MI, who talks about how manufacturers are looking for flexible assembly solutions in a variety of manufacturing industries. Promess, a manufacturer of turnkey monitoring and motion systems used in a wide variety of Assembly and Test applications around the world, began expanding into the southern US manufacturing region about 10 years ago, as the downturn in the economy began. Cooke, who's based in Huntsville, AL, spoke with Senior Editor Patrick Waurzyniak about some of the ways Promess diversified to prosper in the recession and into the present with flexible assembly solutions.

In an interview in Shanghai, Eric Green, VP, user experience & marketing for the DELMIA product brand at Dassault Systèmes, weighs in on what "super fab labs" in Beijing and Moscow might well produce. He also describes how Dassault's 3D Experience Lab works. He identifies the three most important smart manufacturing trends to watch in China, in his opinion. He says Huawei has one of Dassault's most compelling smart manufacturing client stories to tell so far in China (and references a Smart Manufacturing magazine story, available at tinyurl.com/HuaweiCloud, about that firm). And he describes what changes will be needed because of the speedy adoption of robots in China.

Nick Sondej, application engineer of Markforged, talks with Candace Roulo, managing editor of Manufacturing Engineering magazine, about the company's carbon fiber and metal 3D printing for strength, performance, and accuracy. Learn about how businesses in a variety of different industries, such as aerospace, robotics, and consumer electronics, are using Markforged technology to innovate faster at a lower cost. Markforged is based in Cambridge, MA, and its team of engineers, designers and industry veterans live the company's mission of focusing on engineering, design, quality of parts, and software innovation.

In a wide-ranging interview at at Dassault Systèmes' 3DExperience Forum North America in South Florida, Subham Sett, director of strategic initiatives for AM and materials at the French software giant, outlines its approach to AM, the biggest challenges his customers face in the production process, certification needs by the FDA and FAA, and "the infinite capacity you have to engineer a material to fit a purpose." He also outlines what Dassault Systèmes will gain from its planned purchase of Massachusetts-based Exa, for about $400 million: "If you look at the CFD (computational fluid dynamics) technology and what's around us, there are a lot of fluid applications…, and Exa, being the world leader for lattice Boltzmann techniques for CFD, brings in a key piece of technology, which adds onto another acquisition we made last year—a [division of the Spanish firm Next Limit that produced the XFlo CFD software]. Between them, we have some of the best technologies that will help us drive our CFD offers. As well as, it starts addressing a marketspace that quite honestly is still evolving with all the work that is happening in aerospace and automotive and oil and gas."

"MAKE IT IN LA" is helping develop and advance the large and growing manufacturing community in Southern California. Likewise, an innovative podcast, "The Art of Manufacturing," is telling the powerful personal stories of innovators involved in new manufacturing companies, processes and technologies. In this podcast, Krisztina 'Z' Holly, host of The Art of Manufacturing podcast and Founder & Chief Instigator of MAKE IT IN LA, talks with Alan Rooks, Editor in Chief of Manufacturing Engineering magazine, about how those projects came to be, the challenges and opportunities in manufacturing today, and key messages for people who are interested in getting involved in manufacturing.

At EMO, 3D Systems launched the latest version of its GibbsCAM software. The new release, GibbsCAM12, includes the first new interface for the software in many years. In this podcast, Chris MacBain, product marketing manager for 3D Systems, talks with Alan Rooks, Editor in Chief of Manufacturing Engineering magazine, about GibbsCAM and its role in the manufacturing industry; why the updated interface was needed; how it changes the way machinists work with the software, and new developments MacBain expects to see in CAM software in the coming years.

Metrology plays a key role in manufacturing, but that role is changing. In this podcast, Alan Rooks, editor in chief for Manufacturing Engineering magazine, talks with David Wick, manager of product management for Carl Zeiss Industrial Metrology, about key trends in metrology in terms of software, sensors, and networking; customer challenges and how metrology tools help meet those challenges; and how the personal computer industry offers a good analogy to the changing market for metrology products.

Bjorn Schwarzenbach, communications and project coordinator at Rollomatic, talks with Candace Roulo, managing editor of Manufacturing Engineering magazine, about how Rollomatic is addressing the public perception of the manufacturing industry and how Manufacturing Day, a celebration of modern manufacturing meant to inspire the next generation of manufacturers, plays an important role to educate communities across the country about manufacturing career opportunities.

Brian Ayers, vice president of sales and marketing at Arch Global Precision, talks with Candace Roulo, managing editor of Manufacturing Engineering magazine, about the company's entrepreneurial values and philosophy about manufacturing in the US. Arch Global Precision, a consolidated precision machining services company, combines the expertise of American manufacturers and expanding technologies to serve the medical, aerospace and defense, and industrial markets.

SME has an 85+ year history of supporting US manufacturing. In this podcast, Alan Rooks, Editor in Chief of Manufacturing Engineering magazine, talks with Jeff Krause, Chief Executive Officer of SME, about the role of SME, how that role is evolving, the growth of smart manufacturing, new education venues, and the importance of workforce development.

Cajo Technologies President Ismo Rantala talks with Candace Roulo, managing editor of Manufacturing Engineering magazine, about the company's patented technology, which is based on an innovative application of the traditional laser beam, allowing for precise and permanent marking or color patterning on almost any material without additives or pigments. The company is headquartered in Kempele, in Northern Finland, and has grown internationally with subsidiary and several offices in the United States.

Verisurf Software CEO Ernie Husted explains why there are still many legacy fixed CMMs in the market that are perceived to be obsolete due to outdated software, difficult programming interfaces and lack of trained operators--and how his metrology software firm is working to address this market truth. For example, Verisurf 2018 allows users to program, operate and collect measurement data directly from legacy CMMs, without any upgrades to controllers or software. The software offers as an instant improvement "quick, easy-to-learn, first-article inspection of your parts," he said. "We make it so it's not a bottleneck anymore." And, he added, CMMs are about 10 times more accurate than ARMs, which were adopted in recent years as CMM software grew out of date.

More manufacturers are using electronic work instructions, such as VKS, to improve productivity and streamline their operations. In this podcast, Alan Rooks, Editor in Chief of Manufacturing Engineering magazine, talks with Shannon Bennett, Implementation & Sales Engineer at Visual Knowledge Share Ltd., about the need for electronic work instructions in manufacturing, the development of VKS, the types of manufacturers that use it and the benefits those manufacturers see in their operations. To learn more about VKS, visit https://tinyurl.com/vks-podcast

So, you've inherited older and/or disjointed systems and processes (and perhaps an unhelpful company culture) but you want to gain a competitive edge. What to do? Look at how systems can be integrated with a centralized tooling database, not at each individual process as a separate entity, Dan Speidel of TDM Systems says. Make sure you digitally tie and integrate the tool crib with CAM systems and machine controller. Getting control over inventory and tools in the shop is doable, he said, giving as an example Wagstaff . "This is the industrial revolution we have all been waiting for," he said, welcoming the "digital food chain" and the move to SaaS in manufacturing.

Drawing upon his firm's work with NEC, Schlindler Elevator, Exelon and Pitney Bowes, Sergey Patsko of GE Digital advises manufacturing execs looking for value to focus on compute power and ways to process and analyze data. He also suggests a couple of ways manufacturers can begin trying out the "digital transformation" approach. One approach is theoretical. Another is to start with proofs of concept on low-hanging fruit. And he goes over the major risks of the data science approach. Listen to find out the one piece of advice Patsko would give the CEO of any manufacturing firm working on digitization.

Sharing findings from a survey of 300 automotive industry manufacturers, Jeannine Kunz, VP of Tooling U-SME, says the introduction of new technology is seen as the main contributor to the skills gap in manufacturing. "Essentially, technology is outpacing our people." Yes, the pipeline is still an issue. Yes, baby boomers leaving the market is still an issue. But the swift current of new technology is negatively impacting productivity, innovation, quality and safety. Tooling U-SME works to help companies tackle all of the problems. "All too often, we see manufacturers not necessarily tying human capital strategy to their manufacturing strategy or their business strategy." Human capital can be a competitive advantage. "All of us can buy the same equipment. And all of us can buy the same technologies. What we really can't duplicate are the human beings. Each of us is very different. So it's the 'secret weapon' of the people behind the operation that truly can create a competitive advantage," Kunz says.