When Organic Growth in Your Machine Shop Isn’t Enough
By: Brent Donaldson
Princeton Tool wanted to expand its portfolio, increase its West Coast presence, and become a stronger overall supplier. To accomplish all three goals at once, acquiring another machine shop became its best option.
Inside Oak Ridge’s 3D-Printed Machine Tool Moonshot
By: Brent Donaldson
The widespread outsourcing of large machine castings led a collaborative team at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to tackle the machine tool supply chain. The first step? 3D print the largest cast component.
Growing Closer: Machine Shops and 3D Printing for Production
By: Brent Donaldson
Machining a large 3D-printed part for aerospace composite tooling is fundamentally different than manufacturing the part traditionally. Baker Industries knows this first-hand.
A Methodical Strategy to Bring Additive Manufacturing into Sheet Metal Fabrication
By: Brent Donaldson
When Wilson Tool International launched its additive manufacturing division in 2018, it had already proven 3D printing’s value through dozens of printed parts for its own line of equipment. Demonstrating that value to customers required a new, highly focused approach.
How Machine Tool Dynamics Could Become a U.S. Supply Chain Strategy
By: Brent Donaldson
A collaborative agreement being overseen by the U.S. Department of Energy involves a deceptively simple test — a test that could radically increase throughput of the United States’ existing base of CNC machine tools.
Lessons from a COVID-19 Shutdown and Reopening
By: Brent Donaldson
Weldon Solutions, a manufacturer of CNC cylindrical grinders and robotic automation systems, had to close its doors for two months due to COVID-19. Now allowed to reopen, the company is taking stock of the lessons learned and a path forward during the pandemic.
#covid-19
An Unusual Machine for an Unusual Time: Mazak Helps AquiSense Fight COVID-19 with PearlSurface
By: Brent Donaldson
When a company that specializes in rendering viruses and pathogens harmless via UV light looked to produce a portable disinfection device, it turned to its neighbor Mazak to move from design into production.
#covid-19
CNC Machining as a Business Strategy for 3D Printing
By: Brent Donaldson
As the additive manufacturing company 3rd Dimension Industrial 3D Printing prepares for production, it has one critical advantage over the competition: a standalone CNC machine shop.
Lean Manufacturing Means Taking Nothing for Granted
By: Brent Donaldson
As foreign competition undercut Valtech Corp.'s business throughout the aughts, the company had a choice to make: Switch production to CNC machining for one of its products, or abandon the product line. Starting from scratch with older machine tools has helped the company scrutinize each step of its processes.
#leanmanufacturing
Autonomous Bin Picking for CNC Machining Applications
By: Brent Donaldson
With the launch of a new application kit for collaborative robots, Universal Robots is creating a new option for lights-out machining. But the company may have tapped into a solution for a deeper problem: attracting millennials to the manufacturing workforce.
At Purdue University, Emergency Production of PPE and Ventilator Fittings
By: Brent Donaldson
After campus had largely shut down, several labs and departments at the venerated engineering school organized with local hospitals to manufacture critical parts needed to fight the coronavirus.
#covid-19
Does Asia's Low-Cost Manufacturing Option Still Make Sense?
By: Brent Donaldson
As U.S.-based companies try to stay ahead of COVID-19, global supply chains are under renewed scrutiny. Are uncertainties and delays caused by global crises worth the short-term cost savings?
#covid-19
