Additive manufacturing, AKA 3-D printing, is clearly becoming more viable in certain production situations. However, additive cannot replace conventional machining in all applications. In fact, the best way to harness the efficiencies of additive today may be to combine it with subtractive manufacturing. In this way, you gain the advantages of both technologies without being restricted to the limits of either method.
A new video from Stratasys, a global supplier of 3-D printing systems, presents new additive manufacturing technologies that enable production of much larger parts used in automotive, aerospace and other applications.
ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, establishes criteria that companies must meet to be certified as producing safe, reliable high quality products.
A great deal of research proves what common sense tells us: Retaining an existing customer is far more cost-effective than finding a new one. However, we often overlook the fact that satisfied customers can also be a potent source of additional business. That’s why marketing to your current customers should be at the forefront of your selling efforts.
The cost of energy may rise and fall, but it always has an impact on a CNC machine shop’s profitability. Additionally, conserving energy today helps keep overall costs more stable while insuring we’ll have the energy we need tomorrow. That’s why energy efficiency is one more factor to consider when buying your next machine tool.
When we machine metal of any kind, the chips – or swarf – give us clues about the efficiency of our cutting process. For example, early machinists noted that blue chips indicate heat is being properly dissipated, so the cut was going well. Blue swarf, therefore, were considered “perfect” chips.
Interconnectivity and data sharing, more user-friendly control interfaces, robots as co-workers and additive manufacturing were all well represented at IMTS this year. While it’s expected that the newest technologies will be on display at the every-other-year extravaganza, the significance of these and other recent advancements is that they represent a paradigm shift in the way both manufacturers and suppliers view the industry.
Ever wonder what you’ll see if you visit the Okuma America headquarters in Charlotte North Carolina? This brief video lets you, literally, fly through the facility where you’ll see Okuma CNC machines, the expansive parts warehouse and other customer support areas.
This is the sixth year that Gardner Business Media, has surveyed CNC shops to find the strongest performers and determine what they are doing to rise to the top of the list. As in the past, there are many statistics that reveal a significant difference between how the top 20% of shops operate versus the rest.
Science fiction films dating back to Fritz Lang’s 1927 classic, Metropolis, have long warned that robotic machines may eventually surpass and dominate their human inventors. While there is no doubt that robots and robotic devices are getting smarter, that artificial intelligence continues to evolve, and that driverless cars are becoming a reality, so far we humans are more likely at risk of a Zombie Apocalypse than a robot rebellion.
