Workforce Development
Direct Edge Finding Via Laser
A laser edge finder offers a direct method for locating workpiece edges that can save setup time.
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Employee-Driven Software Purchase Saves Time, Money
Ideas about new ways of doing things don't always come from the upper tiers of management. At this facility, a CAD package that a shop floor employee had been using for home projects transformed the company's design process.
Read MoreDon’t Skip The Training
Not every buyer of a new machine tool takes advantage of the training that goes with it. “We’re too busy.
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It Begins With Belief
This shop’s approach to unattended machining focuses on the big picture.
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Lean Manufacturing For The Job Shop
Lean practices are not just for predictable production. Here are the common-sense ways this low-volume job shop has implemented a leaner process.
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Macro Economics
Instead of NC programs that are dedicated to particular parts and machines, this plant now uses macro programs that react to geometric variations across broad part families. The plant wrote these macros itself, and the return on this investment has been dramatically greater productivity.
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Machine Tools Used As Dedicated Equipment…For A Little While
Two keys to this shop’s success are versatility and speed. It uses flexible machining centers, rather than dedicated equipment, and constantly reconfigures them into new cells for new jobs. The speed at which it can do this, in addition to in-house tombstone manufacturing capability, provides the nimbleness to quickly respond to its customers’ needs.
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Cultivating Metalworking Technology's Next Users
An educator from a successful vocational high school describes what manufacturers can do to help institutions like his provide capable talent to industry.
Read MoreABB Robotics Teams Up with Okuma, Becomes a Partner in THINC
ABB Robotics, a leading supplier of industrial robots, has joined Partners in THINC, creating a strategic alliance with Okuma, a world leader in the development and production of machine tools. Okuma is unique in the world of machine tools in that the company also develops and manufactures the control, drives a
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