One of the important benefits of attending a show like IMTS is the opportunity to talk with exhibitors, attendees, and editors of trade publications about emerging manufacturing trends. Here are seven such trends that came up in multiple conversations:
In many cases your customers require the parts you ship to be free of chips, metal dust, dirt and machine oils. This is especially important when the parts are heading for plating or coating operations. For some companies, this process can become a time-wasting bottleneck. Manual cleaning incurs labor costs, time away from machine operation, the cost of the chemicals used and the time and money required to properly dispose of the cleaning solutions. Even aqueous-based cleaners must be disposed of in keeping with state, local and federal regulations to protect the environment.
Many energy providers are turning to the process of well fracturing which is good news for CNC shops like Premium Frac Pumps in Fort Worth, Texas. The company makes a line of well fracturing pumps that are critical to this process.
In today’s competitive manufacturing world, productivity is the key to success, so we invest in people and equipment that can make us more efficient. For managers of any kind, from owner or production manager to supervisor or shift leader, getting the most out of our own workday is often a challenge. There are always interruptions, unexpected problems and fires to put out. So how can we juggle all of our responsibilities and still be productive?
The traditional approach to die/mold machining typically involves a number of steps that require multiple CNC machines and 5 to 7 part handlings. This labor-intensive process builds substantial cost into each job. The good news is that you can reduce these costs by using a high speed CNC machining center that can often handle the entire operation in one place.
Conceived as a personal gadget for Internet access, e-reading, playing games, and managing music, photos and more, iPads are now finding their way into the business world. But do they belong in a manufacturing setting? They just might. In addition to tens of thousands of apps, the iPad’s size, lightness and instant-on capability make it more convenient than a typical laptop, and easier to protect from harsh environments. There are several ways machine shops can use iPads to improve productivity. Here are three: