Articles
The Lead
NI Strengthens FIRST Partnership For Better STEM Education
April 30, 2013 | by Joel Hans, Managing Editor, Manufacturing.net | Comments
NI believes work with organizations like FIRST has already made inroads in improving STEM education and desire to pursue science- or engineering-based careers. NI itself is already starting to hire FIRST alumni, and Hsu says they’re better prepared for the engineering world than those who didn’t participate in the program.
Will 3D Printing Save The ‘TechBelt’?
September 24, 2012 8:36 am | by Joel Hans, Managing Editor, Manufacturing.net | Comments
The “TechBelt” region has been hit hard by the recession, with numerous plant closures and the...
Black & Denim: Aiming To Revive American Textiles
March 11, 2013 10:52 am | by Joel Hans, Managing Editor, Manfuacturing.net | Comments
Black & Denim, based out of Tampa, Florida, is working...
The ‘mini’ Future Of Education
April 10, 2013 3:55 pm | by Joel Hans, Managing Editor, Manufacturing.net | Comments
"I think the profession of teaching is an incredibly important one, and by and large, I think...
Does Your Storeroom Database Do This?
May 20, 2013 10:36 am | by Mike Dyson and James Rogers, Storeroom Solutions, Inc. | CommentsQuite simply, if you can’t be sure about finding the right parts at the right time, you are putting planned maintenance compliance, if not the performance of the whole plant, at risk. Many maintenance technicians address this risk by keeping their own unofficial and potentially unauthorized stores; the practice is so common that many plants have an “amnesty day” when technicians can safely reveal those “private” stashes of parts.
Fix Your Enterprise Application Performance Issues — Before They Fix You
May 17, 2013 2:07 pm | by Kieran Taylor, Director of Product Marketing, Compuware APM | CommentsDue to the importance of the work and functions they support, fast, reliable enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications are the lifeblood of a well-oiled manufacturing business. However, heightened end-user expectations combined with the increased complexity of modern application delivery environments make it very difficult to ensure strong performance.
The Power And Profitability Of eNewsletters
May 17, 2013 9:29 am | by Curtis M. Alexander | CommentsPound for pound — it’s tough to beat what a good, consistent electronic newsletter (i.e., enewsletter) can do for your business. This isn’t just my experience, either. Recent industry surveys have shown a 20 percent increase in leads that convert to sales and an increased average purchase price by 47 percent.
Don’t Give In To Bird Activity At Your Facility
May 17, 2013 8:08 am | by Patrick T. Copps, MS, B.C.E., Technical Services Manager, Orkin, LLC | CommentsAlthough some birds are beautiful creatures to watch, others are considered pests that can wreak havoc on your property and products. There are three types of birds in particular that you should discuss with your pest management provider: pigeons, sparrows and starlings.
The Ten Commandments Of Industrial Ethernet
May 17, 2013 8:02 am | by Mike Fahrion, Director of Product Management, B&B Electronics | CommentsA Wi-Fi-enabled computer can connect to multiple networks at the same time. Your employees can give a hacker a pathway into your internal network simply by powering up a laptop. Imagine the mess an eco-terrorist could make if he didn’t like the look of your smokestack.
The Hidden Cost Of Summer Heat
May 16, 2013 2:29 pm | by Megan Browning, Big Ass Fans | CommentsUncomfortable working conditions lead to heat-related illnesses and decreased productivity, which negatively affect the bottom line of the business. When working conditions become distracting and debilitating to workers, personal comfort must be addressed to regain lost productivity.
Attracting Talent: A Lesson In Battling Perception
May 16, 2013 1:09 pm | by Maria Ferrante, Vice President, Education & Workforce Development, PMMI | CommentsDespite the common preconceived notion that increasingly automated operations are eliminating opportunities in the manufacturing sector, the widespread adoption of advanced production technologies is actually creating opportunities — and demand — for more skilled professionals. But where do we find them?
Where Has All The Training Gone?
May 15, 2013 11:53 am | by Robert Allen and Kathleen Bellemare, Connecticut Spring & Stamping | CommentsTraining for skilled manufacturing positions has been hit by a perfect storm of budget cuts and the mistaken idea that all young workers should go to college. At Connecticut Spring & Stamping (CSS), the situation had become so desperate that to meet its capacity and continue to grow, the company has had to replace formerly state-funded training with its own programs.
Corporations Kill Eagles
May 14, 2013 3:29 pm | by Mike Rainone, Co-Founder, PCDworks | CommentsIn spite of years of corporate hype over invention and creativity, and the millions spent on seminars, training, and corporate consultants, big corporations have found that they can be neither innovative nor creative. I suspect that a consultant must have told someone that one of the requirements for innovation is to internally foster entrepreneurship.
Engineering Answers: The Bionic Dragonfly
May 14, 2013 3:20 pm | by Melissa Fassbender, Associate Editor, PD&D | CommentsAfter successfully mimicking bird flight with the SmartBird, which is inspired by the herring gull, and can start, fly, and land autonomously – with no additional drive mechanism, the developers at the Bionic Learning Network took on their next big challenge, modeling the dragonfly at a technical level.
Pest Birds And Corrosive Droppings
May 14, 2013 2:04 pm | by Chrissy Hansen, Bird-X Media Correspondent | CommentsPest birds cost individuals and businesses millions of dollars each year in clean-up expenses, repairs, and damaged equipment. Some large industrial facilities spend as much as six figures to combat pest bird problems. Facility managers must understand the important of implementing a preventative bird control program as means of reducing these costs.
Business Agility In The Evolving Workforce
May 14, 2013 1:55 pm | by Bob Dean, Executive Director, Business Transformation, Cisco | CommentsEighty five percent of companies with global supply chains experienced at least one supply chain disruption in the previous 12 months. Risk is inherently unpredictable. Fortunately, the current workforce is undergoing its own transformation to be able to identify and manage risk on a global basis.
Raising The Bar
May 13, 2013 6:14 pm | by Krystal Gabert, Editor, Food Manufacturing | CommentsMcNamara estimates that Hearthside currently has over 100 contracts that govern their business, with 80 to 85 percent of the business devoted to contract manufacturing. When acquiring new businesses, in many cases Hearthside also acquired the clients previously contracted with the facilities being purchased.
Don’t Get Wrapped Too Tight
May 13, 2013 12:15 pm | by Greg Cober, Altra Industrial Motion Product Training Manager | CommentsThese features make wrap spring clutch/brakes excellent for applications that require the same movement every cycle. Common installations are on labelers, imprinters, die-cutters, staplers and index systems. In each case the unit must move the same distance every cycle.
Respect For Trial & Error, & Success
May 13, 2013 8:09 am | by Alan Nicol, Executive Member, AlanNicolSolutions | CommentsThroughout the various realms of product development, innovation, and process improvement we experience similar differences in preference. It seems that many prefer to find ways to model the problem or the solution and run simulations to arrive at an answer; the minority will prototype, test, and experiment.
Fibrelite Covers Pass The Test
May 10, 2013 2:02 pm | by Fibrelite | CommentsFibrelite introduced the lightweight composite manhole cover for use at gasoline service stations in the early 1980s and has continued to develop innovative product designs to meet the needs of a changing industry. Fibrelite currently offers the retail petroleum industry’s leading watertight composite covers.
Should Engineers Be Licensed: A Process Improvement Perspective
May 10, 2013 7:56 am | by Alan Nicol, Executive Member, AlanNicolSolutions | CommentsLicensed practice is commonplace or mandatory in other fields, particularly construction, medicine and law, so should those individuals handily responsible for most every article we use every day also be given greater accountability for the science they practice?
Q&A: Maintaining A U.S. Manufacturing Presence
May 9, 2013 1:48 pm | by Lindsey Jahn, Associate Editor, Food Manufacturing | CommentsFood Manufacturing spoke with Roger Kilmer of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) about the importance of maintaining a strong manufacturing presence in the United States, and what resources are available to domestic manufacturers.
The U.S. Market & Design For Test
May 9, 2013 8:52 am | by W. Scott Fillebrown, President & CEO of ACD | CommentsBecause many high-volume printed circuit assemblies are sent outside the United States, it is challenging to test the lower volume/high turnover assemblies domestically. But this does not need to be a problem — some simple planning and the right contract manufacturer (CM) can solve this issue.
Preventing Discharge Damage: Conductive Rolling Bearing Greases
May 8, 2013 2:23 pm | by Heiko Stache, Manager Business Unit – Bearing Technology & Sabine Petri, Product Manager, Klüber Lubrication | CommentsWhether in the plastics, textile or motion control industries, damage caused by electric discharge is a well-known issue, and today it is more prevalent than ever. It primarily affects rolling bearings in machines susceptible to static charging.
