Sponsored Content

In today's hyper-competitive, fast-paced manufacturing world, there is rarely anything like a "routine" day at the office—especially when you're a tier-one supplier for some of the largest aerospace companies in the world. To make the grade and satisfy this kind of demanding customer base requires smarts, efficiency, hard work, and innovation. A little extra horsepower on the shop floor never hurts, either.

For that extra horsepower, EnCore Composite Structures of Brea, California, relies on the mobility, speed, ease-of-use, accuracy, and reliability of the FARO Edge ScanArm HD, a portable coordinate measurement machine (CMM) capable of both tactile probing and noncontact 3D scanning.

Ihave never been accused of being an early adopter of cutting-edge technology. On the other hand, I don’t dance the Luddite jig, either. True to my own type, I hung on to my old M-1A tank, aka a Motorola flip phone, for as long as I could, but was pleased as punch when circumstances led me to adopt a true smartphone. I even splurged on a Bluetooth earpiece so I could combine business calls and commuting. I soon discovered that the decibel level inside a pickup truck rolling down I-5 far exceeds the capabilities of a personal Bluetooth device.

Major auto manufacturers have been offering Bluetooth-integrated sound systems for a few years now, but I suspect cabin noise presents problems for that option as well. I also suspect wind noise engineers at Ford Motor Co. have been hip to this for quite some time.

Working on the inside from the inside

Ford has long encouraged its employees to imagine—and develop—inventive solutions. One such innovation is manifesting in its core manufacturing business to make quieter automobile cabins. Hallelujah and pass the Bluetooth!

Sponsored Content

As global competition stiffens, manufacturing sectors of all stripes are embracing emerging technologies in order to meet customer demands. In the realm of metal casting, Pennsylvania-based Effort Foundry is leading the charge by investing in new technology as part of a continuous improvement program.

“Casting hasn’t really changed much in the last 1,000 years,” admits Michael Unmann, the director of machining operations at Effort Foundry. “But now we’re bringing in technology like solidification simulation, reverse engineering, and 3D scanning to prevent defects in our castings and advance our rapid prototyping capabilities.”

Preventing defects and avoiding what can be extraordinarily costly rework is the key to efficiency at an operation where single manufactured pieces can weigh up to a ton. The centerpiece of Effort Foundry’s newfound virtual modeling ability is their 3D scanning hardware and software.

The words “plastic,” “polymers,” and “environmental responsibility” rarely bump consonants in the same sentence, but public sentiment and keen competition can nudge a company into exploring all kinds of plastic substitutes. Of course, a $160 price tag on a barrel of oil is also rather compelling. So much so that the oil price shock of 2007, which saw prices climb to those astounding heights, breathed new life into Henry Ford’s original vision of “growing” automobiles.

Within a year of the oil price spike, one of Ford’s first green engineering wonders rolled off production lines: soy-based foam tucked into the seats of the 2008 Ford Mustang.