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Manufacturing is stepping up investment as the U.S. economy recovers from the challenges of 2020. Nearly 40 percent of manufacturers have increased CapEx spending, with less than 7 percent planning to spend less, the National Association of Manufacturers reports.
With that investment, factories…
(ShopFloorConnect: Acton, MA) – ShopFloorConnect will unveil new capabilities in preventive maintenance at PackExpo in Las Vegas, Sept. 27–29, 2021, that further improve machine productivity with maintenance alerts based on actual machine run times or cycles.
The production monitoring software’s…
This final article in the series is about dealing with the aftermath of catastrophe. When it was originally written, not so long ago, it was a look back to the Camp Fire of 2018, and what those of us who survived learned that could help those in the future deal with their own disasters.
But the…
During a recent interview with Dirk Dusharme, host of Quality Digest’s QDL, we discussed project-based manufacturing, the umbrella term that covers the types of manufacturing done on a project-driven schedule. Some refer to this as “engineer to order” (ETO), a niche in engineering-focused…
(Mahr Inc.: Providence, RI) --Mahr Inc., a global manufacturer of precision measurement equipment used for dimensional metrology, announces that its MarSurf M 310 mobile surface measurement system is now available with an integrated connection to MarWin Easy Roughness Mobile software.
This…
(Quality Digest: Chico, CA) -- Don’t miss cutting-edge presentations on topics including the automotive cockpit, touchless control, head-up displays, freeform optics, holography, smart windows, the latest bonding and coating technologies, and more.
If you design, make, sell, buy, or integrate…
This series, a chronicle of one man’s experience before, during, and after a megafire that destroyed the Northern California town of Paradise, provides a series of lessons that others can apply to help them if they face a major disaster. The following links refer to the articles in which the…
Unless you are a supervillain, or hiding from the authorities, a cloak of invisibility is not necessarily a good thing. When you’re in business, and you are looking to use your digital presence to drive customers and revenue, invisibility, most definitely, is not a good thing. But if you can’t…
In any lab setting, bench space is limited. Between samples, notebooks, laptops, and other various supplies, it can be hard to find a place to put your test or measurement equipment.
If you use microscopes in your daily inspection work, the need to use two systems to look at one sample compounds…
You may work in a state-of-the-art lab, but do your ergonomic practices still linger in the 19th century? If you spend more than five hours a day at a microscope, leave work with blurred vision and a persistent downward tilt to your neck, then the answer is, sadly, yes. In that case it’s time you…
Manufacturing is a very competitive business where high-quality products are expected. And some clients require extremely tight surface measurement tolerances, so being competitive means investing in tools that can satisfy customer requirements.
The confocal advantage
Submicron 3D observation and…
In regulated industries, every step of the production process must be verified to some sort of guidance or standard. What this comes down to, practically speaking, is an enormous amount of time and effort spent on actions outside the sphere of production. Every day of production seems to create a…
A lot of thought goes into building reliable assets. Extensive testing is a part of the process that has to be done to estimate the durability of machines, materials, and components. The testing can be done destructively or nondestructively.
In this article, we take a deep dive into the various…
The Berkeley Lab Laser Accelerator (BELLA) Center at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has developed and tested an innovative optical system to precisely measure and control the position and pointing angle of high-power laser beams with unprecedented…
The Berkeley Lab Laser Accelerator (BELLA) Center at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has developed and tested an innovative optical system to precisely measure and control the position and pointing angle of high-power laser beams with unprecedented…
Davis Technical College, a community college in Utah, is offering the United State’s first-ever CNC machining training course for blind students. The institute’s pilot course, CNC Enhanced, was completed in fall 2020 by three visually impaired students—who proved so successful that they are now…
(Quality Digest: Chico, CA) -- The definition of quality in products and services has been evolving since the beginning of the industrial revolution. Join Tom Taormina as he delves into the decline of Six Sigma, ISO 9001 certifications, and your future as quality professionals.
Tom will be…
The most popular phrase in manufacturing today is “digital transformation.” Every company now understands the immense value digital transformation can provide. It’s essential for overhauling efficiency, agility, and ultimately, the bottom line. Digital transformation represents the very essence of…
First published August 25, 2021, on MIT News.
In 2010, the city of Rio de Janeiro opened its Operations Center, a high-tech command post centralizing the activities of 30 agencies. With its banks of monitors looming over rows of employees, the center brings flows of information to city leaders…
(The L.S. Starrett Co.: Athol, MA) -- The L.S. Starrett Co., a leading global manufacturer of precision measuring tools and gages, metrology systems, and more, has announced it will be showcasing its latest vision systems, optical comparators, force measurement systems, and special gauging…
In April 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permitted the marketing of the first medical device to use artificial intelligence (AI). The device, called IDx-DR, is a software program that uses an AI algorithm to analyze images of the eye taken with a retinal camera called the Topcon…
Better buying power, greater efficiencies, and more innovative ideas are not just for big businesses. The publication of ISO 44003 is helping smaller players flex their collective muscle by making the most of strategic partnerships.
How many of us cooped up at home during the lockdowns and travel…
During the Association for Advancing Automation (A3) Vision Week in June 2020, experts from Amazon Web Services and Elementary Robotics weighed in on the traditional challenges organizations face when using machine vision. They discussed how to incorporate the latest advances—including the cloud—to…
Inoculating the planet from Covid-19 presents an unprecedented logistical challenge like none we’ve seen before. Mobilizing for a world war may be the closest comparison, but in this case, the enemy is invisible and everywhere.
Some of the vaccines require super-cold storage at virtually all…
The past 18 months have presented unimaginable challenges for many businesses seeking to stay afloat in times of crisis. But as with any challenge, shifting needs, perceptions, and practices develop opportunity, opening doors for product and service differentiation.
Notably, in this time,…
