In the mid-2000s, the compressed air system at the Toyota North America plant in Georgetown, KY, crashed on average more than once a year. That led some at the plant to wonder whether leveraging machine learning and AI could address this problem by providing anomaly detection, fault identifica

Terms such as smart factory, Industry 4.0 and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) have become inescapable buzzwords, invoked by every developer of manufacturing-related equipment and software. Many discussions of smart factories begin with prognosticators sharing visions of how the global man

Why don’t more manufacturers in the United States use smart manufacturing technologies like AI and machine learning to reduce waste, achieve predictive maintenance and enhance their automation systems? That question was the focus of “The Role of AI in Manufacturing,” a rou

Smart manufacturing is transforming A&D manufacturing as more companies adopt automation, artificial intelligence and robotics. Some manufacturers are also focusing on eliminating so-called islands of automation and integrating the technology across entire processes. But even as manufactur

The COVID-19 pandemic clearly proved challenging to the manufacturing industry in myriad ways. As shutdowns began clamping down on all activities in March 2020, issues with supply chains, automation, worker safety and productivity with more personnel working remotely leapt to the fore. Now, as

When the pandemic disrupted supply chains and exacerbated existing supply-chain problems at aerospace and defense manufacturers, major players took steps to ensure resilience. A&D manufacturers already carried more inventory than other industry segments, notably automotive. They also co

Automating the manufacture and assembly of aerospace and defense components is no simple task. Parts are often complex, with a high/low mix of components that range from robust to micro in size, and this diverse range doesn’t necessarily lend itself to automation. Myriad skillsets are ne

An intelligent and highly flexible transport system enables a wide variety of production steps to be flexibly combined in a modular, powerful and versatile machine for the assembly of automotive fuel lines. Modularity and smart conveying offer a strategy that can be applied in multiple indu

The pandemic has highlighted the challenges of relying on goods manufactured thousands of miles away from the U.S. by a human workforce. It has accentuated the collision of existing cracks in the supply chain and the immediate delivery online shoppers have become used to. Because we also ha

In less than ten years from now, 30 percent of new vehicles will likely be electric, according to a 2021 report by Accenture. EV manufacturers must overcome a unique set of challenges to meet future customer expectations. Among them is the challenge to create innovative designs that meet safet

The booth at Universal Robot’s booth at FABTECH 2021 was buzzing like a beehive on the afternoon of Monday, September 13 when Joe Campbell Senior Manager of Applications Development and Strategic Marketing at Universal Robots discussed how much the reach of his company’s collaborat

MEQUON, Wis. — To further enhance customer responsiveness, Jorgensen Conveyor & Filtration Solutions Inc. has appointed Tony Diaz as its new national sales manager. In his new position, Diaz will manage the company’s End User Sales Team, applying solid experience, skills and

The robot revolution has been expected for decades, but still has not arrived. Every year, automakers and their suppliers purchase thousands of robots, a number that still amounts to vastly fewer than what has been predicted. Robots simply are not used as widely as they could be, due to severa

When Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (now Stellantis) in Cassino, Italy, invested in five complete press hardening lines from Sweden’s AP&T more than 10 years ago, it wasn’t only AP&T’s largest ever deal with a customer in the automotive industry at the time. It was also th

Bosch Rexroth announced in time for FABTECH the next level of its open industrial automation platform ctrlX AUTOMATION. The launch of ctrlX I/O adds other interfaces on the field and control levels to the platform, a system shaped by app technology, according to the company. The I/O range f

Every human experiences fear, and they do so in their own individual way. In the AI world, fear is driven by unfamiliarity with the process, the professional impact of failure and the daunting tasks of pulling together all of the people and perspectives required just to get started. In aero

Welding is an integral part of the heavy equipment manufacturing industry, and one of the challenges technicians face during welding is porosity—the presence of cavities in the weld metal. These cavities weaken the weld strength and require rework or even scrapping of the entire defec

Around the U.S., the major manufacturing regions are taking stock of the fallout from the pandemic and how they can navigate out of the lockdowns in 2020 to thrive once again. Generally speaking, “the slope of recovery across the regions will be heavily influenced by the type of manuf

This autumn, SME and AMT-The Association for Manufacturing Technology are producing four key events: HOUSTEX, EASTEC, SOUTHTEC and WESTEC. All are part the Manufacturing Technology Series, and each will feature three keynote speakers offering information and perspectives pertinent to manufactu

Sandvik to Acquire Metrology and Automation Company DWFritz Automation Sandvik has signed an agreement to acquire U.S.-based DWFritz Automation, a global provider of precision metrology, inspection and assembly solutions for advanced manufacturing. DWFritz Automation designs, builds and s