Advanced Manufacturing Now

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.

Pratt & Whitney's Kimberley Hagerty, whose "year of living digitally" was featured in the May issue of Smart Manufacturing magazine, quickly reviews lessons she and her team learned, outlines three main challenges they faced and how she solved them, and describes some of the organizational changes she sees Industry 4.0 demanding of manufacturers.

Rego-Fix Corp., a manufacturer of precision tooling, has been on a deliberate, long-term growth and expansion program. Starting a few years ago in the company's home base of Switzerland, this year the program came to fruition in the US Vice President Sales and Marketing Bill Obras sat down with Manufacturing Engineering's James D. Sawyer at Eastec to discuss the program and provide details on the company's new 20,000 ft2 facility near Indianapolis.

Manufacturing Engineering's James D. Sawyer interviews Chris Pollack, East Coast regional business manager for motion control , Siemens Industry, about the growing skills gap in US manufacturing and the challenges and opportunities inherent in training new users to operate the controls of machine tools.

As the technology has matured, the manufacturing world has seen an explosion in the number of metal parts, components and products manufactured additively. Yet despite this improvement the cost of metal 3D printing has not really become more affordable. In this sponsored podcast, Markforged Applications Engineer Peter Kootstra explains to SME's Jim Sawyer how his company has developed a process that can cut the cost of metal 3D printing by as much as 80% compared to standard methods. Not only does this make metal 3D printing more affordable, but it opens the additive manufacturing door to more applications—and more manufacturers.

As water jet technology has improved so, too, has the precision of these abrasive cutting machines. Along the way the applications for water jet cutting has expanded as well. At Eastec, Michael Ruppenthal, Omax vice president for North American sales, sat down with Manufacturing Engineering's James D. Sawyer to detail how the MicroMax, an ultra-precise fully enclosed water jet, has carved out a place for itself in the electronics industry, where it is used to make molds, circuit boards and other components.

Hermle Machine Co., a manufacturer of high-end machine tools, annually employs 100 to 120 apprentices in its German operations. The apprentices make up about 13% of that workforce. Manuel Merkt, executive vice president of operations at Hermle's US operations (Franklin, WI), is working with the German American Chamber of Commerce to establish a similar program in Wisconsin which would provide graduates with the same skills and certifications that the program in Germany offers. Merkt, himself a product of the apprenticeship program, explains to Manufacturing Engineering's James D. Sawyer how the effort is proceeding.

Charlie Slagle, president and CEO of Hoffmann Group USA, talks with Editor in Chief Alan Rooks about the history of The Hoffmann Group as a tooling manufacturer and distributor in Europe, and its 2016 entry into the US market. The company markets its Garant and Holex brand portfolios and distributes a wide variety of products from other tooling manufacturers.

In an interview with Jim Sawyer of Manufacturing Engineering, Jan Andersson, global director of Greenleaf Corp.'s Tech Team and marketing explores the four pillars of metalcutting are and why it is crucial to pay attention to each of them to achieve the best results.

Additive manufacturing has come a long way from being a prototyping technology. In many instances, it is now a viable method of production. Not every manufacturer, however, has the expertise and resources to put 3D manufacturing into practice. In this sponsored podcast, Manufacturing Engineering's Jim Sawyer interviews Shane Fox, founder and CEO of Link3D, to learn how the company's proprietary technology provides engineers with a secure, fully automated request-for-quote process to identify vetted additive manufacturing partners from around the world.

A manufacturing concern can get the greatest return on its investment by optimizing its overall equipment effectiveness, or OEE. In this sponsored podcast, Memex CEO David McPhail details the relationship between OEE and the Industrial Internet of Things. Data, he explains, is what drives this relationship. Data-driven manufacturing consists of keeping track of everything that happens on the shop floor, and software, including Memex's Merlin Tempus solution, helps monitor and manage that data.

Ken Baeszler, a market segment manager and product manager at GF Machining Solutions, sat down at SME's Eastec show with Manufacturing Engineering's Jim Sawyer to discuss GFMS's new offerings of machine tools. Baeszler begins by describing the new Mill P 900, a high-precision machine tool for the mold and die industry.

SME this year gave the Dick Aubin Distinguished Paper Award to the authors of "Liquid Metal 3D Printing: A Magnetohydrodynamic Approach." One of the authors, Swati Chandran Thirumangalath, explains what the paper says about the work she did as a design and simulation engineer at Vader Systems in Buffalo, NY.

SME's Additive Manufacturing Community this year gave Dieter Schwarze, PhD, of SLM Solutions GmbH the 2017 Industry Achievement Award. The award recognizes of his significant and continued impact on additive manufacturing through development of processes and technology applied in industry. In 1989, Schwarze began his R&D work on additive manufacturing and its commercialization. He is one of the primary inventors of selective laser melting. Schwarze holds several patents and previously studied physics at the University of Paderborn. He sat down with Smart Manufacturing magazine Editor in Chief Brett Brune at RAPID + TCT to review the technology's progress and give his opinion about what is to come. "Today we are only in markets that use metal. But that does not mean it should stay like this in the future."

Brian Bittner, national sales manager of Beamer Laser Systems, talks to Senior Editor Bill Koenig at the Eastec Show, held in May in West Springfield, MA. Bittner describes the company's operations.

Jill Young of Exsys (San Antonio, FL) describes the company's products and markets in an interview with Bill Koenig, senior editor at Advanced Manufacturing Media. They spoke at SME's Eastec Show in May.

Rod Leek of Vektek LLC talks about his company's line of clamps and workholding products with Senior Editor Bill Koenig. They talked at the Eastec show in West Springfield, MA, held in May.

Dyan Finkhousen, director of open innovation & advanced manufacturing at GE Global Operations, discusses Fuse LLC, an 8-month-old service offering of GeniusLink that involves small batch mfg. Key takeaways: The benefits GE businesses, customers and sponsors find by using Fuse to solve tough technology challenges; the types of problems that are a good fit for Fuse; and how to learn about and participate in a product or technology innovation contest sponsored by Fuse. (GeniusLink is GE Global Operations' crowd-sourcing division.)

Matt Sand, president of 3DEO, and Matt Petros, the company's CEO, discuss 3DEO's additive manufacturing technology and the markets it serves. 3DEO produces low-cost metal parts for customers. 3DEO says its process is "fundamentally different than anything else in additive manufacturing." "We started the company with the idea there has to be a better way to make metal parts with additive manufacturing," Matt Sand says. To learn more about 3DEO listen to the podcast or check out the company's website at http://www.3deo.co/

Gene Granata, Vericut product manager at CGTech, describes Vericut's new additive module. Set to be available publicly at the end of September, it can be used in a hybrid simulation along with subtractive technologies. With this and other technology, CGTech works with customers and tech partners to solve AM challenges, such as accurate laser cladding and material deposition, detecting collisions between the machine and additive part, and finding errors, voids and misplaced material. Mr. Granata explains how people who already own Vericut can acquire the additive capability. "This is a turning point" for additive, where "a lot of people are coming into the fold," he says.

At RAPID + TCT in Pittsburgh, Roger Kelesoglu, director of sales enablement at Stratasys, previews the company's new Continuous-Build 3D Demonstrator. (It's not yet clear when it will be commercially available.) It allows for continuous production of plastic parts--with a cloud-enabled software management control system that enables automation on the front end all the way through the manufacturing process. Last year, the company's big announcement at the show was about size: the Infinite-Build 3D Demonstrator. The Continuous-Build 3D Demonstrator eases tooling and setup costs and lead times, allowing for lower-volume production of parts. This makes mass customization possible. TheContinuous-Build 3D Demonstrator also enables automation on the hardware side. He also discusses the ways the firm's Robotic Composite 3D Printer breaks some boundaries.

Duann Scott, head of business development and strategy for digital manufacturing at Autodesk, details the solutions his firm offers. He also weighs in on which manufacturing industry segments he believes will use AM the most heavily. Mr. Scott outlines the most compelling recent advances in the technology, and he addresses the barriers to more widespread industrial adoption.