U.S. ISM Manufacturing Index is scheduled for release on 1st of April and is likely to mirror the upbeat tone in the various regional manufacturing sector indicators. Details are likely to show key forward-looking indicators such as the employment and new orders have shifted firmly into expansionary territory.

Underscoring the exceptional opportunity available to young professionals in global technology and advanced manufacturing careers, SME is recognizing 16 Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineers from industry and academia to be honored for career achievement.

The hybrid manufacturing approach is fairly simple; use additive and subtractive manufacturing together, with the goal of creating a superior finished piece.

Explore a gearbox from elements other than the gears including seals, lubrication, lubricants, housings, breathers, and other details.

The manufacturing sector has begun to show signs that it is stabilizing after months of softness, as discussed in last week’s report, providing us with a glimmer of optimism moving forward.

Although Gov. Rick Scott failed to achieve most of his ambitious tax-cutting initiative in the 2016 session, he did win a significant victory aimed at helping a key element of Florida’s economy.

As part of the tax package (HB 7099), which Scott had not received as of Friday morning, House and Senate members overwhelmingly supported the governor’s call for permanently exempting manufacturers from paying the state sales tax on industrial machinery and equipment purchases.

The portion of the U.S. population working or looking for jobs — known as the labor force participation rate — has risen to 62.9% from 62.4% since September, Labor Department figures show. The rate had been falling since 2008, mostly because of baby boomer retirements, and that's still expected to be the long-term trend.

A reading of manufacturing activity in Texas rose more than expected this month, joining the list of a number of other regional gauges that have recently rebounded. The Dallas Fed manufacturing index was reported at -13.6 for March. 

This seminar provides the gear design engineer with a broad understanding of the methods used to manufacture and inspect gears and how the resultant information can be applied and interpreted in the design process.

An automotive parts manufacturer is planning to expand its Greater Cincinnati facility. Pacific Manufacturing Ohio plans to add 72,000 square feet to its plant on Seward Road in Fairfield to expand its stamping operation that creates body frames and engines for automotive manufacturers like Toyota.

The phrase "smart manufacturing" has been heard everywhere this past year, and has become part of every discussion related to manufacturers’ need for a manufacturing execution system (MES) or manufacturing operations management (MOM). Some might be under the impression that smart manufacturing has done away with the need for MES to support the coordination of operations processes, but in my opinion that is not the case.

In Southern California, manufacturing work is becoming increasingly specialized, and industry leaders say job seekers often lack technical skills to land a job.

Commercial real estate services firm Transwestern recently released a study that claims crane-served industrial buildings are at 10 percent vacancy or less as the economy has picked up and the automotive industry is seeing record vehicle sales. These buildings feature massive overhead bridge cranes to maneuver heavy materials or large, unwieldy products. In most of the country, the buildings are used by the steel industry, serving automotive manufacturers and suppliers.

A team of researchers from universities and federal laboratories believe that a palm tree-inspired design could be crucial to developing more efficient offshore wind energy. The turbine concept would place massive blades on the downwind side of wind towers and be comprised of segments that could adjust to reduce stress during high winds.

Illinois Material Handling, a member of Wolter Group LLC, has announced the appointment of Pat Ryan as Vice President – General Manager of its Bolingbrook, Illinois, facility.

For manufacturers in any industry, high quality and consistent, reliable performance are top priorities. Traditionally, the quality control department serves as the arbiter of that quality and consistency, working to ensure that only the highest quality finished products make it out the door and that any mistakes or sub-par production outcomes are identified and addressed.

With the increasing use of systems that collect and analyze information from every process in a plant, we can digitally follow a product all the way from its inception to design to manufacture to use to re-design or obsolescence. That’s the digital thread.

The Digital Manufacturing Design & Innovation Institute has set out to help remake factories across the U.S. for the digital age. A big part of pushing the transformation along: figuring out what to do with all of the old-school lathes, veteran milling machines and other pieces of relatively out-of-date equipment still humming away on shop floors.

After a brutal period of downsizing and reorganizing, the U.S. manufacturing sector has become the most competitive in the world. Output per worker is higher than in any other major manufacturing country. Labor costs per unit of output are lower than in Brazil, Canada and Germany, and only slightly higher than in China. What's more, writes Gregory Daco of Oxford Economics in the new reportfrom which the above facts are taken, "the U.S. is 'gifted' with a stable regulatory framework, a flexible labor market, low energy costs and access to a large domestic market."

A new U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) program designed to spur the use of high-performance supercomputers to advance U.S. manufacturing is now seeking a second round of proposals from industry to compete for approximately $3 million in new funding.

Layoffs of nearly 300 people at the Nabisco bakery on Chicago's Southwest Side take effect today. The smell of Oreos wafting through the air in Marquette Park was once something neighbors could simply enjoy. Now, those Oreos – and the jobs that go along with them – have become a call to action.