ADDITIVE TECHNIQUES COME TO LOW-VOLUME MANUFACTURING
Ann R. Thryft, Design News, December 15, 2011
Additive manufacturing (AM) techniques produce low volumes of complex products with high quality and precision. These products typically include medical and dental prosthetics and implants. With engineering-quality materials, aerospace and automotive components can also be fabricated. Low-volume AM differs from 3D model and prototype printing in how parts are used and the number of parts produced. Techniques include laser sintering (LS) and fused deposition modeling (FDM). Materials are generally thermoplastics, but some metals are sintered, with volumes in the tens, hundreds, or even low thousands. End-use production parts often must endure extreme temperatures, humidity, direct sunlight, and sometime abusive handling.
> Read more: http://www.designnews.com
> Keywords: Additive manufacturing, Low-volume production

THE EVOLUTION OF INDUSTRIAL ROBOTS
Steve Prehn, Machine Design, December 8, 2011
Most industrial robot installations to-date are engaged in repetitive tasks: assembling, welding, loading, etc.   And, although robots have come a long way, we are still not to the level of the humanoids of sci-fi stories and films.  But there have been developments that adapt robots for more human-like capabilities: tiny pinchers can replace larger human hands with added accuracy in populating printed circuit boards; "self-awareness" allows robots to respond to objects using "sight" and "touch."
> Read more: http://machinedesign.com
> Keywords: Industrial robots

EXTREME PICKING & PACKING (VIDEO)
Just-in-time is all well and good -- in theory. But systems often break down when human beings are involved.  Now, warehouse operations can make use of automated picking and storage systems -- like robot taxis -- to expedite storage and retrieval. This video takes us on a tour of a high-speed warehouse that features packing machines operating at ground speeds of over 70 miles per hour.
> Read more: http://www.mbtmag.com
> Keywords: Automated picking and storage

FIBER-LASER TECHNOLOGY LIGHTS METALFORMER'S BRIGHT FUTURE
Brad Kuvin, MetalForming, November 2011
Fiber-laser technology is a solid-state laser cutting technology that emits at wavelengths generally one-tenth that of a CO2 laser.  The smaller-wavelength beam is much more readily absorbed by reflective materials, which allows the beams to be transmitted without the use of mirrors.  A fiberoptic cable is used instead.
> Read more: http://www.metalformingmagazine.com
> Keywords: Fiber-laser cutting

THE GIFT OF SIGHT: A FOUR-STEP APPROACH TO SETTING UP A MACHINE VISION SYSTEM FOR ROBOT-BASED MANUFACTURING
David Berry, Manufacturing Automation, November/December 2011
Cameras and image processing technology -- machine vision -- are being incorporated more and more frequently into robotic manufacturing systems. The added flexibility allows the robot to locate parts intelligently, pick them up, and manipulate them as required. Here is a four-step approach to setting up a machine vision system for robot-based manufacturing.
> Read more: http://www.automationmag.com
> Keywords: Machine vision, Robot-based manufacturing

MAKING SENSE OF MEMS
Jesse Bonfeld, InTech, November/December 2011
Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) describe a type of device or sensor as well as a manufacturing process. MEMS sensors incorporate tiny devices with miniaturized mechanical structures, typically ranging from 1-100 μm (about the thickness of a human hair), while MEMS manufacturing processes provide an alternative to conventional macro-scale machining and assembly techniques.  Perhaps the most well-known consumer electronics incorporating MEMS motion sensors are leading smart phones, digital cameras, and gaming consoles/controllers.  Learn more about MEMS.
> Read more: http://www.isa.org
> Keywords: Micro electro mechanical systems

STUDY: ROBOTICS CREATES, NOT ELIMINATES, JOBS
Rob Spiegel, Design News. December 8, 2011
It seems logical to suppose that robotics eliminates jobs. Robots have certainly sent thousands of auto workers packing. Yet, the robotics industry is apparently creating thousands of jobs to support the development and production of robots. The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) commissioned a study by Metra Martech to ascertain just how many jobs the robot industry has actually created, while also offering a peek into future job creation in the robotics industry.
> Read more: http://www.designnews.com
> Keywords: Robotics

THE COFFEE CUP-A-DAY PROJECT
Randolph Jonsson, gizmag, November 21, 2011
Spanish designer Bernat Cuni has come up with a whimsical way to help bring the relatively new 3D ceramic printing process into the mainstream. Recently, he unleashed his creative energies on what he termed the "coffee cup-a-day" project to highlight the versatility and immediacy of what is also known as "additive manufacturing" - the layer by layer construction of tangible objects from digital models.  Construction of each cup takes about four hours and begins with the deposition of an organic binder on a bed of ceramic powder. Once that layer is completed, more ceramic powder is distributed on top, then more binder and so on until the model is complete. The entire matrix is then heated in an oven, which solidifies the binder-laden powder.  Then the item must be fired in a kiln at high temperature to permanently lock in the structure.
> Read more: http://www.gizmag.com
> Keywords: Ceramic 3D printing

STRONGER AND FASTER-FLOWING PLASTICS FOR MINIATURIZING PERSONAL ELECTRONICS
Jiasong He, Plastics Research Online, December 7, 2011
When making plastic parts for personal electronic devices, there are trade-offs between the processability and mechanical performance of engineering plastics. To decrease the size of mobile phones, for example, melts employed in shaping plastic parts must possess excellent flow and precise molding, thermal endurance, and dimensional stability due to the tight space constraints of applications and the heat produced in use. Reinforcement through fiber and filler is required to enhance the mechanical properties; but this also impairs processability of the material in its molten state.  An innovative technique promises to minimize trade-offs between the processability and mechanical performance of engineering plastics.
> Read more: http://www.4spepro.org
> Keywords: Plastics for electronics

VERSATILE NEW MATERIAL COMBINES "BEST QUALITIES" OF GLASS AND RESIN
Gizmag, November 18, 2011
Synthetic resins start out as viscous liquids that eventually solidify or "cure" into clear or translucent solids. These materials, which combine the desirable properties of strength, durability and light weight, are so useful that you can find them in thousands of applications, particularly aircraft, automobiles and electronic circuits. Once cured, resins cannot be reshaped.  Now, a team from France's National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS) has developed an inexpensive and easily-produced material that is not only reshapable (like glass), but also repairable and recyclable, again, like glass.
> Read more: ttp://www.gizmag.com
> Keywords: Reshapable resin

CANADA’S LAGGING PRODUCTIVITY: WHAT IF WE HAD MATCHED THE U.S. PERFORMANCE?
Alan Arcand, Mario Lefebvre, Conference Board of Canada, November 2011
This briefing addresses the reason that productivity growth matters so much by asking: “What if Canada had matched the U.S. productivity performance over the past two decades?”  To answer this question, the Centre on Productivity conducted a model simulation that shows how much richer Canadians would be, how much more profitable corporations would be, and how much more revenue governments would have at their disposal, if Canada’s labour productivity growth had kept pace with that of the United States over 1988–2008. The answer is startling.
> Download from: http://www.conferenceboard.ca
> Keywords: Canada's productivity

THE CUSTOMER-DRIVEN SUPPLY CHAIN: GETTING AHEAD OF DEMAND [ON-DEMAND WEBINAR]
IndustryWeek, November 10, 2011
Customers are becoming more demanding -- wanting to order a certain product a certain way, and expecting fulfillment at a certain time. Learn how a wider approach to your supply chain can help you meet their needs -- by increasing visibility, balancing supply and demand, and bringing together data from partners and suppliers.
> Read more: http://www.industryweek.com
> Keywords: Supply chain

HOW YOU CHANGE IS THE CHANGE!
Lawrence M. Miller, IndustryWeek, December 6, 2011
Lean management is not a change methodology. It is a destination, a desired set of practices and culture. How you get there will determine the outcome.  How you change creates a set of expectations for what will follow. You create a "pull" for adoption of the change, or you struggle to "push" the string of change up hill.  Here are some of the keys to successful lean implementation and culture change.
> Read more: http://industryweek.com
> Keywords: Lean culture, Change management

3-D PRINTERS WILL BUILD CIRCUIT BOARDS ‘IN 2 YEARS’
Caleb Garling, Wired Enterprise, November 4, 2011
Before you know it, we’ll be building circuit boards with 3-D printers, according to Wired.  The auto, nautical, and aerospace industries — along with the military — already use 3-D printers in various testing facilities. When a part breaks, they needn’t order a new one. They can print it out.
> Read more: http://www.wired.com
> Keywords: 3D Printing, Additive manufacturing

ADVANCED TYRE TECHNOLOGY FROM DUNLOP
Digital Manufacturing Report, November 30, 2011
Dunlop Motorsport provides tyres to a vast range of motorsport categories on both two wheels and four. Tyre construction is a mix of science: new materials, compound technology and digital tools.  The tire used by the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team began its life in the modelling room using advanced computer simulation software, predicting properties, constructing 3D models, and applying FEA.
> Read more: http://www.digitalmanufacturingreport.com
> Keywords: 3D visualization, 3D modeling, FEA

TAMING TOUGH DUTY CYCLES: DIGITAL MANUFACTURING AT JOHN DEERE
John Kirkley, Digital Manufacturing Report, December 7, 2011
John Deere’s sturdy all-terrain Gator(TM) Utility Vehicle is made for heavy duty work in environments that range from the farm to the battlefield and it has to be built to last. Each John Deere piece of equipment is designed with a “duty cycle” in mind. Deere designs for the stresses and strains generated by operators who are really tough on their equipment. What used to be a time-consuming and expensive manual mechanical testing process has been replaced by digital manufacturing tools. Using their in-house high performance computing (HPC) cluster, the Metals and Mechanics group will essentially build a vehicle like the Gator digitally and then, using commercial and homegrown FEA and other software solvers, simulate how its components respond to various stresses and strains generated by a wide variety of environments and activities.
> Read more: http://www.digitalmanufacturingreport.com
> Keywords: Digital manufacturing tools, FEA, CFD

DARPA'S FACTORY OF THE FUTURE LOOKS LIKE OPEN SOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Sean Gallagher, ars technical, December 6, 2011
DARPA is looking to solve the problem of runaway defense systems projects by reinventing how complex systems are developed and manufactured. They aim to do this by borrowing from the playbooks of integrated circuit developers and open-source software projects. And in the process, the agency's Adaptive Vehicle Make project may reinvent manufacturing itself, and seed the workforce with a new generation of engineers who can "compile" innovations into new inventions without having to be tied to a manufacturing plant.  DARPA AVM program manager says, "The systems we build are more complex, but the way we do it hasn't changed much in 50 years."  DARPA is funding the development of software tools called META that will allow engineers to design, prototype and test systems collaboratively before they are ever built.
> Read more: http://arstechnica.com
> Keywords: Open Source development tools

IS THE CLOUD RIGHT FOR MANUFACTURING?
Maryanne Steidinger, InTech, November/December 2011
There is much discussion these days on whether cloud-based technology is “right” for manufacturing. Given the security concerns, what applications should manufacturers look for to help them get started? And, more importantly, why should they even care about the cloud?
> Read more: http://www.isa.org
> Keywords: Open Source development tools

THERE'S A CONTROL APP FOR THAT
Leland Teschler, Machine Design, December 8, 2011
iPads that control the passenger-compartment climate and entertainment systems on a luxury jet; an iPhone app that lets the phone function as a universal remote control for home theaters and audio/visual equipment -- and this is just the beginning. Smartphones and tablets increasingly are taking on roles as data displays and even operator terminals. Industrial control systems can communicate with mobile devices either through a mobile-enabled Web site or through an app designed to communicate directly with the controls.
> Read more: http://machinedesign.com
> Keywords: Mobile apps for industrial controls

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