As equipment ages and becomes unsupported by the manufacturer it is only a matter of time before the machine goes down and leaves the user scrambling to find a solution. Most often this solution is repair of the broken equipment, but there are some circumstances that can complicate things if you are not ready for…
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The rapidly changing manufacturing landscape has several companies struggling to fill positions across the board. A recent report conducted by the American National Standards Institute found that many companies don’t have a consistent way of weighing the importance of credentials in the candidates they interview and eventually hire. This, paired with the increase in jobs…
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A lot of buzz surrounds the “Right to Repair” on the consumer side of the economy and, for the most part, it has remained a consumer issue. However, that could change very quickly thanks to the Right to Repair movement in the agricultural sector. Lately, speculation has turned toward the manufacturing industry where machinery and…
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Human machine interfaces (HMIs) sound like something out of a sci-fi movie. They bring to mind images of exoskeletons, holograms, and other things we’ve seen watching Hollywood blockbusters. But the reality of HMIs is much simpler and more practical than all that. And, as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) continues to expand, HMIs are…
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It’s not difficult to pinpoint a faulty power supply as the reason for your equipment failure. But not all problematic power supplies have the same malfunction source. Overheating sometimes causes failure; other times, it’s a capacitor failure; and semiconductor failures are still more frequent. Getting to the bottom of a power supply failure means correctly…
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When you crack your smartphone screen, you have to ask yourself an important question: Do I have it repaired, or should I replace the whole thing? While this decision is ultimately a trivial one, it does make us think more carefully about how to deal with large-scale manufacturing machine problems. What happens when your CNC…
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It’s impossible to be in business today without having heard about cloud computing and the applications of cloud computing for business. But what about manufacturing? Cloud computing has a number of advantages when it comes to storing, sharing and accessing data. But do these really apply to manufacturing? How Manufacturing Uses Cloud Computing The answer…
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Investments in additive manufacturing have been happening for some time now, but a string of announced partnerships between airlines, aircraft manufacturers and 3D printing companies has the technology at the forefront of air travel and airplane technology like never before. Boeing announced investments in Digital Alloys, Inc., a company based in Massachusetts that developed…
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Artificial Intelligence (AI) may still have science fiction connotations, but, more and more, it’s becoming a cornerstone of manufacturing technology. While this may inspire excitement among facilities managers and manufacturing CEOs, it often breeds anxiety for the average manufacturer on the factory floor. Where executives see opportunities for cost-savings, laborers predict layoffs and job losses….
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Hydraulic valves are an all-important component in any hydraulic system. Not coincidentally, they’re also a pain point for many manufacturing maintenance supervisors because they require routine maintenance delivered with precision and care. Those undertaking valve stem packing specifically need to do so with a mind for thoroughness as an improperly packed valve stem can lead…
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