MMT Chats: The All or Nothing Approach to ERP
For this MMT Chat, my guests hail from Omega Tool of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, who share their journey with using enterprise resource planning (ERP)—and their people—to solve their schedule and capacity load monitoring challenges.
Christina M. Fuges
Editorial Director, MoldMaking Technology
2020/2021 Mold Building Wage and Salary Report Indicates Positive Trends
Compensation study on the U.S. mold building industry reports 70% of 2020 job functions experienced wage increases, and a 3% jump in employee hires.
Markforged Report Suggests 3D Printing Enabled Manufacturers to Persevere Through COVID-19
Data shows that manufacturers using 3D printing were able to continue normal operations and innovate, while saving time and money.
Versatile Large Format Multi-Sensor Vision System for Accurate, Fast Measurements
The L.S. Starrett AVX550 Multi-Sensor Vision System is a powerful, easy-to-use multi-sensor measurement system which streamlines and optimizes the QC process.
December Technology Roundup: Inspection/Measurement
MMT highlights products/services from Zeiss, High QA, Marposs, Shining 3D, L.S. Starrett, Renishaw and more. Find them here or in the December print issue.
MoldMaking Index Expands Despite Growing Headwinds
October saw slowing expansionary activity, an advancement caused by slowing supplier deliveries and an expansion in employment activity for a third consecutive month.
Predictive Maintenance Monitoring System Contributes Real-Time Diagnostics
The Artis GEMVM system from Marposs features predictive maintenance to monitor vibration, gravity and temperature values to detect machining anomalies.
MMT Chats: MMT Advisory Board Wraps Up Year with Current Data Trends
MoldMaking Technology’s Editorial Advisory Board has been virtually meeting this year due to the virus. Here is a peek at our last meeting of 2020 that involves a snapshot of some industry data and analysis about this pandemic recession shared by Gardner Intelligence Chief Economist Michael Guckes.
Christina M. Fuges
Editorial Director, MoldMaking Technology
CT Scanner Achieves Precise, Multi-Part Inspections
Exact Metrology showcases the capability of its GOM computed tomography (CT) multi-part scanner.
Portable Color 3D Scanners Reliably Digitizes Data
Shining 3D adds a new line of handheld color 3D scanners, the EinScan H and HX, to its EinScan series portfolio. Both scanner lines integrate an additional light source for a broader range of applications and scanning requirements.
Correlation-Free Measuring Cell Enables Real-Time Process Monitoring
Zeiss Industrial Quality Solutions introduces its Zeiss AICell trace, a dual, 7-axis robotic system that can be utilized in near-line, at-line or in-line applications.
Integrated Set and Inspect Software for CNC Machines Adds Inspection Probing Sophistication
Takumi USA now offers Renishaw’s Set and Inspect software for the Fanuc control, enabling customers to add inspection probing to their machining process.
Moldmaking Index Registers Strongest Expansion Since Second Quarter of 2019
The Moldmaking Index jumped nearly five points in September, driven by surging new orders.
Moldmaking Index Registers Second Straight Month of Modest Expansion
Strong expansion in production and quickening supplier deliveries hint at a rebound.
Moldmaking Industry Ends Four-Month Expansionary Run
Slowing new orders, production and backlog activity result in a 47.9 reading for November, indicating a potential incoming challenge for the world supply chains as we enter 2021.
Michael Guckes
Chief Economist & Director of Analytics, Gardner Intelligence
Combining Customized Software with CMM Reduces Production Bottleneck
In order to reduce downtime on its EDM and CNC machines when setting up new jobs, moldmaker Kavia Tooling turned to a coordinate measuring machine from Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence to create an offline zero transfer system ahead of the manufacturing process for parts and electrodes.
2020 Sourcing & Technology Guide: Inspection/Measurement
MoldMaking Technology’s annual Technology Review and Sourcing Guide is a comprehensive guide for researching today’s technology, equipment, products and services with 11 sections, including Inspection/Measurement.
Improve Overall Inspection with Automated Measurement
Automated shop floor inspection and measurement technologies are leading mold builders to smart manufacturing.
Discover How to Use ISO Metrics to Measure Business Success
Using ISO metrics to set objectives that you can measure will help grow your business.
MMT Chats: Bottle Expertise Gives Way to Test Kit Work
MoldMaking Technology’s Christina Fuges chats with some of the M.C. Molds team—Vice President of Operations Dave Keesaer, Sales Manager Eric West and General Manager of Manufacturing Joe Palazzolo—about current business levels, employee safety and morale, and recent and upcoming COVID-19 tooling projects that capitalize on the shop’s extrusion blow mold specialty.
How to Design and Analyze the Right Clamping System
The use of innovative clamping systems to optimize the moldmaking production process requires consideration of five factors based on Industry 4.0 principles.
How to Transfer Quality Training from a Cost Center to a Profit Center
To succeed with product quality and quality training shops must measure quality at the source, process improvements, waste, cost, productivity, sales and other key performance indicators.
How to Design High-Efficiency Capabilities into an Injection Mold/Molding System
Mold builders can boost profits and part quality with expert analysis and optimization techniques.
3 Lessons Learned about On-Machine Inspection
A prototyping specialist shares its success with on-machine inspection that it believes can apply to many shops.
RFP Fringe Probe Increases Flexibility of 5-Axis System
Renishaw Inc. outlines the advantages of its RFP fringe probe, designed for use with the REVO five-axis measurement system on coordinate measuring machines.
MMT Chats: Vials for the Vaccine/Antibody Testing
COVID has made work a little more challenging but it is also teaching teams “to do things a little bit differently” so they can turn jobs around a lot faster. MMT Editorial Director Christina Fuges chatted with one Illinois mold builder and molder who did not take on PPE, but instead, focused on tooling for vials used to collect DNA for vaccine/antibody development.
Moldflow Analysis Solves Part Design Concerns
CAE Services uses Moldflow to analyze, identify and solve part design or warpage related concerns before cutting steel.
Coordinate Metrology Society Launches 3DMU Learning Portal
The Coordinate Metrology Society announces their newest training asset, 3D Measurement U, an online video training resource for the organization, educators and metrology practitioners, in partnership with Quality Digest.