Featured Stories - Articles - Page 72

More Reasons to Reshore

June 3, 2013

Recent headlines have provided stark reminders that cheap manufactured goods from overseas often come at the expense of human lives.

Rotary Table Bears Heavy Load for Small-Lot Welding System

May 1, 2013

Well known for its engineering expertise, The EDAG Group develops vehicles and production systems for auto manufacturers all over the world. In conjunction with FFT EDAG, its sister company, The EDAG Group also creates complete production facilities for body in white modeling and vehicle assembly.

Assembling Next-Generation Batteries

Manufacturers are scrambling to increase production yields.

Austin Weber

May 1, 2013

Batteries are an environmentally friendly form of energy with fewer pollution and disposal issues than other green technologies.

What’s New With Air Presses

Servo-driven presses may have gained market share in recent years, but there’s still plenty of work for pneumatic and hydropneumatic presses on assembly lines.

John Sprovieri

May 1, 2013

When David J. Zabrosky, North American sales manager for Schmidt Technology, gets a call from a customer asking for a servo-driven assembly press, the first question he asks is, “Why?”

The Challenge of Flexibility in Leak Testing

Market conditions demand manufacturers use equipment that accommodates, and accurately tests, a wider variety of parts.

Jim Camillo

May 1, 2013

Regardless of their location or industry, manufacturers are demanding more from leak test equipment than ever before. Tough economic times and increased competition require companies to use equipment that not only provides accuracy and repeatability, but accommodates a wider variety of parts.

Optimizing Parts Bin Layout

Engineers must minimize excessive movement while maximizing productivity.

Austin Weber

May 1, 2013

Parts bins have been synonymous with assembly lines ever since the mass-production process was pioneered by Ford Motor Co. engineers 100 years ago.

Considerations for Selecting Vision Systems

In the first of a series of primer articles on machine vision, the author starts with the most important component—the camera.

Nathan Cohen

May 1, 2013

Vision systems can help manufacturers reduce scrap, increase yield and discover better ways to assemble products.

Manufacturers Save Energy

John Sprovieri

May 1, 2013

In April, electronics assembler Mack Technologies completed work on a substantial installation of money-saving technology at its factory in Westford, MA. The company didn’t get a new paste printer, reflow oven or pick-and-place machine. In fact, the plant’s slick new technology had nothing to do with assembly.

BYU Engineers Push Product Design Boundaries

Traditionally, automobiles, lawn mowers, airplanes, dishwashers and other products contain a wide variety of rigid parts connected by joints that are designed to be strong and stiff.

Austin Weber

May 1, 2013

Compliant mechanisms are jointless, elastic structures that reduce costs and simplify product designs. These single-piece flexible structures elastically deform without joints to produce a desired functionality.

Injection Molder Welcomes Adaptive Robot to Factory Floor

May 1, 2013

Kids have loved robots and toys for generations. The Rodon Group has decided that now is the perfect time for a robot named Baxter to help pack toys in the company’s highly automated manufacturing facility.