2022 November

Mitsubishi Automates Boeing 777 Fuselage Production

November 1, 2022

The Boeing 777 jetliner is the backbone of many international airlines. The reliable workhorse, which has been used on long-haul flights for three decades, is produced in several variants. The aircraft’s 20-foot-wide aluminum fuselages range anywhere from 209 to 242 feet long.

EMD Turns 100

The diesel locomotive pioneer revolutionized the railroad industry.

Austin Weber

November 30, 2022

For decades, General Motors was king of the highway and queen of the rails. In addition to mass-producing buses, cars and trucks, the automaker was once the largest locomotive builder in the world. At a massive factory just west of Chicago, GM’s Electro-Motive Division (EMD) assembled powerful machines that helped transition American railroads from steam to diesel.

Conveyor-Less Micro Factories for Urban Car Production

Automakers don’t need conveyors to transport vehicles on assembly lines - the vehicles can move themselves.

Seog-Chan Oh Ph.D.

November 28, 2022

The current paradigm of car manufacturing, which provides a variety of models, colors and options, is called mass customization. However, mass customization is now transforming into mass individualization. In mass individualization, products are uniquely catered to consumers’ desires. For example, some car buyers may want to replace ordinary car seats with luxury brands, such as Louis Vuitton, to differentiate themselves.

Smart Factories: Here and Now

Highly automated smart factories are no longer a pie in the sky concept.

John Sprovieri

November 23, 2022

Rotor blades, guide vanes and other components for jet engines are made from costly materials and machined to precise tolerances. Such components are typically made in batches, due to the time involved in setting up machine centers. The process also requires a fair number of people to tend the machines and assist in changeover.

Options for Screwfeeding

Labor shortages are driving new demand for automation.

Austin Weber

November 15, 2022

The biggest challenge in automatic screwdriving isn’t speed or torque accuracy: It’s getting the fastener to the tool reliably and oriented correctly. Fortunately, assemblers have several options for feeding screws to fully or semiautomatic drivers, including screw presenters, bowl feeders and step feeders.

Design for Additive Manufacturing, Part 2

Design for additive manufacturing requires a different approach than that for conventional processes.

Nick Allen

November 9, 2022

As engineers assess how additive manufacturing (AM) can replace or complement traditional manufacturing processes, there will need to be a quantum shift in how to approach the entire design-to-manufacturing process.

Automated Assembly System Roundup

Medical devices and faucets are among the myriad items made on automated assembly systems.

John Sprovieri

November 2, 2022

There’s nothing quite like a multistation automated assembly system. Watching robots, actuators and indexers go about their carefully choreographed routines with little or no human intervention can seem nothing short of miraculous.

Clean Energy Is Not a Zero-Sum Game

John Sprovieri

December 2, 2022

One of my favorite dishes is the Cajun ribeye at Morton’s Steakhouse. It’s 16 ounces of juicy, spicy goodness. As much as I love the dish, however, it’s not something I could eat every day. I’d quickly develop coronary artery disease. I’d also go broke! A balanced diet is more sensible.

Robots Automate Aircraft Conversion Process

John Sprovieri

December 2, 2022

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic hit the airline industry particularly hard. Thousands of flights were canceled. In some cases, entire aircraft fleets were parked and mothballed.

Box Latches Enhance Warehouse and Manufacturing Efficiencies

John Sprovieri

December 2, 2022

When Ken Turzinski, president of TYRI Americas in Stevens Point, WI, returned from a local trade show a few years ago, he came back with a small, innocuous plastic product. Little did he know that the product would help his company become more lean and sustainable.

Signaling Technology Boosts Efficiency at Metabo

John Sprovieri

December 2, 2022

In 1923, Albrecht Schnizler designed a hand-cranked drill dubbed the Metallbohrdreher, or “metal drill driver.” That drill became the inspiration for the brand Metabo.

Five Things from the FABTECH Show

Jennifer Pierce

December 2, 2022

Fabtech, North America’s largest trade show for metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing technology, took place Nov. 8-10 in Atlanta. Here are five new products on display at the event.

New Program at Arizona State Focuses on Next-Generation Manufacturing

Austin Weber

November 30, 2022

Manufacturing in the age of Industry 4.0, digitally connected machines and smart factories require a new breed of engineers who are equipped with a fresh set of skills. That’s why Arizona State University recently launched the School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks.

Collaborative robots, or cobots, are the fastest-growing segment of the factory automation world. In this webinar, application experts at market leader Universal Robots have assembled a set of guidelines and checklists to help companies large and small identify promising applications, and get started with collaborative robots.

Sponsored by:

Are you worried about attracting and retaining the right employees? Struggling with a desire to balance improving environmental and social challenges with your bottom line? This is a must-see presentation for industry leaders seeking to reimagine the stagnant status quo while improving productivity.

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