RESOURCES

blog article

Feb 25, 2020

With Industry 4.0 rapidly picking up steam, 2020 is the year for producers to organize innovative headways so as to remain serious in the coming years - and industry forecasts propose the coming years are going to move rapidly. Activities that depend on associated, information driven advancements pr...

blog article

Feb 25, 2020

3D printing is taking the retail industry to new heights. According to Singularity Hub, Forget costly prototypes, traditional textile manufacturing, product recalls, and the like. 3D printing is about to turn the entire retail industry on its head. The technology allows for faster and more efficient...

blog article

Feb 24, 2020

In a new white paper, Julie Fraser from Iyno Advisors explores the topic of Smart Manufacturing in the Semiconductor Industry. Smart manufacturing is the element of Industry 4.0 that uses digital means to ensure continuous improvement. It is a key digital enterprise thread for consistent, high yield...

blog article

Feb 24, 2020

We’re in the midst of industry 4.0 – the fourth industrial revolution that encompasses all sorts of “smart” manufacturing practices and systems. We use artificial intelligence, intelligent devices, cloud solutions, cognitive computing, and all sorts of digital technologies to...

blog article

Feb 21, 2020

It isn’t very easy to believe, but 3D printed cars currently exist. Though in prototype form, the innovation and product are out there. As a segue to this technology moving into the mainstream at your local dealership, we see the adoption of printing car parts via additive manufacturing or 3D ...

blog article

Feb 21, 2020

IoT or Internet of Things has created a fervor in the market. You can find its prominence in our daily life. With the changing lifestyle and complex needs of customers, manufacturing companies are now working towards creating smarter products and IoT plays a key role in it. Hence, there is a growing...

blog article

Feb 20, 2020

The implementation of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is bringing benefits to organizations in two key areas: operational improvements and data monetization. A new report from IDG shows that companies understand the value in their IIoT data and have begun to look at how that data can be exp...

blog article

Feb 20, 2020

The real-time data collection and reporting functions of IoT can reduce the more than 430,000 non-fatal occupational injuries in the private manufacturing sector. Companies can outfit heavy machinery with automatic stop guards to cut equipment power when a dangerous situation arises. When sensors de...

blog article

Feb 19, 2020

The dramatic growth in electronics over the last decade has caused a few trends to emerge. Electronics has become personal, driving companies to figure out how they can move from single part numbers in mass production to flexible, custom products manufactured in small lot sizes. With people increasi...

blog article

Feb 19, 2020

What is Industry 4.0 anyway? As Michigan’s Industry 4.0 knowledge center, our job is to bring awareness to the Fourth Industrial Revolution so that companies across the state of Michigan and beyond can become digital leaders. There are many ways to define this transformation, but can you expla...

blog article

Feb 18, 2020

Having a deep understanding of your market is an essential facet of a successful sales strategy. For those looking to do business with Ohio manufacturers, IndustrySelect’s database of 400,000 U.S. manufacturers contains a vast amount of hand-verified data to help users understand their market ...

blog article

Feb 18, 2020

Modernizing an industrial operation to support Industry 4.0 applications can be a remarkably complex challenge. This is especially true where a facility uses legacy fixed Ethernet to connect machines to a central office location. Transition may be easier where a facility has already transitioned to ...

blog article

Feb 17, 2020

The fundamental reason for the sustained and rapid growth of China’s economy over the past 30 years of reform and opening up lies in the establishment of a manufacturing strategy that suits the national conditions, that is, to take advantage of China’s labor force and market advantages, ...

blog article

Feb 17, 2020

Technology has proven it’s a force to be reckoned with when it comes to transforming organizations, business models and entire industries. But not all technology is created equal when it comes to driving real change, especially in highly complex and competitive industries like healthcare, reta...

blog article

Feb 13, 2020

Keeping current with good pharma manufacturing practice is well, a good practice. Unless you’re the United States Food and Drug Administration-then it’s the law. The FDA helps safeguard the quality of drug products by monitoring drug manufacturers’ compliance with its Current Good ...

blog article

Feb 12, 2020

Agriculture is one of South Africa’s key economic contributors yet a large percentage of the sector still runs on traditional practices and processes based on older technologies. With a local population of 58 million and rising, as well as a growing export trade, South Africa’s farming i...

blog article

Feb 12, 2020

Baljeet Nagi, ECEMEA SCM Strategy Leader, provides four important steps for delivering an Industry 4.0 factory and supply chain. Also referred to as the next industrial revolution, Industry 4.0 is synonymous with smart technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, cloud computing, Blockchain and the...

blog article

Feb 11, 2020

As a part of the Industry 4.0 movement, factory engineers are increasingly adopting some form of industrial Ethernet to interconnect the machines and other equipment implementing their production processes. Ethernet has been around in multiple forms for over 40 years. Most of it serves the IT commun...

blog article

Feb 11, 2020

Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, is considered a crucial hub in the middle of China, a place of high importance for the production of automobiles, electronics, optics, and fiber optics. Wuhan and surrounding cities in the Hubei province are currently on a government-imposed quarantine at a scal...

blog article

Feb 10, 2020

Making digitalization work for you requires an understanding of your manufacturing ecosystem. Standards - such as ISA-95 - only guide you on a journey to more deeply comprehend the workings of your unique process for manufacturing your products. A batch manufacturing ecosystem often includes campaig...

blog article

Feb 10, 2020

It’s the food and beverage industry’s job to appeal to consumer tastes by keeping tabs on what’s hot and what’s not. In the 1990s, for instance, fat free or reduced fat was all the rage, evidenced by the variety of products with such descriptions featured in bold typeface on ...

blog article

Feb 07, 2020

Manufacturing is one of the top industries driving the U.S. economy, responsible for 11.39 percent of total output in 2019. As established companies in the industry expand their reach and new companies emerge, the need to establish thought leadership is more important than ever. How can you lead the...

blog article

Feb 06, 2020

For the last few years, analysts have predicted the rise of the connected worker. Turns out the predictions came true, and the connected worker is here. Here’s what you need to know about the connected worker in manufacturing today. The connected worker is any worker whose tasks are monitored ...

blog article

Feb 06, 2020

Current market conditions including labor hiring challenges (extremely low unemployment rates and an increasing national minimum wage) are dramatically changing the operating modes of warehouses and distribution centers. Manufacturing and retail are also impacted.Compounded by increasing same-day cu...

blog article

Feb 06, 2020

Current market conditions including labor hiring challenges (extremely low unemployment rates and an increasing national minimum wage) are dramatically changing the operating modes of warehouses and distribution centers. Manufacturing and retail are also impacted.Compounded by increasing same-day cu...

blog article

Feb 06, 2020

Adidas announced in late 2019 that its Speedfactories-in Ansbach in Germany and Atlanta in the U.S.-which use computerized knitting, robotic cutting, and 3D printing to produce athletic footwear will close next year. Having been heralded as evidence of how robots will lead to wide-scale reshoring of...

blog article

Feb 05, 2020

You’ve then provided your employees with a measurable goal in the form of a question. Your workers may feel empowered to answer with some hands-on suggestions for incremental changes, such as reducing setup steps or combining workstations. This, in turn, could not only reduce lead time but sig...

blog article

Feb 05, 2020

When was the last time you A/B tested your website? Was it last month? Last year? Never? Continuous iteration is important for driving improvements on industrial websites and to ensure your website is meeting your business goals. A/B testing - also known as multivariate testing, iterative testing, o...

blog article

Feb 05, 2020

Fabricators and manufacturers are facing a mixed bag of projections as they look towards 2020 and beyond, with many being impacted by an ongoing and unpredictable trade war, a labor shortage, a new era of protectionism, fluctuating material pricing and a global slowdown. Now is the time for fabricat...

blog article

Feb 04, 2020

Innovation in electronics is enabling rapid growth of all electronics segments such as automotive, consumer, industrial and strategic electronics. This is well reflected in the automotive electronics industry. Today’s car will have more than 50 electronic systems just for monitoring and contro...

blog article

Feb 04, 2020

Even though the manufacturing industry has had a long dominance in the U.S. economy, it’s still relatively a newcomer when it comes to all things B2B marketing. Instead of word-of-mouth referrals and newspaper advertisements, digital platforms have become the most effective way to drive new bu...

blog article

Jan 31, 2020

While many companies outsource their manufacturing overseas, there are many benefits of American manufacturing. Why exactly should you choose U.S. manufacturers? For starters, American manufacturers help keep money in the country rather than abroad. Choosing an American manufacturer creates more dem...

blog article

Jan 31, 2020

According to a new study by AdvisorSmith, Bellingham ranks #5 on the list of midsize cities that have increasingly robust manufacturing sectors. The study analyzed cities using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Among other factors, the s...

blog article

Jan 30, 2020

Mass manufacturing has made modern life possible for people around the globe. The need to quickly manufacture products in high volumes is not going to change any time soon, but the traditional production environment is not suitable for high-mix, low-volume manufacturing of complex products. This is ...

blog article

Jan 30, 2020

Imagine, your warehouse labor costs cut by 70%. Your warehouse operates during the day and night with equal costs. Your inventory counts are updated daily. Believe it or not, this is a reality in today’s warehouses. and their processes are duplicable. The first robots in the supply chain were ...

blog article

Jan 29, 2020

Most manufacturing companies must rely on many supply chain partners to design and deliver products to their customers under budget and ahead of schedule. Dispersed teams must be able to easily access the latest product information anytime and anywhere. Keeping everyone on the same page is critical ...

blog article

Jan 29, 2020

Additive manufacturing technologies have advanced to the point where 3D printing processes and systems have moved outside the laboratory and onto the factory floor. More than 90% of Fortune 500 manufacturing CEOs agree that additive manufacturing will play a pivotal role in their operations in the f...

blog article

Jan 28, 2020

Generally, 2009 to 2019 were 10 golden years for manufacturers worldwide. After the swift recovery from the economic and financial crisis in 2008/09, many manufacturers have been enjoying double-digit order intake growth, increasing revenues and profits for over a decade.

blog article

Jan 28, 2020

46% of SMB’s in the U.S. don’t track their inventory or use manual methods, such as using inefficient Excel spreadsheets. That means by simply adopting an MRP system into your business will put you ahead of nearly half of all U.S. SMB’s. With this much potential to overtake your co...

blog article

Jan 27, 2020

A new year and a new decade have arrived, and of course we’re all wondering what to expect. Making a forecast for a specific industry or an entire economy is always a little dicey, but many of the latest forecasts predict that the U.S. economy will continue to grow in 2020 and 2021, inflationa...

blog article

Jan 27, 2020

Manufacturing performance has a direct correlation with business growth and operational costs. Disruptions in timing, productivity, or quality can result in waste that negatively impacts profitability and brand reputation. Cutting back on waste is a major priority, and augmented reality is helping O...

blog article

Jan 24, 2020

A revitalized manufacturing sector is a key factor in rebuilding the middle class and creating community wealth. Innovations in precision manufacturing and sustainable industries require accessible capital for continued growth and success. With a small business loan for manufacturers, you can harnes...

blog article

Jan 23, 2020

Food manufacturing remains a highly competitive business and it’s only going to be more so. Consumers expect a broader proliferation of food products that meet demanding market segment needs, from plant-based meat analogs to food products and packages designed with senior citizens in mind. Foo...

blog article

Jan 23, 2020

The age of the connected customer is here – and their expectations are firmly rooted around experiences. In fact, 80% of UK consumers say experience is as important as products and services. To keep your customers loyal – and to stand out against the competition – manufacturers mus...

blog article

Jan 22, 2020

Climate change is a topic that's on everyone's mind. You can't turn on the news or take a trip to the grocery store without hearing someone talking about sustainability and the impact that climate change is having on the world around us. Everyone is thinking about what they can do to shr...

blog article

Jan 22, 2020

Smart Factory digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and predictive analytics enabling manufacturers to increase productivity. Also, smart technologies also empowers employees to perform smart operation! In this blog, we captured a few best use cases of artificial in...

blog article

Jan 21, 2020

Automation World has been privileged to have an inside track on the work being done at the Georgia Institute of Technology around the digital transformation of industry. Last year we had the opportunity to take part in a roundtable discussion with Georgia Tech engineering, science, and research expe...

blog article

Jan 21, 2020

Heavy-duty equipment manufacturing is ever evolving, with new technologies and trends continually entering the market. With these new technologies comes the ability for OEMs to increase their productivity as well as provide more offerings for customers. Gary Brooks, CMO at Syncron-a manufacturing te...

blog article

Jan 20, 2020

Around the world, automobile manufacturers are racing to become leaders in autonomous vehicle technology. It is acknowledged that it will be far from easy to move from the advanced driver assistance system implementations we have today to highly sophisticated systems capable of negotiating busy junc...

blog article

Jan 17, 2020

Additive manufacturing has its roots in the 1980s and has gradually matured into a formidable set of technologies. What was once viewed as a technology for building plastic widgets in college dorm rooms is now being used in a variety of industries, including aerospace, defense, mobile/IoT, and medic...

blog article

Jan 17, 2020

3D printing is a technology that has the ability to capture everyone’s imagination, however we need to remember that it is, in a sense, a secondary process and a lot of work comes before you start printing. We all see those fantastic time-lapse 3D printing videos floating around the internet, ...

blog article

Jan 16, 2020

Many small and medium-sized manufacturing companies operate multiple standalone systems: An accounting solution for finance, Add-on third party solutions for inventory purchasing and planning, A separate solution for inventory management, Manual processes and spreadsheets for production planning and...

blog article

Jan 16, 2020

The Senate will pass the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement sometime in the very near future. When the trade agreement goes into effect, manufacturers of metal goods, particularly those that supply parts to the automotive industry, will see some major changes from the previous North American Free Trade Ag...

blog article

Jan 15, 2020

Technology vendors expect that 2020 will be a big year for manufacturing plants to onboard digital systems. But will it happen? While digital systems – IoT, machine learning, 5G, cloud-based systems – have proven themselves as worthwhile investments, they may not get deployed widely. For...

blog article

Jan 15, 2020

With the potential impact of new technologies such as 3-D printing, manufacturing companies are looking for a unique competitive edge. So, how can manufacturers accurately anticipate how these technologies will affect their businesses and leverage them to create profitable opportunities? The new par...

blog article

Jan 14, 2020

A modern enterprise resource planning solution is essential for any manufacturer moving into the new decade. As doing business of any sort gets more complex, you must have reliable technology to manage your business functions in one centralized system. Manufacturers were some of the earliest adopter...

blog article

Jan 13, 2020

Connecting shop floor operational technology with IT infrastructure is one of the challenges for today’s businesses engaged in the process of digitalization. From machine building to plant visualisation, automation, networking, robotics and data processing, Mitsubishi Electric demonstrated how...

blog article

Jan 13, 2020

Unsurprisingly, there has been a shift in manufacturing business process in practically every American industrial setting. The lean thinking paradigm now includes purchasing and supply chain functions. Price optimization technology for large manufacturing operations costs from $120K - $1.5M per year...

blog article

Jan 13, 2020

In this article, Two Roads to Toolpath Evolution, from the January 2020 issue of Manufacturing Engineering, you will learn how dynamic machining known at Siemens as adaptive milling, produces a radically different cutting path compared to traditional machining. The traditional toolpath follows the d...

blog article

Jan 10, 2020

Additive manufacturing advanced and matured in 2019. We saw more complex applications in the medical space, larger scales in aerospace, and stronger forays into automotive. More OEMs adopted additive or expanded adoption, and in some cases became deeply invested in its success. Material options cont...

blog article

Jan 09, 2020

Starting to measure and improve your business sustainability might feel like a daunting task—what will everyone think about our progress and sustainability initiatives, or lack thereof? What if our report is only a few pages long? Sustainability reporting has moved from a nice-to-have to a res...

blog article

Jan 09, 2020

Inbound marketing drives customers to your business products and services through a coordinated strategy of design, content, social media, and SEO tactics. Most manufacturing and industrial companies may think that inbound marketing is something that would be more suited toward consumer goods and B2...

blog article

Jan 09, 2020

Additive manufacturing holds great potential for production scenarios in the sense of Industry 4.0. This applies not only to economic parameters, but also to constructive factors, since the layer structure in the x-, y-and z- directions enables the production of geometries that are impossible to pro...

blog article

Jan 08, 2020

Manufacturing contributes around 11% to the global economy, and despite contrarian perceptions, the UK manufacturing scene remains robust and growing, with the UK still the 8th largest industrial nation in the world. Despite a minor slow-down at the turn of the year, primarily triggered by the polit...

blog article

Jan 08, 2020

Price optimization technology for large manufacturing operations costs from $120K - $1.5M per year. For multi-location, global, and publicly traded companies this is an expense easily cost-justified. A small 1% in margin preservation is worth thousands of times the expense of price optimization tech...

blog article

Jan 07, 2020

Machine vision already makes an important contribution to the manufacturing sector, primarily by providing automated inspection capabilities as part of QC procedures. However, the world of automation is becoming increasingly complex. Industry 4.0, the Internet of Things, cloud computing, artificial ...

blog article

Jan 07, 2020

Each organization continually pursues certainty in a significantly changing business world. We can see today new products in the market, others becoming obsolete, new technologies that revolutionize the ways of doing, customer preferences, fashion, laws and regulations, and so on. They push each org...

blog article

Jan 07, 2020

As manufacturing progresses deeper into the digital era, there are more opportunities than ever to turn routine production runs into data that makes a difference. This is largely because of the maturation of big data–a catchall term for a suite of storage, organization, and analysis techniques...

blog article

Jan 06, 2020

The industrial IoT is taking part in a pivotal role in the transformation of the manufacturing industry. Manufacturers are enforcing IIoT throughout their operations, finally attaining operational intelligence. Here are 4 methods in which IIoT options are influencing the manufacturing sector. In ord...

blog article

Jan 06, 2020

Mining is a highly complex industry. Its operations are intensive, risk-prone and unpredictable. The mining industry needs to overcome several challenges to remain competitive. This blog talks about the typical obstacles the mining industry faces and how a mobile plant maintenance solution can syste...

blog article

Jan 03, 2020

Artificial Intelligence is extensively used, while impending the manufacturing region rapidly, facilitating industrial automation. AI-driven machines are leading an common direction into the future by using yielding a heap of benefits. They offer new opportunities, beautify production efficiency, an...

blog article

Jan 03, 2020

The Internet of Things and the Industrial Internet of Things are transforming manufacturing today, addressing the increasing demand for product customization, and changing customer expectations, especially surrounding the challenges associated with global supply chains and concerns regarding cyberse...

blog article

Jan 02, 2020

2019 was quite a year. China became the first nation in the world to safely and successfully land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon and who could forget the trade war between US and China. 2019 was also the year that scientists came closer to curing diabetes by turning human stem cells into i...

blog article

Jan 02, 2020

In most developing countries, manufacturing and industrial sectors form the backbone of the economy. The availability of relatively cheap raw materials and labor have long been major factors driving production across those regions. More recently, another development promises to impact the future of ...

blog article

Dec 30, 2019

The landscape of American manufacturing has experienced its fair share of ups and downs over the past several hundred years, from the development of the first interchangeable parts in 1801 to the first moving assembly line in 1913, and from the discovery of lean manufacturing principles in the 1930s...

blog article

Dec 30, 2019

Due to their excellent biocompatibility, ceramic materials are recommended as the material of choice, from dental restorations and implants to bone grafting material. Unlike metals, there is no debate around ion release or corrosion and they have long-term stability both in soft and hard tissue.

blog article

Dec 27, 2019

In a recent conversation with Daniel Huamani, Chief Technology Officer at 3D CRIAR, R&D Tax Savers got an interesting view of how additive manufacturing is fostering innovation in Brazil. Having worked at Autodesk for over four years, Huamani has built upon his international project management e...

blog article

Dec 27, 2019

Forget costly prototypes, traditional textile manufacturing, product recalls, and the like. 3D printing is about to turn the entire retail industry on its head. A precise form of additive manufacturing, 3D printing can create a product from almost any material at mass scale, generating large quantit...

blog article

Dec 26, 2019

When a company comes to one of our international manufacturing lawyers for legal help, we invariably ask them about their potential or actual overseas product supplier. We do this because of how critical it is that they choose the right manufacturer for what they will be doing.

blog article

Dec 26, 2019

Back in May, I penned a bit of a rant in the article titled Word of the Day. The crux of that story was that players in AM have liberally adopted the term industrial to describe their printers. It is now so commonplace that industrial has become a meaningless adjective used for printers of all level...

blog article

Dec 24, 2019

The subsequent decade will be wrought with technological change across the manufacturing industry. How painful or pleasurable that is relies upon on what you determine to make investments time and power on today. No producer needs to seem to be in 2020 in hindsight full of feeling sorry about what o...

blog article

Dec 24, 2019

Event profs ideally strategize to align their goals as per the niche market they are targeting. This way, their event planning gets more result-oriented. Booths are also an important ingredient of event strategy. In this article, we will be focusing on booths of manufacturing and machinery industry....

blog article

Dec 23, 2019

Every year, additive manufacturing offers new opportunities, and new amazing projects are unveiled. Thanks to all the companies and researchers believing in the capacities of this game-changing technology, 3D printing once again helps to overcome new challenges in various industries.

blog article

Dec 23, 2019

Die casting is a particularly harsh operation. The process involves forcing molten metal into a mold cavity at high pressure, and is commonly used to make automotive parts such as engine blocks, wheels and engine cradles. The tooling that produces these parts must be durable, and buyers are not like...

blog article

Dec 20, 2019

With all the turmoil created by the tariffs and the various other increasing risks of manufacturing in China our international manufacturing lawyers are being contacted by many companies seeking legal help after all has been lost. These are mostly companies that moved their manufacturing to bad Chin...

blog article

Dec 20, 2019

The essence of manufacturing is to serially produce items that are always within specified tolerances for various engineering and geometric dimensions. Parts are no good if they aren’t within spec, and even more importantly, profits will be higher if higher yields are achieved.

blog article

Dec 19, 2019

When we think of manufacturing, we envision sterilized factories and heartless machines, forever pumping out cheap, unreliable, and tacky products at the lowest possible cost. Maybe this is a fair stereotype for the manufacturing industry in general, but we often forget about the artisans and humble...

blog article

Dec 19, 2019

Desktop Metal, the company committed to making 3D printing accessible to engineers and manufacturers, announces the launch of Fiber, the world’s first desktop 3D printer to fabricate high resolution parts with industrial grade continuous fiber composite materials used in automated fiber placem...

blog article

Dec 18, 2019

As the complexity and applications of additive manufacturing increase, Penn State researchers are digging down to the smallest scales to optimize the technology on a molecular level. There are still a lot of unknowns about how 3D printing actually works, said Adri van Duin, principal investigator of...

blog article

Dec 18, 2019

It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since I first blogged about Nokia’s Go Allwhere vision and the incredible possibilities of industrial digital transformation. Yet here we are, 12 months later, and everywhere you turn companies have begun converting those possibilities into sma...

blog article

Dec 17, 2019

Rumors have been flying for years that the United States manufacturing industry is dead. And the evidence is everywhere. American-born companies like Maytag and General Motors have moved operations overseas. Factories of all sizes have decreased in number since 1998. Politicians bring it up regularl...

blog article

Dec 17, 2019

At Formnext we were able to test a prototype VR system provided by Aurora Labs to curious visitors. The system involves placing a VR headset on and operating a pair of hand controls. In the demonstration, the VR participant is shown a full-scale virtual replica of Aurora Lab’s flagship 3D prin...

blog article

Dec 16, 2019

Between gearing up for the year-end at work and getting ready for celebrations at home, the holidays can be an especially stressful time for manufacturers. That's why many manufacturers find themselves wishing for the same things this time of year –presents that could make the season, and ...

blog article

Dec 16, 2019

It may sound far-fetched to blend a Buddhist mindset with an IIoT technology but stick with us. The connection will make sense shortly. By definition, a person reaches a Zen mindset when feelings of stress and clutter are replaced by calm and organization. A natural flow replaces forced efforts. If ...

blog article

Dec 11, 2019

Nanotronics is pushing the limits of precision manufacturing with AI powered by NVIDIA Quadro RTX technology. The Brooklyn-based company combines super-resolution images with deep learning in its nSpec line of advanced optical inspection tools. Delivering a wide range of scanning methods and imaging...

blog article

Dec 11, 2019

We've followed New Story's efforts to create affordable 3D-printed homes for a while, including its first prototype model and ambitious plan to build a community in Latin America. That plan has now been put into action and the non-profit has revealed what it calls the world's first 3D-pr...

blog article

Dec 10, 2019

Photonics and electronics has already been converging in the research community for decades. Thanks to fundamental engineers like Richard Soref and large semiconductor manufacturers, silicon photonics manufacturing capacity is nearly ready to scale in order to accommodate new design methodologies. T...

blog article

Dec 10, 2019

Reverse engineering can help you to totally rethink your manufacturing process and help you improve it. However, developing new solutions is not always easy and can be time-consuming. This is exactly where 3D technologies come to the rescue. What exactly is reverse engineering and how can combining ...

blog article

Dec 09, 2019

Within the next five years, 85% of industrial companies are expected to have implemented Industry 4.0 technologies in all key business divisions. The trend is producing practical digital applications that are only now becoming visible. Due to a myriad of challenges, the manufacturing industry has be...

blog article

Dec 09, 2019

Aerospace part manufacturing, including 3D part manufacturing, is highly regulated and in the USA requires certification from the FAA as well as impervious cybersecurity measures for design drawings. Just before this Thanksgiving holiday, Moog Inc. the US$3.0B designer, manufacturer, and integrator ...

blog article

Dec 06, 2019

Metal powders are essential for modern additive manufacturing, as most systems use a powder bed / laser approach for selectively sintering metal powders. This means that the powder should be uniform in size to ensure a consistent sintering process. 6K Additive is able to produce ultra-high quality m...

blog article

Dec 05, 2019

It seems like nearly every product on Earth these days has a zebra barcode with a Universal Product Code on it. Typically, the barcode is found on the packaging or tag of mass-produced goods. However, many finished products have multiple barcoded components within them, including vehicles, appliance...

blog article

Dec 05, 2019

The world is getting warmer. Severe weather events are becoming more frequent and intense. Climate change pressure is building for governments, businesses and individuals to do something. Manufacturing isn’t exempt from this pressure. Regardless of what laws politicians enact, customers want t...

blog article

Dec 05, 2019

A statement from an author and principal staff software engineer at LinkedIn. A simple quote, sure, but advanced technology is all about making complex processes easier, faster, increasingly accessible and more widely available. In the education sector specifically, we are seeing a plethora of new t...

blog article

Dec 04, 2019

Knowing your market is an indispensable part of discovering and nurturing new sales prospects in manufacturing. For those looking to do business with Oklahoma manufacturers, IndustrySelect’s database of 400,000 U.S. manufacturers is a top resource for both developing and researching sales lead...

blog article

Dec 04, 2019

In 2020, we will celebrate Materialise’s 30th anniversary. In the past three decades, we’ve seen 3D printing grow from a nascent technology that was struggling to create even basic shapes to a revolutionary technology, capable of transforming entire industries and challenging our traditi...

blog article

Dec 03, 2019

For those looking to do business with manufacturers, it helps to get a handle on this dynamic and ever-changing sector by knowing its key players and latest trends. As we head into 2020, multiple reports point to a continued slowdown in manufacturing. Yet, a number of new plant announcements were al...

blog article

Dec 03, 2019

When you stroll around a large trade show like Formnext, you often see unusual equipment that is not directly related to 3D printing, such as touch-probe QA scanners, injection moulding gear or high-end mechanical components. That’s the impression I had when I first saw the device at the A1 bo...

blog article

Dec 02, 2019

In the spring of this year, Deloitte and the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation surveyed more than 600 executives of U.S.-based manufacturing companies about the impact of smart factories on their organizations. Their conclusion: Smart factories promise to be a game changer for A...

blog article

Dec 02, 2019

Keeping your business moving forward without the right tools is next to impossible, and the same is true for your network infrastructure. Are you investing in the right solutions? Finding a new IT services partner for your business can be particularly stressful for manufacturers, simply because so m...

blog article

Nov 15, 2019

As our world becomes more digitalised and connected, we can actually make a virtual copy of it. And such replicas are now being used to improve real world scenarios, from making aircraft production more accurate to preventing oil spills. A digital twin is a virtual replica of a real life entity, suc...

blog article

Nov 15, 2019

A tight labor market and the uncertainty created by tariffs have dampened momentum in manufacturing, a trend that could continue in 2020, according to a new report from Deloitte. But the professional services firm identified some trends that could help manufacturers continue to grow in a slower econ...

blog article

Nov 14, 2019

What does it take to be an effective leader capable of inspiring and nurturing growth – in both company revenue and its own employees? Members of the Weidert Group team recently attended the 9th annual Manufacturing First Expo & Conference, an event focused on the interests and needs of ma...

blog article

Nov 14, 2019

The company, based in Shenzhen, began its 3D printing operations way back in 2008, then located in Shantou. Volume production of industrial 3D printers commenced in 2012. Since then the company has expanded greatly, now operating production centers in both Shanghai and Shenzhen.

blog article

Nov 13, 2019

Walnuts are cool, Shawn Wentzel says with a shrug when asked why he decided to plant 7,000 walnut trees on his property in Lodi, California. Now two years old, the orchard is a growing side business. Surrounded by rolling plains and vineyards, it begins at the back door of his primary source of inco...

blog article

Nov 13, 2019

Hewlett-Packard Co. has 3D-printed more than 10,000 tiny scale models of Volkswagen AG’s upcoming ID.3 electric car to demonstrate the technology for potential use in high-volume production vehicles. The print run was completed in less than a month using HP’s Metal Jet system, which the ...

blog article

Nov 12, 2019

American manufacturing is on the upswing. Hiring activity is at historic highs; reshoring is bringing production back to the U.S., and buyers are spending more on new suppliers than they have in recent years. Business owners continue to be cautious with investments and costs, with good reason. Even ...

blog article

Nov 12, 2019

BASF 3D Printing Solution will be exhibiting an expanded product range and a new brand presence at Formnext 2019. With the introduction of its new Forward AM corporate brand, BASF continues to pursue its goal of driving industrial scalability at the next phase of additive-based manufacturing.

blog article

Nov 11, 2019

It’s a well-documented trend that the rise of digital channels such as webchat, apps, FAQs, etc., has led to a change in the way contact centers handle interactions. The routine, “easy” interactions are now handled by self-service channels. Deflecting these low-value interactions h...

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Nov 11, 2019

Industry 4.0, Industrial Internet of Things, connected enterprise, and smart manufacturing, among others, are all descriptive of applying digital technologies to manufacturing. Often, digitalization is presented as so powerfully good that it just needs to be done, but most are generally skeptical, a...

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Nov 11, 2019

Formula One racing is one of the world’s leading sports competitions. We just returned from the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas where the Mercedes team was named the winner. What makes this sport unique is the fact that the world’s leading car manufacturers and other high-performance co...

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Nov 08, 2019

I’m looking at a very unusual promotional campaign that leverages 3D printing technology. Diageo, the global distributor of many liquors, owns a brand of bourbon know as Bulleit. I haven’t tried this brand myself, but it is relatively well-known.

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Nov 07, 2019

Multi-tasking machines, ceramic inserts, additive manufacturing and automation help produce a large mix of energy industry parts. The ever-volatile oil and natural gas industry-roiled most recently by September’s drone attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities that temporarily reduced the kingdo...

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Nov 07, 2019

The cosmetic industry might not be the first that springs to mind when thinking of those heavily influenced by technology. However, cosmetics have been and are continuously revolutionised and effected by technology. The use of machinery has led to the rapid mass production of cosmetic products, as w...

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Nov 07, 2019

Manufacturing is in the midst of a growing skills gap. In the next decade, analysts expect 2.2 million jobs in advanced manufacturing to go unfilled for lack of adequately trained labor. Here, we’ve drawn on our experience with leading manufacturers as well as the best recent research to give ...

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Nov 06, 2019

Digital transformation has made its way into the manufacturing industry, but are employees truly prepared for the changes in their daily work life? Industry 4.0 takes over where Industry 3.0 left off. Whereas the third wave brought computerization to the manufacturing floor, we’ve now moved on...

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Nov 06, 2019

United Parcel Services, the multi-billion-dollar Corporation and largest package delivery service for over 200 countries, and tech company Anduril Inc. are creating comprehensive drone strategies. The business initiatives described below will change how we approach delivery and security methods, whi...

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Nov 05, 2019

Changes to the world of modern manufacturing are elevating industry leaders and leaving incumbents behind. Today's smart factory is outfitted with technologies such as 3D printing and Internet of Things - compatible machinery. The systems within these revolutionary operations let companies proce...

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Nov 05, 2019

Is 3D printing a real option for production? How is it being used to make end-use parts today? How will additive manufacturing change the way products are made in the future? Focusing purely on the technology and how it works doesn’t provide a complete picture of where AM is and what it can do...

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Nov 04, 2019

Beginning with the industrial revolution in the 18th century, manufacturing has long been the backbone of the nation’s economy and wealth. But as U.S. industries have modernized and moved into the realm of connected devices that leverage data to make machines more intelligent, industrial manuf...

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Nov 03, 2019

In the world of 3D printed anatomical modeling, the focus is to replicate human bodies digital twin and stay as accurate as possible to what nature’s design is, pathology or healthy. But what if the human body is just one of the countless design possibilities that would work equally well with ...

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Nov 01, 2019

In the manufacturing industry, the equipment required for manufacturing a product or item is very expensive. Which makes them assets to the company. Also, there is fierce competition in the market. Therefore, asset tracking and asset management are very important for a company. Asset tracking and as...

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Nov 01, 2019

Desktop Metal, a company that specializes in metal 3D printing for product development and mass production, has announced it will expand its technology to include the composites community. Desktop Metal was founded in 2015 with a mission to make 3D printing accessible for all engineers, designers an...

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Oct 31, 2019

How many products does your manufacturing organization produce every day? 100? 1,000? If a machine is causing a defect, its output won’t be up to the necessary standards. Left unchecked, this has a massive impact on your scrap rate and, ultimately, your revenue. Luckily, a quality control prog...

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Oct 31, 2019

An outcome culture emphasizes clarity on what to achieve at each stage of business activity. The focus is on the outcome rather than the process. Of course, manufacturers still need processes. But management and staff focus on whether they achieve a series of outcomes. They don’t make adherenc...

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Oct 30, 2019

Agile is the largest 3D Printing Service Bureau in Canada with 28 in-house production printers ranging from Stereolithography, to Laser Sintering, Figure 4 No Contact DLP, NextDent 5100 Dental Printers, MultiJet Printing, ColorJet Printing, Direct Metal Printing, Metal X, Markforged Carbon Fiber Fil...

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Oct 30, 2019

The advancements in 3D printing seem to happen weekly. Not only can this technology print traditional solid and rigid parts and objects, but it can now also fabricate soft and flexible mesh structures for various uses. 3D printing, as innovative as it is, is actually promoting other innovations as i...

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Oct 29, 2019

In a mature automotive industry, continuous process improvement is not dead; there are cost efficiencies that have not yet been exploited. The Internet of Things (IIoT), Big Data, and Industry 4.0 initiatives enable most of the world’s most successful automotive manufacturers and parts produce...

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Oct 29, 2019

Manufacturing fitness, of course, is of primary concern for all companies that make and deliver physical products. The competitive pressure to produce faster, cheaper, and better is relentless. Faster and cheaper is hard enough, but producing better – which is all about quality assurance &ndas...

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Oct 29, 2019

Throughout this year, we have witnessed a number of new partnerships centered around applications, technology, materials, education, and traditional manufacturers investing in 3D printing. Here we take a look at some noteworthy examples of the latest partnerships in this industry.

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Oct 25, 2019

The aerospace giant has selected Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform for a huge new project. The project apparently involves the development of new helicopters and aircraft, but also involves integration.

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Oct 24, 2019

Food and beverage supply chains are the fuel that drives the growth of every food & beverage manufacturer today. An integrated, scalable, secure Warehouse Management System can assist in transforming supply chain efficiency into internal process performance gains while ensuring accuracy, complia...

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Oct 24, 2019

The EZ-DUZ-IT can opener was developed in 1962 and has been in production ever since. Describing the manufacturing life of John J. Steuby is like opening a can of beans – if the can is opened with a manual hand-held can opener. Steuby is 92 years old and has been in the manufacturing business ...

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Oct 24, 2019

For bonding composites, plastics or painted metal, urethane structural adhesives offer benefits such as low exotherm, low odor and high elongation. Despite these advantages, OEMs have often used methyl methacrylate adhesives instead, because MMAs offer a fast rate of cure, which facilitates a part&r...

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Oct 23, 2019

Manufacturing continues to be an ideal proving ground for the Internet of Things, given the industry’s long history with operational efficiency programs like Six Sigma and the wealth of sensor-connected assets at companies disposal that they can use to enable IoT. This convergence is driving a...

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Oct 23, 2019

Additive Manufacturing is constantly bringing new innovations to the manufacturing world. From new materials to cutting-edge technologies, it allows for a faster design process and gives absolutely new production solutions. Combining 3D printing with traditional machining also brings new benefits. W...

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Oct 22, 2019

Smart devices and 3D printing are likely to play an important role in improving dental practice, and they’re likely to become increasingly important in the future. Not only do these technologies play a role when it comes to dental care that’s used in offices, but they’re also begin...

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Oct 22, 2019

The automotive industry is an economic sector that involves designing, construction, supply, and trading of motor vehicles. It provides a mode of transportation in many countries like the use of commercial vehicles and collects huge revenue. The best and high automotive producer countries in the wor...

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Oct 22, 2019

It seems like every photo shown of a business in action these days features a bunch of people in a huddle room, looking productive – just like our own Poly beauty shot below. But the technology that is IN the room really matters most to the people who are joining remotely – the people NO...

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Oct 21, 2019

Plant managers and technicians have their hands full – not only are they responsible for ensuring day-to-day operations are status quo, they are also tasked with helping to increase production and revenue. So when problems come up, as they inevitably do, there’s nothing like knowing you&...

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Oct 21, 2019

We speak with MakerGirl’s Executive Director, Mary Hadley, about the importance of early access to 3D printing. MakerGirl, which recently formed an important partnership with 3D printing mainstay EOS, celebrated its fifth anniversary early this month. Over the last half-decade, the organizatio...

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Oct 18, 2019

A new report from global intelligence firm IntSights, Under the Hood: Cybercriminals Exploit Automotive Industry's Software Features, has highlighted the cyber-threats facing manufacturers in the automotive industry, shining a light on how and why hackers are looking to infiltrate automobile inf...

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Oct 18, 2019

How do you recognize an educational 3D printer? Continuing with our impromptu series on 3D printer types, first with Production, then Industrial, then Consumer, we now land on the category of educational 3D printers.

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Oct 17, 2019

It was Peter Drucker who told us, Culture eats strategy for breakfast. The phrase implies that we can develop a great strategy, but if the company’s culture doesn’t support that strategy, the strategy will fail. Culture will prevail. So, manufacturers need the right culture. They at leas...

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Oct 17, 2019

Constant political upheavals are a common global occurrence. But in recent times, these political upheavals have severely impacted businesses, both in profits and in future confidence. The USA is continuously increasing its tariffs on goods imported from China and the latter is returning the favor w...

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Oct 16, 2019

We received an interesting announcement from a 3D print service that seems to specialize in recycled 3D printing materials. The service, UK-based Lancashire3D, says: It has become the first UK based studio to deliver on the circular production promise in which resources are reused again and again to...

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Oct 16, 2019

While starting your project, you are starting to think about the manufacturing technique you will use. How to choose the most adapted manufacturing technique? Today, we are going to see the differences between injection molding and 3D printing, in order for you to decide which one of these technique...

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Oct 15, 2019

Technology is revolutionizing the way manufacturers run businesses day-to-day in the digital era. CRM systems can leverage the Internet of Things IoT; a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines that have the ability to transfer data over a network with no human inter...

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Oct 15, 2019

Veterans with heart conditions will soon be able to hold a 3D model of their own heart while talking with their doctor about possible treatments, thanks to 3D printing. VA Puget Sound Health Care System doctors, researchers and engineers are working with their counterparts at the University of Washi...

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Oct 14, 2019

This is the first part of what will eventually be a four part series on protecting your molds and/or your tooling from your overseas manufacturer. With so many companies moving their manufacturing from China, this has become a very important topic, for two reasons. First, we are seeing many companie...

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Oct 14, 2019

There are an increasing number of partnerships in the 3D printing industry, and there’s an interesting reason why. The Matsuura 3D printer is quite interesting as it can produce essentially finished metal parts within the same job run. It can do so by first 3D printing roughly a few millimeter...

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Oct 11, 2019

I’ve just learned of another gotcha in the complex field of metal 3D printing from the folks at BOC. BOC, part of the Linde Group, is one of the world’s largest industrial gas suppliers. Nitrogen and argon are frequently used in metal 3D printers, so they are obviously involved in the te...

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Oct 11, 2019

Medical 3D printing just got easier with the new J750 Digital Anatomy 3D Printer from Stratasys! This printer has been designed to replicate the feel, responsiveness, and biomechanics of human anatomy in medical 3D models! We’re giving surgeons a more realistic training environment in no-risk ...

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Oct 10, 2019

The third PV ModuleTech conference takes place in Penang, Malaysia on 22-23 October 2019. One of the key companies participating in the PV ModuleTech event this year is PV Evolution Labs. PVEL provides extended reliability and performance tests to evaluate PV modules for the downstream market and pr...

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Oct 10, 2019

It is now possible to pull up the design of a guitar on a computer screen and print out its parts on a 3D printer equipped with special metal or plastic inks. The same technological ingenuity is also now being applied with bioinks-printable gels containing supportive biomaterials and/or cells-to pri...

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Oct 09, 2019

The migration from Configure Price Quote (CPQ) solutions to Visual Configuration Software is happening quickly. Recently G2 named ATLATL Visual the sole leader for Visual Configuration Software in the first-ever report on this rapidly growing and important category. This is of particular relevance b...

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Oct 09, 2019

We had a close look at a pair of powerful delta-style 3D printers from Innovative. Innovatica is yet another 3D printing company from Poland, a country well-known for producing endless streams of new 3D print ventures. The privately-funded company produces one of the most unusual delta-style 3D prin...

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Oct 09, 2019

To understand where you need to go to optimize your manufacturing, you need to first know where you are. Plant performance benchmarking can play an important role in your Digital Transformation plans. New benchmarking concepts are being developed that, ultimately, will benefit all users of operation...

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Oct 07, 2019

Global trade and increasing tariffs are major topics of discussion these days - and 3D printing is increasingly a part of that conversation. Trade wars, tariffs, changing regional relationships: there’s a lot going on on the global policy stage.

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Oct 07, 2019

After all of the time and resources you’ve invested into your digital marketing engine, you wouldn’t just walk away from the progress you’ve made, would you? Common mistakes can derail months and even years of hard work. In many cases, the biggest risk is doing nothing at all - no ...

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Oct 04, 2019

Manufacturing-and the technology that makes it more intelligent-is shaping our future in exciting ways that benefit manufacturers, their employees and customers, and the world at large. Supporting responsible and sustainable manufacturing aligns with Microsoft’s mission to empower every person...

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Oct 04, 2019

On Wednesday, parent company Dassault Systèmes announced the new annual release of its popular CAD platform. Unlike last year’s release, which added several new features and tools, SOLIDWORKS 2020 feels less like a new version and more like a bridge to Dassault’s 3DEXPERIENCE clou...

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Oct 03, 2019

For instance, Bonnie Meyer, application engineer at Evolve Additive Solutions, discussed the company’s Selective Thermoplastic Electrophotographic Process, which combines an existing 2D printing technology with its own proprietary STEP platform.

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Oct 03, 2019

World trade in manufactured goods has almost tripled between 2000 and 2017 - from $4.8 trillion to $12.2 trillion, according to the World Trade Organization. And just looking at the U.S., in 2018, manufacturing accounted for 11.4% of its gross domestic product. This increase in manufacturing contrib...

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Oct 01, 2019

Today Rize announces the first UL GREENGUARD 2904 Certified 3D printer and materials; what does this mean for the 3D printing industry? I spoke with Rize President and CEO Andy Kalambi for his take on the milestone and what it means for the company and for 3D printing; our conversation begins in par...

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Oct 01, 2019

No parent wants to see their child in pain – ever. As the proud father of four incredible daughters, I understand the primal need to protect your children and the heartache that accompanies watching your children when they are hurting and there is nothing you can to help. Often, pain is imposs...

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Sep 30, 2019

Industry 4.0 is the hot new buzzword in manufacturing, but it isn’t always clear what it means and the magnitude of the transformations it can bring. Despite its obvious connection to computational systems, Industry 4.0 is more than simply the digitization of manufacturing. A little less than ...

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Sep 30, 2019

With the recent drone attack on Saudi oil infrastructure, drones are front page news. The new Gerald Butler movie thriller Angel Has Fallen opens up with a jaw-dropping drone attack on the U.S. President, played by Morgan Freeman.

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Sep 27, 2019

Manufacturing is vital to the UK economy. Responsible for 45% of the country’s exports, totalling £275bn, the UK is the ninth largest manufacturing nation in the world. This bellwether industry is increasingly turning to new digital innovations as it looks to boost productivity, with Ind...

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Sep 27, 2019

The UK is renowned as a global innovator. As the world's first industrialised nation;  innovation, creativity, and – to an extent – risk, have all played a part in some of the UK's greatest achievements. But have we reached a tipping point where UK creativity is in danger of bein...

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Sep 26, 2019

The latest materials for 3D Systems Figure 4 system highlight one very important thing for 3D printing: it’s ready for production. Of course that’s not a blanket statement and most 3D printing usage will remain in more developmental applications for quite some time yet.

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Sep 26, 2019

Of the seven basic additive manufacturing processes available, material jetting is the AM technology that is closest to what we use for printing text and images on paper. This is because the printheads that are used for material jetting are very similar to those used for inkjet printing, except inst...

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Sep 25, 2019

MFG Day was established in 2012 to address both the skills gap and misconceptions about modern manufacturing. There is universal agreement this is a valuable and important effort. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 500,000 manufacturing jobs remain unfilled month over month, year...

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Sep 25, 2019

Everything might seem splendid in your product-making business, and as you plod along with your operations, you may even take certain issues you encounter at face value. Perfection isn’t achievable, so why waste resources on trying to chase an impossible goal? If that is a question you’v...

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Sep 25, 2019

There are many people and businesses now using 3D print technology worldwide, and we’ve come to know some of the major 3D printing use cases. But there’s another one that I’ve just realized: food production. We are all familiar with the typically cited key uses of 3D printing.

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Sep 23, 2019

Many manufacturers sell exclusively through third parties such as dealers and distributors. As a result, channel revenue is key to organizational growth. Channel revenue is dependent upon a partners ability to acquire new customers and extend your brand’s promise by delivering quality products...

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Sep 23, 2019

Startups across the 3D printing ecosystem are popping up all over the world at a rapid pace and they are hiring a range of employees, from engineers, sales reps and marketers to executive management. While the 3D printing industry is incredibly attractive for job seekers due to its growth, innovatio...

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Sep 20, 2019

As a plant manager, your list of responsibilities is never ending. Meet production demands and productivity targets. Manage raw material and energy costs while making profitability goals. Quickly adjust to accommodate marketing’s latest product innovation. With rapidly increasing product SKUs ...

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Sep 20, 2019

Minnesota-based Protolabs announced this week the addition of Carbon’s Digital Light Synthesis technology to its portfolio of manufacturing and prototyping technologies. Using DLS, the company will be able to tackle new types of orders and customers. To learn more, we spoke to Greg Thompson, P...

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Sep 19, 2019

There are tens of thousands of job shops across the country. As we know - we list many of them on our supplier discovery platform. Chances are, some of those suppliers are producing the very same products you are. So how can you stand out from the crowd when customers are deciding between you and yo...

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Sep 19, 2019

Anisoprint announced a move that could begin an interesting competition. The Russian company is one of the very few that offer a 3D printer, the Composer, that can 3D print in continuous carbon fiber. This is quite different from the much more commoncarbon fiber filament, which is in fact a normal m...

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Sep 18, 2019

As an online 3D printing service, we answer every day to the questions of our customers and we notice that some new customers have some misconceptions about additive manufacturing. If you are new to 3D printing, you might still have some false ideas about this additive manufacturing technique. In th...

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Sep 17, 2019

Global interest in cell and gene therapies is on the rise, and continued growth is expected for the coming years. To discuss the challenges and solutions associated with manufacturing viral vectors at the scales and quality required for these therapeutics to be approved by the regulatory authorities...

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Sep 17, 2019

aise3D announced a brand new 3D printer, the E2. It is a somewhat smaller version as compared to their Pro 2 series, but has similar features and a few new ones. The new features are designed to address the needs of their new market focus: Education.

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Sep 17, 2019

In recent years, the design firm Gresham Smith has seen the introduction of additive manufacturing into its industrial-sector work. We have several clients that are using additive manufacturing to make production tools, says David Verner, RA, Executive Vice President in the firm’s Industrial m...

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Sep 16, 2019

How can we design better, cheaper, customized and more sustainable products? Like the rest of the world, manufacturing is experiencing an Industry Renaissance-a global transformation in the way we invent, learn, produce and trade. Explore how leaders in the industry are tackling these modern challen...

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Sep 16, 2019

The premise is that somehow 3D printing / additive manufacturing techniques are about to overpower the traditional manufacturing processes of injection molding, casting, stamping, etc. This premise is very far from the truth, and Laird explores several reasons why this is the case.

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Sep 13, 2019

The tide of manufacturers moving to sell directly to consumers has been monumental over the last few years. Gone are the days where manufacturers relied on retailers and resellers to distribute their products. Now anyone can set up a direct to consumer business and sell their products via e-commerce...

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Sep 13, 2019

Stratasys announced they’ve made a strategic investment in Xaar. Hold on, who is Xaar again? They are an independent company that produces piezoelectric inkjet. Their drop-on-demand technology is used by industry in a variety of ways, and the company says: At Xaar we develop world-leading piez...

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Sep 12, 2019

Key themes communicated include improved perception based on machine learning techniques, learning control policies through model-based reinforcement learning, as well as cognition and reasoning based on learned semantic representations. Applications range from automotive and robotics to building an...

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Sep 12, 2019

Stratasys has launched a new approach for 3D printing fashion by printing directly onto fabric. The announcement was made during New York Fashion Week, where the company unveiled the new process, which leverages Stratasys existing full color 3D printing capabilities.

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Sep 11, 2019

Ultimaker some months ago announced Ultimaker Cloud, a feature available through Ultimaker Cura software. It enables the creation of 3D printer workgroups through a cloud relay system. Previously, Ultimaker Cura could discover 3D printers only if they happened to be on the same network. But the chan...

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Sep 11, 2019

Compliance and quality are the foundations all great food & beverage manufacturers rely on to create and strengthen trust with their distribution networks and customers. How strong they are at traceability is the cornerstone every one of them rely on to meet compliance requirements and keep exce...

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Sep 10, 2019

However, with a regular commute time that consumes a couple of hours each day, I have shifted my focus to podcasts and audiobooks. One of my favorite podcasts is the Inside Sales Enablement series by Scott Santucci and Brian Lambert. In their last episode, they spent time reviewing their thoughts an...

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Sep 10, 2019

The majority of the time I only had access to two TV channels, three on a good weather day, and I vividly remember when I first saw a color television. At this time, products and services were limited, and buyer choices were almost non-existent. Fast-forward to 2019. Not only do I have access to hun...

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Sep 06, 2019

It’s tradeshow season in the world of 3D printing once again, and perhaps it’s time we provided our opinion on where to see the best 3d print trade shows. Tradeshows are quite an important event to participate in, as an attendee, exhibitor or even a speaker. Fortunately, there are many g...

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Sep 06, 2019

Unexpectedly, I witnessed a curious development while supporting RAPID + TCT 2019’s Executive Strategy Summit. This development represents positive advancement for the AM industry and evidence of the progress that has been made. In the summit’s intimate, one-day assembly of mid- and uppe...

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Sep 05, 2019

A lot goes into the business of contract manufacturing, and a recent visit to Stratasys Direct Manufacturing highlighted some major considerations. As adoption of additive manufacturing continues to pick up, more and more industrial 3D printers are being installed around the world. Whether that&rsqu...

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Sep 05, 2019

Aerospace and other players in the large-scale manufacturing business bear the load of crushing backlogs and internal pressures to eke out more productivity year over year. As a result, these companies are focused on Smart Factory initiatives to build essential data feedback loops into design, engin...

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Sep 04, 2019

Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, in moldmaking and molding will continue to progress as more players in the industry see results from the early adopters and gain more confidence to add it to their business strategy. Early adopters have already done groundbreaking work, driving additive materi...

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Sep 04, 2019

The verb tense now has to change. In the past, the staff writers of AdditiveManufacturing.Media have described how additive manufacturing will find a place as an accepted production process. Now, it is accurate to say that AM is finding and assuming this place. We have seen this in our reporting in ...

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Sep 03, 2019

London-based AMFG, a provider of work flow software for additive manufacturing, has released a report on the current state of the AM service provider market. Service bureaus are one of the fastest-growing segments of the 3D printing industry and play a pivotal role in the industry’s developmen...

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Sep 03, 2019

Industrial manufacturers, historically, have been slow to improve their bottom lines by leveraging social media, digital advertising, their websites and other digital marketing tools and techniques. We have found that many manufacturers hesitate because they don’t understand how the technology...

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Aug 30, 2019

There is no better feeling on this earth than holding a freshly printed, warm batch of documents in your hands. The vaguely familiar scent is one that most of us can recall, even as we sit behind our desks, miles away from the copy machine. But as beautiful a moment as this can be, there can also be...

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Aug 29, 2019

Additive Industries announced a rather large sale of their MetalFAB1 machine. The Netherlands-based company apparently sold SIX huge MetalFAB1 systems to a single client, one that already owned four units. This means this particular client will own and operate ten MetalFAB1 units and, according to A...

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Aug 29, 2019

Problems for 3D printing companies from Brexit could be significant. Brexit, if you haven’t been paying attention, is the process by which the UK will leave the European Union. Today the EU is a vast region comprising an enormous interconnected economy, largely facilitated by the relaxation of...

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Aug 29, 2019

It’s been about five years since the consumer 3D printing bubble burst in 2014. The industry is now officially focused on, well, industry and there have been numerous developments to indicate that additive manufacturing is becoming well-integrated into the larger $13 trillion manufacturing sec...

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Aug 28, 2019

How do you automate the packaging process in a made-to-order world? Consumer demand for different sizes, shapes and flavors has completely changed the way CPG brand owners and manufacturers produce and package their goods. And for OEMs, this trend means that your packaging equipment needs to perform...

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Aug 28, 2019

A straightforward contract manufacturing definition is where a maker or designer goes into an arrangement or, if done properly for legal protection, a formal agreement with another company who can manufacture their products, parts, components, or subassemblies, which the maker or designer will use t...

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Aug 27, 2019

Without a doubt, the best manufacturing improvement idea generators are the people doing the work. Be it a manufacturing floor with complex equipment or a simple forklift route from production to a warehouse, employees are a business’s first line of defense against losses and inefficiencies.

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Aug 27, 2019

There’s an upcoming event that may be of interest to Fabbaloo readers. The ASTM Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence is holding a one-day workshop in September to join with the public to help make everyone aware of the additive manufacturing standards they’ve been putting together...

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Aug 26, 2019

As metal additive manufacturing continues to see rising adoption, so too does attention paid to the quality of the parts produced. It was only a few days ago we heard about a $1.5M grant awarded to Auburn University for advanced metrology for 3D printed parts, and shortly on the heels of that more m...

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Aug 26, 2019

Using continuous fiber strands can provide significantly increased strength and stiffness to parts, if the fibers are placed in the right direction. That’s why the correct model orientation is important. A general rule is to place the 3D model in such a way that load vectors mostly lay in the ...

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Aug 23, 2019

Lockheed Martin is famous for engineering innovation, dating back to the legendary Skunkworks. Today, the defense contractor is making use of innovative augmented reality technology in their manufacturing process and across entire product lifecycles. Lockheed Martin’s AR project began in the S...

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Aug 22, 2019

3D printing, and accordingly 3D printers, have exploded in popularity. While once these awesome gadgets were relegated to the most hardcore makers, increasingly affordable 3D printers and a slew of resources, from downloadable 3D printable files to 3D printing software, now the masses can enjoy 3D p...

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Aug 22, 2019

Machining a large aerospace part like this from solid can result in up to 90% of the material being scrapped as chips. Building it up with metal 3D printing greatly reduces the machining time and amount of material needed. We buy raw material to make it fly; the less material remains on the ground t...

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Aug 22, 2019

Is anything more important to your manufacturing process than securing materials, managing orders, and payments, and having the right staff to run it all? I don’t think so. Thankfully, these are three specific areas where an ERP can help even the most advanced manufacturer.

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Aug 21, 2019

This nightmare does not have to be a reality. All you need to know is how to outsource manufacturing and make it work for your business. There are several reasons a manufacturer should consider outsource manufacturing: You need to redistribute resources to free up time; You’re a designer, but ...

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Aug 21, 2019

With an abundance of raw materials and resources, Africa needs to rapidly find new ways to generate greater value from its manufacturing industry which has been identified as a fundamental driver of economic growth. Looking to disruptive technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, bots, the Intern...

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Aug 21, 2019

Today’s brands face numerous challenges. They need to create a customized, excellent experience for each and every customer worldwide. To do that, they need to create high-quality, on-target content. They need to create that content quickly, effectively, and for audiences who speak multiple la...

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Aug 20, 2019

Lace-up your sneakers and step up to the starting line: you’re ready to reach countless customers in new markets. You’ve secured your spot in the Global Marketplace (whether by default or design). But before you sprint away, take a good look around you. You are not alone in this race. Yo...

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Aug 20, 2019

With foreign buyers fleeing China, many factories in China are getting scared and desperate, and their common remedies for that are to cut corners on quality and to take their foreign buyer’s IP and compete with them. We had this to say about the increase in trademark thefts in China Trademark...

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Aug 20, 2019

How to reduce the cost of manufacturing without affecting the output? How to increase the productivity of the workforce while keeping labor costs at the same level? How to accurately measure the performance of manufacturing and internal supply chain? With labor costs rising and competitors catching ...

blog article

Aug 14, 2019

Reducing production costs is essential for any manufacturing business. Thankfully, a production process is a complex aspect with numerous factors at play, which means that it often has a scope of improvement. Once a business has established its processes, achieving repeatability and minimizing costs...

blog article

Aug 14, 2019

What character appears in the most films and television programs? Dracula? God? Santa Claus? All of those make the top ten list, but none is the correct answer. Satan (or The Devil) is a character is more than 840 projects – more than any other character. If you limit the list to mortals, the ...

blog article

Aug 14, 2019

This is the third in a series of articles on creating, maintaining, and optimizing great customer experiences in the context of mounting concerns about privacy and increasingly strict regulations governing data processing. We address topics such as consent strategies, the role of trust, the elements...

blog article

Aug 13, 2019

From air bags to zippers, manufacturing defects are costly and damaging to business reputation. Manufacturers have long turned to inspectors and image recognition systems to spot inconsistencies in products before they’re shipped - with mixed results. If the quality control status quo were fai...

blog article

Aug 13, 2019

It would be an understatement to call the Portal video game series influential, as it had a huge effect on the game industry and pop culture in general. Even if you have never played a Portal game yourself, you probably know that the cake is a lie. While Portal is a puzzle game with very few charact...

blog article

Aug 13, 2019

Having the right tools is crucial to accomplishing learning objectives, developing in-demand skills for science, technology, engineering, art and math STEAM fields, empowering innovation and building college and career readiness. Additive manufacturing, widely known as 3D printing, is one of those t...

blog article

Aug 12, 2019

With people’s growing environmental consciousness, there has been a move to make 3D printing a much more sustainable and eco-friendly technology. While 3D printing technology already reduces carbon and waste footprint, it can still be further reduced by doing measures.

blog article

Aug 12, 2019

In the course of writing stories for Fabbaloo for many years, I’ve been fortunate to see firsthand the gradual development of 3D printing technology from rudimentary beginnings to today’s worldwide movement. But within that enormous wave of additive manufacturing that still is yet to cre...

blog article

Aug 09, 2019

Tom Lawton, head of manufacturing at BDO, shares his views on the digital transformation journey of UK manufacturers. At BDO, we recently published our Digital Transformation 2019 report, which provided me with further insights into the adoption of digital technologies in UK manufacturing. The good ...

blog article

Aug 08, 2019

The same type of connectivity is poised to reach the factory floor thanks to the IPC-CFX standards. These standards define data structure and communication protocol requirements for traditional and additive manufacturing assets in connected factories. Ultimately, these assets will drive greater inte...

blog article

Aug 08, 2019

Thought leaders in any industry deliver a ton of value to their audience. Manufacturing is no exception. The best of best in your industry established themselves as a successful professional in their area, and they deliver content with the goal of being informative and motivational. Said content can...

blog article

Aug 08, 2019

The problem being solved is that 3D printing is actually extremely complex. I know this for a fact, as I recall the first 3D printer I owned many years ago exposed me to that complexity. While I managed to build the kit machine in about 40 hours in those days assembly meant soldering, wrapping heate...

blog article

Aug 07, 2019

How old do you think 3D scanning could be? It’s a lot older than you might imagine. After reviewing our story on Adrian Bowyer’s proposal for a revolutionary 3D printing concept, Fabbaloo reader Franck Lacan, a Research Fellow in Additive Manufacturing at Cardiff University, pointed out ...

blog article

Aug 06, 2019

3D printing is an essential component of Additive Manufacturing. This manufacturing method employs computer-automated manufacturing CAM processes to fabricate physical 3D objects layer by layer from computer-aided design CAD models. With 3D printing technology, objects are created by depositing mate...

blog article

Aug 06, 2019

The Fourth Industrial Revolution revolves around technology, smart sensors that collect real-time data, artificial intelligence that increases production efficiency, and better manufacturing quality, security, and transparency. Developments in computing ensure seamless connectivity and large-volume ...

blog article

Aug 06, 2019

When it comes to 3D printing in the aerospace industry, where are we now, in 2019? And where are we going? This is part three in a conversational series with Stratasys VP of Aerospace, Scott Sevcik. Part one focuses on Stratasys’ work with Boom Supersonic, while part two looks to the shape of ...

blog article

Aug 02, 2019

While additive manufacturing or 3D printing has the potential to greatly reduce shipping costs and make operations more efficient, it can also make the supply chain more vulnerable to cyberattacks and counterfeiting. Blockchain technology may hold the answer for increasing security.

blog article

Aug 02, 2019

Manufacturing is adopting and adapting to new technology, but sometimes businesses can end up chasing their tail in proving the business case for the latest kit. Utilising the cloud and edge computing can maximise a manufacturer's data, operations and productivity, but the element of risk still ...

blog article

Aug 02, 2019

Additive Manufacturing and Gardner Intelligence the research arm of our publisher, Gardner Business Media recently surveyed manufacturers using AM to ask how they are using it, and in particular to learn the extent to which AM has been adopted for full-scale production. Though the sample size was to...

blog article

Aug 01, 2019

What has your enterprise resource planning system done for you lately? While your thoughts on the subject may be lost in the back of your mind, the fact is that ERP solution capabilities are evolving, and so is their role in manufacturing. New system features and extensions for production execution,...

blog article

Aug 01, 2019

Most companies today are on a journey towards sustainability. For Dassault Systemes, it’s been part of our purpose for many years: Dassault Systèmes provides business & people with 3DEXPERIENCE universes to imagine sustainable innovations capable of harmonizing product, nature and l...

blog article

Jul 31, 2019

Anyone who has built a proof-of-concept PCB should be intimately familiar with the problems involved in breadboards. Although breadboards allow you to arrange and rearrange components on a test platform while you experiment with your design, the behavior of the proof-of-concept will not always match...

blog article

Jul 31, 2019

The startup is taking an unusual path to offer several 3D services to the public in an easy-to-use fashion. The idea here is that for some individuals and companies, using 3D technology is a bit too challenging. They therefore offer easy access to 3D printing, 3D modeling and 3D scanning.

blog article

Jul 31, 2019

The round was led by Khosla Ventures, which has previously participated in funding for such 3D printing ventures as Digital Alloys. It also included participation from True Ventures and Indio Bio, which were original seed round investors. Prellis Biologics has now seen a total investment of $10.5M.

blog article

Jul 31, 2019

The manufacturing industry is one of the largest and most influential sectors of the United States economy. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were an estimated 12.3M people employed in the Manufacturing Industry Sub-Sector in 2016 with a 1.17% year growth. It also accounts for a sim...

blog article

Jul 30, 2019

Our annual aerospace manufacturing attractiveness rankings report is a guide to promising geographic locations for aerospace development. The index offers comparisons within the United States and globally as well, providing organizations with data they can leverage to help plan for the future.

blog article

Jul 30, 2019

Today, the latest version of our powerful, easy-to-use 3D print preparation software is available for download. In this release, we’ve focused on usability improvements that simplify 3D printing workflows, whatever your 3D printing application.

blog article

Jul 30, 2019

Last year Daniele Ingrassia created the LaserDuo. This year, he’s at it again, with a giant 80cm x 80cm x 90cm, open source 3D printer built at Fab Lab UAE. It uses a mix of standard components and FabLab-made parts to be as easy as possible to reproduce. It also uses Ingrassia’s own ope...

blog article

Jul 29, 2019

GE Digital’s Predix Manufacturing Data Cloud promises to give manufacturers an unprecedented ability to create smart connected factories, offering greater flexibility of deployment, fewer on-premises systems and optimised performance.

blog article

Jul 29, 2019

With so many emerging technologies knocking at the door, Manufacturing professionals are overwhelmed. As Manufacturing leaders, their quest is to find better quality, cost efficiencies and more robust employee safety and health by leveraging these technologies.

blog article

Jul 29, 2019

The states parties to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention are gathering in Geneva from 29 July to 8 August for a series of Meetings of Experts. Among other topics, states are reviewing scientific and technological developments that impact the objectives of the treaty.

blog article

Jul 26, 2019

Manufacturing remains a critical force for both developed and developing countries, however, its role is changing and could play an even greater role in stimulating economies through the adoption of innovative technology. But the reality is that many manufacturing processes are still transitioning f...

blog article

Jul 26, 2019

Sure, we’ve seen low-cost DIY 3D printers with wooden frames before, but not a 3D printer that actually prints wood. That’s exactly what Shane Wighton and his Formlabs hackathon team have done. Although probably more along the lines of a hybrid additive/subtractive CNC machine that makes...

blog article

Jul 26, 2019

There is no doubt 3D printing has changed the prototyping and manufacturing game for good, and for the better. In some applications, it is impossible to replace CNC machining or injection molding with any other process - and perhaps that's always going to be the case. But often, it's worth e...

blog article

Jul 25, 2019

American manufacturers make everything from bus seats to fire hydrants to manhole covers. When you think about Made in America, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Is it that big music festival in Philly? Or perhaps it’s the final episode of The Sopranos?

blog article

Jul 25, 2019

Manufacturing is no longer simply about making physical items and transferring X from A to B. Changes in global consumer demand with more emphasis on customization, engagement, speed to market, quick delivery, coupled with modifications to the economics of production, and the shifting supply chain h...

blog article

Jul 25, 2019

The ways in which an enterprise software solution looks, feels and works for a user is increasingly crucial. Now that users have been influenced by their consumer experiences with innovative and digital technology, expectations have increased for their business software to provide a similar user exp...

blog article

Jul 24, 2019

It’s a very big day for our team here at Nano Dimension, for our customers and resellers, and for the electronics industry. It’s the birth of Lights-Out Digital Manufacturing LDM, a manufacturing methodology in which systems run with little to no human intervention around the clock.

blog article

Jul 24, 2019

There’s a bit of a giveaway taking place at E3D-Online today. The UK-based company produces a range of highly-regarded components for 3D printers, most notably the ubiquitous E3D V6 hot end, which now appears in many vendor’s 3D printers. In my discussions with and observations of the co...

blog article

Jul 23, 2019

The world is full of man-made objects. From home piping to coffee mugs and everything in between, these objects have traditionally been mass produced in factories, using processes that are slow and cumbersome. But 3D printing could change all of that, allowing the everyday consumer to print their ho...

blog article

Jul 23, 2019

Finding the right 3D printing software can be tricky and leave you wondering where to start when utilizing 3D printing for your business or personal needs. Companies and individuals have varying benchmarks, diverse perspectives and unique preferences when it comes to 3D printing software; it largely...

blog article

Jul 23, 2019

Researchers at Georgia Tech have produced a 3D printed microbot that is powered by vibration. The polymer structure is quite small, only two millimeters in length. But it involves a complex geometry that includes a small collection of bristly legs. These are carefully designed to react to external v...

blog article

Jul 22, 2019

Across industries, 3D printing technology is a natural ally of creativity, bringing new freedom to the processes of design and fabrication. It is fitting, then, that we are seeing artists beginning to take note and leverage the unique qualities of the technology to create 3D printed art. The design ...

blog article

Jul 22, 2019

Jiri Praus creates sculptures out of brass wire, and like almost anyone else, he hates producing the same part over and over again. To help alleviate this boredom, while still pursuing bent structures, he built an excellent CNC wire bending machine controlled by an Arduino/CNC shield setup.

blog article

Jul 22, 2019

If you want to put an image or drawing onto paper, you’ll most likely use a printer. But plotters are sometimes the better choice. A conventional inkjet printer shoots ink onto the paper line by line, and doesn’t take into account the shape of what it’s printing. Plotters, which ar...

blog article

Jul 22, 2019

The vehicles of the future will employ 3D printing in ever greater amounts. We can say this with confidence, as the vehicles of today have also been built using 3D printing - and so have the vehicles of yesteryear, as the automotive industry in general has employed additive manufacturing in various ...

blog article

Jul 22, 2019

America Makes has announced its third Satellite Center. The organization’s mission is both simple and ridiculously complex: accelerate additive manufacturing in the United States. It’s straightforward, and elegant for being so; but when it comes to the practicalities of fulfilling the vi...

blog article

Jul 19, 2019

More square footage is not the only solution to maximizing space utilization; nor are second level mezzanines. Even C-Suite executives, inclined to expand the plant floor and warehouse footprint, quickly discover there is so little space available. According to Jennifer Smith, the logistics reporter...

blog article

Jul 19, 2019

The ability to change network operator without physical interaction is a major benefit of eSIM, states eSIM: Giving Manufacturers the Competitive Edge, a new whitepaper from Arm, the multinational semiconductor and software design company. IoT device manufacturers embracing the concept of eSIMs embe...

blog article

Jul 19, 2019

Its night time. There are many stars in the sky, as far as the eye can see. Below the stars, a layer of clouds over the mountains. And in the distance, the glowing lights of a city. Now, scroll to the bottom of this post and tell me if what you imagined, and what is pictured, is similar?

blog article

Jul 19, 2019

Inside 3D Printing, one of Asia’s largest 3D printing events, took place in Seoul, South Korea June 26-28 this year. The event anticipated more than 12,000 attendees from 28 countries demonstrating how prominent South Korea has become in the additive manufacturing industry. Exhibitors are give...

blog article

Jul 18, 2019

A common challenge for many manufacturers is finding and retaining skilled labor. Many businesses are facing the retirement of older employees, and higher turnover in their workforce. At the same time, some manufacturers lament that younger workers don’t have the same skill sets as the earlier...

blog article

Jul 18, 2019

But it is also clear more work needs to be done to recruit young people into the field. Millennials are over - the next generation is about to enter the workforce, and new polling reveals they could be more likely than their immediate predecessors to enter manufacturing. Leaning2Lead, a data and sof...

blog article

Jul 18, 2019

Constellium and DDI have been partnering for almost five years to design and deploy a learning journey for frontline leaders. Since 2018, Constellium has been focused on a stronger learner center approach. A bit of background: Constellium has chosen to invest in its frontline leaders for several yea...

blog article

Jul 18, 2019

3D printing can be used to make amazing sculptures and innovative technology - but do you know how a 3D printer actually works? A good understanding of the manufacturing process will make it easier to design your own creations. 3D printing is actually quite similar to regular printing processes. A n...

blog article

Jul 18, 2019

There are a large number of 3D printing enthusiasts, and they are very happy to release their own models at the T stage. So there are also a variety of beautiful, exquisite or wonderful models. This website is regarded as the starter of the model website. You can see lots of brilliant designs on the...

blog article

Jul 17, 2019

Although the American machine tool industry is not what it used to be, American engineers continue to design and American workers continued to build metal-cutting equipment. At the Fives Giddings & Lewis plant in Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin, they’ve been doing so for more than a century - a sto...

blog article

Jul 17, 2019

You might be surprised, but sand 3D printers go back to the late 90s! Generis and MIT are responsible for this huge development. But how exactly does this technology work? At what stage is it after 20 years of research and improvements? Today, we will focus on the innovations of sand 3D printers! Ar...

blog article

Jul 17, 2019

We recently wrote about saving forests thanks to Additive Manufacturing, now new research was conducted to protect wildlife animals. Brandy Neiles, a resource biologist from South Dakotas Gae, Fish & Parks, is changing the face of preserving the Bobcat population with his revolutionary developme...

blog article

Jul 17, 2019

The technology in question is hitting the market as Essentium’s HSE 180 S, a system proclaimed to be 10x faster than the next-fasted 3D printer out there. Thats a sore spot for Jabil, which states that that 10x faster system is actually based on its TenX 3D printer, which it had been developin...

blog article

Jul 16, 2019

Undoubtedly, the manufacturing sector is facing change and uncertainty, but it’s also seeking to take control of its own destiny. A new report from Sage, Riding the wave of uncertainty: how process manufacturers are planning for a brighter future, discusses the issues, and offers several reaso...

blog article

Jul 16, 2019

Plastics are among the most versatile materials on the planet, but humanitys propensity to misuse single-use plastic items like straws and flatware has become an environmental threat. That's where bioresin comes in - slowly. The biggest change to the bioresin manufacturing industry is the introd...

blog article

Jul 16, 2019

3D printing technologies have significantly improved over the past few years and some have even made it to the jobsite. Not to be outdone, NASA, your favorite America space exploration organization, has announced a plan to being building and manufacturing in low-Earth orbit.

blog article

Jul 16, 2019

Stratasys seems to be selling one of their demonstration technologies as a product now, but what happened to the others? In the past few years we were fortunate enough to see first hand three very unusual technology demonstrations by Stratasys. These were considered quite notable at the time, and st...

blog article

Jul 15, 2019

The buyer’s journey has changed in a way which leaves many sales and marketing teams struggling to find insight from within what we call the Dark Funnel. However, many technology companies are starting to build solutions to address the radical new way customers engage and buy today by collecti...

blog article

Jul 15, 2019

The role of a Business Development Rep can be a daunting one. Knowing where to prioritize when you have over 1,000 accounts and knowing what content to reach out to them and engage them with can be an impossible task. But if you have the right intent data that can show you where the account is in th...

blog article

Jul 15, 2019

Volatility is deeply disliked by business leaders. Many manufacturers and distributors face the volatility caused by unpredictable tariffs on Chinese imports and warn of a potential calamity should the Administration’s trade war be expanded.The uncertainty and exploding costs brought on by the...

blog article

Jul 15, 2019

With no sign of a peace breaking out any time soon on the U.S.-China trade front, an increasing number of businesses are turning their eyes toward alternative manufacturing destinations, such as Vietnam, Thailand and Mexico. Understandably, such relocations will present all sorts of new and headache...

blog article

Jul 15, 2019

It’s incredible to take a step back and think about something like DNA. Even this unseen piece of our very foundation has a defined shape: the double helix. Naturally, this shape makes for eye-catching art pieces, and that’s why this 3D-printed DNA lamp captures our attention.

blog article

Jul 15, 2019

Amazon Prime Day or Days, as it seems now, is a special period that occurs once a year on the massive online retailer, where countless dramatic sales are posted. Often items are reduced by 20-60%, making for some great savings if you happen to need something in particular.

blog article

Jul 13, 2019

Industry 4.0. We have all heard it as being about a world of smart machines and smarter factories. So what does Industry 4.0 mean to you? Several years ago I asked the question at various shops, and I usually got some variation of It’s nice and everything, but I need to get these jobs out the ...

blog article

Jul 11, 2019

With research suggesting artificial intelligence in manufacturing could become mainstream within 24 months, what can manufacturers gain from taking an early adopter approach? Tom Leeson reports. New digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things offer huge potential ...

blog article

Jul 11, 2019

If you were to ask any business leader what their main goals for their company are, the answer would most likely be something along the lines of increasing sales and leads. In fact, even if they mentioned other goals, such as improving website performance and SEO, or redesigning a website for better...

blog article

Jul 10, 2019

MedAccred, administered by the Performance Review Institute (PRI), is an accreditation that replaces several critical process supplier audits with one robust audit. The program’s aim is to ensure quality throughout the medical device supply chain, giving manufacturers an increased sense of con...

blog article

Jul 10, 2019

New technologies will play a determining role in facilitating the transformation towards a circular economy. In order to obtain secondary raw materials that can compete with virgin materials, technologies capable of boosting the current figures of material valuation will be needed, thereby facilitat...

blog article

Jul 09, 2019

Cats arent the only ones chasing lasers. Applied scientists around the globe are working with lasers to move Industry 4.0 at the speed of light. From variating length, power and time to simply exploring how old tricks make new tech, labs keep lasers on the drawing board. Now, optical discoveries are...

blog article

Jul 09, 2019

Manufacturing is a crucial part of the U.S. economy. According to the U.S. census, around 11.1 million workers are employed in the sector, and it generates about $5.4 trillion in economic activity annually. Yet this area currently faces significant headwinds. The June IHS Markit Manufacturing Purcha...

blog article

Jul 09, 2019

Each month, The Manufacturer explores a section of the latest Annual Manufacturing Report, which gauges the mood of leadership teams on issues such as Skills & Training, Government Policy & Industrial Strategy, and Finance & Investment. This month, we look at Growth & Exports.

blog article

Jul 09, 2019

Santanders Manufacturing Industry Day offered attendees invaluable insights into the challenges manufacturers are facing, and the solutions needed to meet them. At Santanders recent Manufacturing Industry Day, delegates heard how Britain’s future success in the sector will likely be founded on...

blog article

Jul 09, 2019

The company, which operated in complete stealth until just under a year ago, had been secretly developing a powerful metal 3D printing process. Now, we’ve seen up close some of the prints that were made with that process and the results are startling, to say the least.

blog article

Jul 09, 2019

Volatility is deeply disliked by business leaders. Many manufacturers and distributors face the volatility caused by unpredictable tariffs on Chinese imports and warn of a potential calamity should the Administration’s trade war be expanded.The uncertainty and exploding costs brought on by the...

blog article

Jul 08, 2019

There has been an increased emphasis on digitalisation within manufacturing. While some may see this as a means of reducing cost, Simon-Kucher believe the bigger profit opportunities will come from focusing on the topline revenue side of the profit equation.

blog article

Jul 08, 2019

If you have already put in the work of building out profiles on these major social media platforms and have gained some followers, you’re off to a great start. But even more important than gaining followers, of course, is gaining customers - and simply having a social media presence isn’...

blog article

Jul 08, 2019

The uncertainty surrounding products manufactured in China is causing many foreign companies especially those that sell their products to the United States to ask us what they can do to mitigate their risks and where else they could look for getting their products made. See Has Sourcing from China B...

blog article

Jul 08, 2019

This is an entry in our 3D Print Learning Series, focusing on additional 3D print design tips. For other current entries in this series, please search for our tag, learning series, here. Search often, as we will be adding more periodically.

blog article

Jul 08, 2019

In 2019, millennials will become the largest population group in the U.S. As members of the first truly digital generation approach their prime income years, their impact on business decision-making should reach unprecendented levels. Tech-savvy millennials are the largest users of 3D printing, a te...

blog article

Jul 08, 2019

Three key trends are driving the need for sales leaders to digitally transform their organizations. First, b-to-b buyers are conducting more of their purchase journey in the digital arena and demanding the same kind of frictionless and seamless customer experience they enjoy as consumers. Second, th...

blog article

Jul 08, 2019

Subscription businesses that charge customers monthly for using their offerings are expanding rapidly in response to consumers’ and b-to-b buyers’ desire to try a product and walk away easily if they’re not achieving the expected value. However, the subscription-based business mode...

blog article

Jul 05, 2019

Thermal stress is perhaps the most unfortunate aspect of metal 3D printing. Caused by the extreme temperatures created by energy sources usually lasers to rapidly melt fine metal powder, these temperatures cause all kinds of issues during and after printing.

blog article

Jul 05, 2019

The Netherlands-based company seems to be an offshoot of the Dutch Smart Industry Action Agenda’s Fieldlab Multi-3D initiative, in which a number of parties are collaborating together to envision new manufacturing environments.

blog article

Jul 05, 2019

Education is a major issue around the world, and while we often hear about these from the perspective of curriculum or a focus on STEAM science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics subjects, or even about preparing the next generation of the workforce with next-generation technologies, someti...

blog article

Jul 04, 2019

The UK Space Agency is an interesting organisation. As well as engineers and scientists, we have a wide range of programme managers, policy specialists and strategic operators who can leverage government to work for our sector. We are a modern space agency and part of a diverse UK space sector inclu...

blog article

Jul 04, 2019

Many metal 3D printers make use of fine metal powder that is heated to sintering or melt temperatures to create objects. Usually the metal powder is very fine to achieve good print resolution. However, this fine powder tends to get airborne, where it can cause issues.

blog article

Jul 03, 2019

Thermwood Corp. first made a name for itself by manufacturing big, high-speed CNC routers. It remains well-known today for building 3-, 4-, and 5-axis routers used to make products ranging from furniture to boats. In recent years, the Dale, Ind., firm has also gotten into additive manufacturing-in a...

blog article

Jul 03, 2019

As we prepare to celebrate the Fourth of July, here at Automation Alley we are also celebrating one of the things that makes our country so special - our strong manufacturing leadership. Last month, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters' call for a National Institute of Manufacturing was a welcome announcement ...

blog article

Jul 02, 2019

The Federal Trade Commission mandates that to qualify as a Made in the USA product, it must meet the all or virtually all standard, meaning that all significant parts and processing that go into its making should be of U.S. origin. The product should contain no, or negligible, foreign content.

blog article

Jul 02, 2019

Real-time location tracking systems are becoming an increasingly valuable solution for manufacturing businesses in many industries. In fact, the global RTLS market has been gaining prominence in recent years it’s projected to increase by over 17 percent annually, as more and more companies rea...

blog article

Jul 02, 2019

The rapid expansion of 3D printing materials has enabled previously unimaginable applications. Recent developments combine additive manufacturing capabilities with the strength, transparency, and chemical stability of glass. Major technical advancements now open the way for innovative uses in design...

blog article

Jul 02, 2019

3D printing has started a revolution in many industries, providing a manufacturing model based on production decentralization, highly individualized end-results, and the potential to scale processes. The healthcare and life science industries have already been hit by the 3D printing wave, and use ca...

blog article

Jul 01, 2019

The University of Salford and Morson Group has launched two new facilities featuring the latest industry standard manufacturing technologies to enable students to learn real-world engineering skills in relation to design for manufacture, assembly and inspection, allowing hands-on practical experienc...

blog article

Jul 01, 2019

3D printing is unquestionably amazing, but it does have some downsides. Most hobby 3D printers use the fused-filament fabrication process, which is affordable but somewhat imprecise. That makes it great for making enclosures and prototype mechanical parts, but usually unsuitable for parts that need ...

blog article

Jul 01, 2019

Metal 3D printing is changing the way we create parts. In low- to mid-volume production runs, the parts themselves can be made faster, cheaper, and with lower effort than traditional manufacturing processes. Since additive manufacturing forms parts in such a different way, it makes it much easier to...

blog article

Jul 01, 2019

Medical 3D printing is becoming increasingly valuable for manufacturers and clinicians to solve patient-specific problems through tailored implants to improve diagnostic decision-making. Creating models from image data such as MRI and CT adds value to this approach by capturing the realistic anatomy...

blog article

Jun 28, 2019

For as long as I can recall, mobile devices found on the manufacturing floor have been limited to the lucky few-management-and primarily focused on smart phone technology. Over the last year, I’ve had the privilege of holding conversations with manufacturing leaders across America.

blog article

Jun 28, 2019

The recent discussions concerning the potential merger of Fiat, Renault and Nissan have put the automotive industry at the forefront of the news. The industry has boomed since bottoming out in 2009, achieving sizable growth year-to-year. However, just recently unit sales have dropped significantly f...

blog article

Jun 27, 2019

As a Chemical Engineering major at Yale, I spend a fair amount of time around STEM students. We take the same classes, study in the same libraries, and attend the same office hours. We hang out in the Center for Engineering Innovation and Design and do STEM-y things. We use 3D printers to print misc...

blog article

Jun 27, 2019

A strong dollar is hurting American workers and main street manufacturers, as I explained last week in the New York Times. I discussed what can be done about it, which builds on a crucial plank of Elizabeth Warren’s American Jobs plan.

blog article

Jun 27, 2019

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have succeeded in 3D printing with a wood-based ink in a way that mimics the unique ultrastructure of wood. Their research could revolutionise the manufacturing of green products. Through emulating the natural cellular architecture of wood, t...

blog article

Jun 27, 2019

Established in 1972, MTD Micro Molding custom-crafted, ultra-precision molded components meet the exact requirements of companies in the medical device industry. In-house tooling, unparalleled bio-absorbable molding expertise, ISO 13485 certified systems, and state-of-the-art equipment make MTD the ...

blog article

Jun 26, 2019

3D printing was once considered science-fiction, but in the last couple of decades, it's become not only science-fact but also something the average hobbyist can have on in their workshop. It also appears in nearly every industry around the globe, offering far-reaching implications for many busi...

blog article

Jun 26, 2019

The Manufacturing Leadership Awards honor manufacturing companies and individual manufacturing leaders that are shaping the future of global manufacturing. Judges look for leaders that have demonstrated achievement across a wide variety of domains including sustainability, operational excellence, in...

blog article

Jun 26, 2019

The Smithsonian Institution is 3D printing life-size copies of Neil Armstrong. Well, actually they are 3D printing his spacesuit, you know, the one that was ON THE MOON. Yes, this organization has plenty of incredible artifacts in their seemingly limitless warehouse, and one of them is Armstrongs su...

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Jun 26, 2019

This industry moves quickly. 3D printing is picking up its pace as additive manufacturing is increasingly recognized as a viable opportunity for digital manufacturing around the world. Supply chains are shortening, parts are becoming lighter-weight and being created on demand, and collaboration is c...

blog article

Jun 25, 2019

Up to the mid-1980s, the highest aspiration of many comic book artists was to stop working on the monthly superhero books and instead develop, or be hired to illustrate, a syndicated strip. Some artists, like Al Williamson who illustrated the Star Wars strip and Russ Manning Tarzan, got a gold star ...

blog article

Jun 25, 2019

Manufacturing ERP software is a business management solution that allows organizations to deal will all facets of an operation in one convenient place. ERP software solutions such as 2020 Insight can help with product planning, development, manufacturing, assembly, sales, accounting, scheduling, and...

blog article

Jun 25, 2019

Intensifying trade war fears and an inventory overhang are weighing on the manufacturing sector. Regional surveys suggest the national ISM manufacturing index will fall below the breakeven 50 level on Monday, which will only heighten fears of recession for the sector.

blog article

Jun 25, 2019

Our recent piece regarding the potential pitfalls of print profile libraries generated some chatter. The article discussed how companies are now building vast libraries of print profiles to ensure their equipment works properly with larger numbers of material options.

blog article

Jun 25, 2019

Wing Aviation LLC, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., became the first drone manufacturer to get FAA approval earlier this year. Many companies had only received waivers from the FAA to demonstrate flights and make short distance deliveries. Urban areas are also troublesome in the eyes of regulators. Ap...

blog article

Jun 24, 2019

No matter who your customer is or what you’re selling, it’s more likely than not that your customer will have to go through several steps before choosing to buy your product or service. Think about your own shopping habits: you don’t just buy the first thing you see. The first thin...

blog article

Jun 24, 2019

It takes thoughtful work to scale an e-commerce store. I’m sure you’ve had a few growing pains of your own getting to the point where you are today. However, you’re reading this because you may not be content with where your conversions are at this precise moment. You may not even ...

blog article

Jun 24, 2019

We’ve all heard the term “less is more”. And we’ve been told this applies for landing pages too. I.e. your forms should be short and only ask for only the bare minimum of required information if you want to convert. As an example, one of the main questions someone typically h...

blog article

Jun 24, 2019

Smart Manufacturing. Factory of the Future. Industry 4.0. These are the buzzwords used by those driving the manufacturing world forward. At the heart of these concepts is digital manufacturing and design. But what exactly is DM&D? And what does it mean for the small and medium-sized manufacturer...

blog article

Jun 24, 2019

The Additive Manufacturing Workshop for Plastics, a half-day event held during the recent Amerimold 2019 in Chicago, brought together mold builders, technology providers and companies providing industrial 3D-printing services. These mold builders, technology and service providers gave insights into ...

blog article

Jun 24, 2019

For some of the big-name players who have entered into 3D printing, their biggest customers are themselves. They often refer to it as eating our own dog food: listen to enough heads of 3D printing businesses within the big guys talk and you’ll be sure to hear the phrase come up more than a few...

blog article

Jun 24, 2019

Oklahoma-based Zumwalt submitted an interesting project to YouMagine that is not only the 3D model of the parts for a 3D printed windup car, but also the precise manner in which it was designed using Autodesk Fusion 360.

blog article

Jun 23, 2019

Digital Summit, the largest conference series in the digital marketing industry, has invited Mehrguth to share his unique presentation, 5 Data-Validated Tactics to Increase the Experienced Marketer’s Qualified Lead Volume (…and 3 Tactics Guaranteed to Fail) with their audiences across t...

blog article

Jun 21, 2019

In four announcements over the last nine days, GE Additive has shared the news of a notable sales season in metal 3D printing. The three most recent announcements hit this week during the famed Paris Air Show, which each year sees a greater presence of - and clearly investment in - additive manufact...

blog article

Jun 20, 2019

DyeMansion is a German company specializing in post-processing 3D prints. They offer a complete set of equipment and software to perform the three most frequently performed post-processing activities for 3D prints, including: support removal, surface smoothing and coloration.

blog article

Jun 20, 2019

In manufacturing, no code platforms are revolutionizing how engineers work. This revolution is long overdue, considering that in the last 20 years software has changed how nearly everyone works. Every job now has a series of software tools that enable users to do their job better and more efficientl...

blog article

Jun 19, 2019

Not long ago, many manufacturing CIOs thought that cybersecurity was something only the financial sector had to worry about. Why would anyone want to hack a manufacturing plant? How times have changed – now, cybersecurity in manufacturing is definitely front and center. But how do you meet the...

blog article

Jun 19, 2019

Real-time 3D is changing everything, in much deeper ways than most people realize. Forged in gaming, this technology continues to transform the way games are created, operated and monetized. Its impact now also extends to industries of all kinds, from film to automotive.

blog article

Jun 18, 2019

The digital transformation of the process manufacturing industry is opening up new opportunities at an incredible pace. In order to keep up and stay competitive, many industrial organisations have been investing funds, skills and capabilities to adjust their businesses.

blog article

Jun 18, 2019

PPG has seen many changes over its 135-year history. Originally a glass manufacturer, PPG transitioned the core of its business to paints and specialty coatings that are used on everything from driverless cars to the posts on NHL goals. But the latest change may be the most drastic. PPG has undergon...

blog article

Jun 18, 2019

The problem being solved here is a common dilemma facing MRI operators. MRI machines use a form of magnetic resonance imaging to develop highly detailed 3D images of patient internals. These images are used by surgeons and others to diagnose medical issues or plan surgeries by looking inside the pat...