Articles
Take Control Of Your Company’s Future: The R&D Tax Credit
June 17, 2013 10:42 am | by Dean Zerbe, alliantgroup National Managing Director | CommentsHappily, the tax code rewards manufacturers who are engaged in these efforts to stay competitive with the R&D tax credit. Unhappily, far too many manufacturing companies, especially the small- and medium-sized, are failing to take advantage of the R&D tax credit.
The Benefits Of Project Nesting
June 12, 2013 10:23 am | by Vero Software | CommentsAn engineering subcontractor says Radan’s Project Nesting function has changed his life and completely revolutionized the way his company works. It means they no longer have to run existing nests on their punch press. Previously, their LVD turret punch used to run saved nests, purely for speed, even if they were not totally efficient for the particular job.
5 Quick Questions: Siemens’ Helmuth Ludwig
June 12, 2013 10:13 am | by Jeff Reinke, Editorial Director | CommentsAlthough the company operates a diverse collection of business units in 190 countries, German-based Siemens also employs more than 60,000 people in 130 U.S. manufacturing facilities. So with this in mind, we recently sat down with Helmuth Ludwig, the CEO of Siemens’ Industry Sector in North America.
Technology Upgrade Solves Single Point Of Failure
June 11, 2013 10:02 am | by AbeTech | CommentsMerchandise Inc. needed a new picking system that would not require them to replace the other connected systems that worked well and that their employees understood. They needed a system that would be easy to integrate, use and learn as well as a system that functioned the same way as their current system by downloading the data and then batch picking.
Plastic Laser Sintering Helps Anubis Go With The Flow (Meter)
June 11, 2013 9:52 am | by EOS | CommentsIf you’re rolling out an industrial product and you want to manufacture it in the most efficient, cost-effective way possible, you may want to touch base with someone who has done exactly that time and again.
Progressive Design Strategies Week
June 10, 2013 10:57 am | by Manufacturing Business Technology | CommentsManufacturing Business Technology is devoting this week to Progressive Design Strategies. Check here daily for articles, blogs and videos being featured this week. Hear from industry experts on how they've integrated technology, the solutions currently being offered in the industry and gain insight on making the most of your operations.
Continuous Improvement: Real Improvement Or Mediocrity?
June 10, 2013 9:59 am | by Mark Latino, President, Reliability Center, Inc. | CommentsIncremental improvements are more or less feel good measures that say to management “there was a problem and we did this to solve it.” In reality, most continuous improvements have come from technology advancements, not from employee performance advancements. Has the continuous improvement mentality caused manufacturing to settle for mediocrity?
Cyclists Take Industrial 3D Printing For A Spin
June 10, 2013 9:44 am | by Chris Hardee, a science and technology writer based in New Hampshire | CommentsAbout four years ago, Russ Kappius—mountain-bike enthusiast, winner of six Masters racing titles, and a research geophysicist/software developer—became obsessed with bicycle hubs. He wanted more speed and responsiveness, but wasn't sure how to get it.
What Manufacturers Can Learn From The Commandos
June 7, 2013 10:17 am | by Damian McKinney | CommentsThe world of manufacturing and the soldier seem very far apart at first glance, but they both operate in uncertain and rapidly changing environments. The workforce goes to work, while the military goes to war. Thankfully, in the work environment, people do not often die, but companies can fail and people’s livelihoods can be destroyed through bad decisions.
How Computers Can Learn Better
June 7, 2013 10:12 am | by Larry Hardesty, MIT | CommentsReinforcement learning is a technique, common in computer science, in which a computer system learns how best to solve some problem through trial-and-error. Classic applications of reinforcement learning involve problems as diverse as robot navigation, network administration, and automated surveillance.
Barriers To Re-Shoring: A Detailed Look
June 5, 2013 10:43 am | by Joel Hans, Managing Editor, Manufacturing.net | CommentsBack in 2012, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers issued a bold report that stated there are 600,000 unfilled American jobs in the field of high-tech manufacturing. Amid a deep economic slump, it was a shot in the arm of the entire industry. It meant that not only had a cultural shift pushed young Americans away from manufacturing, but also that the frameworks for teaching these kinds of skill have fallen by the wayside.
ISM: Manufacturing Contracts
June 5, 2013 10:28 am | by Rachel Leisemann Immel, Associate Editor, IMPO | CommentsEconomic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in May for the first time since November 2012, and the overall economy grew for the 48th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business.
Avoiding Food Fraud
June 4, 2013 11:05 am | by Lori Leskin and Aaron Levine, Kaye Scholer | CommentsWhile manufacturers look for the most affordable way to produce a quality product, suppliers are sometimes providing them with adulterated products for the purpose of achieving their own financial gain. This is called food fraud.
The Importance Of A Customer Conference
June 4, 2013 11:04 am | by Jon Minnick, Associate Editor, Manufacturing Business Technology | CommentsCommunication is key to customer conferences. It’s a forum for software vendors to talk about and show the next big thing to come out. Customers can interact and talk to other manufacturers about their processes. It also gives them a listening ear to the company, where they can express what they’re lacking and help drive innovation.
Manufacture The Right Mix Of Business And Financial Savvy
June 3, 2013 10:26 am | by Peter Arendt, Managing Director of Food and Agribusiness, Huntington Bank | CommentsThe degree of specialization along the food processing chain makes a significant difference in how one builds a sustainable business franchise today. Years of ingenuity and vertical integration have enabled operators to create uniform and predictable product applications and capture maximum operating efficiencies.
