The U.S. government previously imposed tariffs on Chinese imports of aluminum and steel, and has now extended similar tariffs to Mexico, Canada and the European Union. These allies and trade partners have vowed to implement their own tariffs on U.S. imports in hopes the United States will ease off these changes. In the short term,…
Read More
Discussing higher education in manufacturing often brings up careers in engineering or business. However, it tends to leave out manufacturing professionals themselves furthering their educations. Still, the industry increasingly requires laborers with enhanced skills and a workforce more educated than ever before. As company needs evolve, the value of knowledgeable manufacturers will likely continue to…
Read More
If you’ve ever encountered a programmable logic controller before, you know there’s a lot to learn. Commonly abbreviated as PLC, these controllers are a handy tool, although they can sometimes be challenging to learn. If, on the other hand, you’ve never encountered a PLC before, there’s no need to worry. You’re in the perfect place,…
Read More
Manufacturers in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, are about to have new opportunities in the field. Corrugated Synergies International representatives announced May 21 they will set up shop there and bring 120 jobs to the new location. They will invest $31 million to renovate and install manufacturing equipment at the new facility. In addition to new opportunities…
Read More
What if members of the armed forces could print safer weapons for use in the field? Imagine automakers using 3-D printing to produce variations of the same car while addressing different customers’ unique performance, comfort, and aesthetic preferences. While neither is quite a reality, some of the latest developments in additive manufacturing technology are expanding its applications…
Read More
When we talk about aging equipment and the need to maintenance, upgrade or otherwise prepare for eventual failure, the focus tends to be on parts of the machinery with a high rate of problems. These are naturally the moving mechanical parts, load bearing mechanisms and the like. What often gets overlooked are the devices that…
Read More
One of the most expensive failure modes of electric motors is breakage on the output shaft. This is where at some point during the motor’s life cycle stress risers were introduced to the shaft material by environmental conditions, misapplication, abuse or even manufacturing defect. So how does one sort out what happened? Diagnoses of this…
Read More
When your business manufactures high quantities of the same – or slight variations of the same – product, keeping the machines churning is a great way to continue to meet customer demands without disrupting the production process. Known as continuous or constant manufacturing, this process is regularly used by pharmaceutical, metalworking and textile companies making…
Read More
Production times are often what set manufacturers back from being able to take on new customers and orders. Consider what it would be like to speed up production time considerably — and accept new projects to boost your bottom line. With speedy additive manufacturing, it’s possible. This technology has already been disrupting in the industry…
Read More
Lean manufacturing is an industry buzzword that many people have heard but not many understand. The core of lean manufacturing is to eliminate any waste in the manufacturing process. That includes wastes of time, talent and energy in addition to the waste of materials. Let’s take a closer look at lean manufacturing and how manufacturers…
Read More