A Center of Excellence: ACI Spurs Industry through Research and Training

By Mike Prestoy, Senior Manufacturing Engineer, ACI Technologies
Uniquely valuable to the electronics manufacturing community, ACI Technologies operates the U.S. Navy's center of excellence in electronics manufacturing. The EMPF (electronics manufacturing productivity facility) focuses on the development, application and transfer of new electronics ...

Man-Robot Collaboration is Reinventing Manufacturing

By Sebastien Schmitt, Robotics Division Manager, Stäubli North America
It's not man against machine, but man and machine working together that is promising to redefine performance in today's industrial factories. Increasingly, robots are being tasked with harsh, dangerous and repetitive jobs that are not fit for humans. As manufacturers look for new ways ...

	Holoptica and Loftware Prevent Counterfeiting with Holographic Barcodes


	By George Perkous, CEO, Holoptica, and Josh Roffman, VP Product Management, Loftware Barcode labeling has been largely a manual, time-consuming, expensive, one-off type of process. Box software applications, used on a site-by-site basis, have generally been point solutions that met a specific need or specific use case. However, the labeling process has moved from being application ...

	Schaeffler Partners with IBM to Create Cloud-Based Platform


	By Gerhard Baum, Chief Digital Officer, Schaeffler and Juergen Henn, Executive Partner, IBM Global Business Services The migration of data from isolated networks to the cloud is completely changing the way businesses operate and gather information about their products and customers. With recent advances made in the areas of big data and analytics, and in pure computing power, companies can now gather and leverage ...

	Siemens Upgrades Inert Technologies' Control Systems


	By Bill Ellsworth, Account Manager, Siemens Managing multiple PLCs from different manufacturers can introduce needless complexity into production. This is especially true when a company, like Inert Technologies, creates highly-customized solutions for each of its OEM customers. Managing multiple controllers complicates procurement, manufacturing ...

	Libra Partners with Vizion Solutions for IT Overhaul


	By Jenn Kiminas Managing four world-class EMS facilities is a complex task. From its various locations Libra Industries must provide its customers with services that range from simple PCB production to complete system builds. In order to more effectively monitor and control all four facilities, the company partnered ...

Canine Protective Vest Maker Chooses Sonobond Equipment

By Melissa Alleman, Vice President, Sonobond Ultrasonics
When a Canadian manufacturer of protective vests for working dogs sought to guarantee that its canine users had personal protection comparable to that of their human counterparts, it added Sonobond's SeamMaster^® high-profile ultrasonic sewing machine to its manufacturing process. ...

	BellHawk Systems Provides WIP Tracking


	By Peter Green, CTO, BellHawk Systems Corp. When three electronics manufacturers approached BellHawk Systems looking for a WIP (work-in-progress) tracking system for quick-turn manufacturing operations in the U.S., they considered two options: RFID or barcodes. Each of these options had a similar problem; they were unable to track, in real ...

	Glenbrook's Micro-Fluoroscopy Aids in Dysphagia Research


	By Jim McMahon The University of Missouri School of Medicine research laboratory is now using a new system employing, high-resolution micro-fluoroscopy technology, developed and patented by Glenbrook Technologies, which enables researchers to view the swallowing function of mice while eating and drinking. This ...

	Staying Competitive in Today's Challenging Production Environment


	By Juli Fortune, EDSYN, Inc. Competition is generally good, however, it can strangle innovation and lead to a loss of focus as manufacturers strive only to produce "the next best thing." For companies that are driven by competition alone, the words of author Edward Abbey may prove alarmingly prophetic. "Where all think alike ...

	Finding the Perfect Partner


	By Terry Morgan, CEO, Voxvia All sizes of SMT equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and consumable materials makers will rely on a network of "channel partners" at some point. These partnerships take many forms, ranging from a one-man-band to countrywide distributers; or even super-distributors working across continents.

	Measuring Hard-Hitting Boxers in Training


	By Mike Skinner, Assistant Editor Popular in gyms and movies of prizefighters in training, the long, cylindrical punching bag has always looked the same. But the era of the naked punching bag may be drawing to a close. Now it can dress up in some special clothing, a form of wearable electronics containing sensors. The idea is to let ...

	3D Systems and Penn State Launch Partnership


	3D Systems, Inc. DARPA is pushing the envelope for developing the growing technology of direct 3D metal printing. In a display of technological foresight, 3D systems (3DS) and Pennsylvania State University have partnered to support the U.S. aerospace and defense industry in the adoption of direct metal printing. The ...

Creating Designs in Half the Time

Thomas Besser (left), Team Leader for the CAE Centre of Excellence for BilfingerGreyLogic, explains that a good portion of a design project can be handled with the help of an automated design process and tools like the EEC One software from EPLAN.

By Ed Sullivan
Gaining competitive advantages may not come easy for a manufacturer of complex control cabinets. But by automating their design processes, BilfingerGreyLogix (www.greylogix.com), based in Flensburg, Germany, is cutting the time needed for schematic creation by one-half. The firm is working with the EEC One design software from Eplan (www.EPLAN.de) to save time without sacrificing design ingenuity and quality.

Ultrasonic Metal Tube Drawing System Produces Fine Internal Finishes

By Janet Devine, President, Sonobond^® Ultrasonics
Fine finishes in metal tubing are essential in some applications, such as in the metal tubing used in medical syringe needles as well as for medical devices and tubing products used in many other industries to transport critical fluids. Fortunately, the Tube Drawing System and related ...

	Profiting with Full Capacity Injection Molders


	By Ed Sullivan Manufacturers that use injection molders to produce components or assemblies are finding that they can gain significant competitive advantages when they do business with a domestic shop that offers a full spectrum of services under one roof. Among those potential advantages are: improved mold design ...

	Selecting the Magazine Handler, a Critical Production Choice


	By Ed Sullivan Choosing the right magazine handlers can significantly improve throughput and accuracy in the processing of microelectronic components. Sometimes making a decision about what may be considered "ancillary" production equipment can make an enormous difference to the bottom line and product quality. The choice of magazine unloading and loading handlers is often such a momentous decision. The efficient and accurate handling of semiconductor and microelectronic components can make a significant difference in the quality and cost of assembly, particularly in high-production environments.

More User-Friendly Laser Tracking Systems

By Dietmar Scharf, FRAMOS GmbH
High-tech businesses set high-performance expectations for portable coordinate-measuring devices used for controls and quality assurance (QA) in their manufacturing plants. By integrating innovative camera and sensor technologies from FRAMOS GmbH (www.framos.com), Leica Geosystems AG ...

	Vapor Phase Soldering: Advantages and Disadvantages


	By Patrick McWiggin, Technical Director, SolderStar Ltd., Lancashire, U.K. Vapor-phase (VP) soldering was once considered the preferred reflow soldering technology in the early days of assembling printed-circuit boards (PCBs) with surface-mount-technology (SMT) components. VP soldering provides excellent heat transfer and can heat large circuit areas quickly and evenly, ...

Avoid Redesign By Proper Upfront Planning

By Ed Nakauchi, Technical Consultant, Orbel Corporation
The words "I wish we had thought about that when we started our design effort" can be heard every day when important questions haven't been addressed during the development of a precision metal part. Whenever a new project is started, those responsible for delivering the new product ...