Ohio’s manufacturing economy is showing no signs of a let down. That’s because manufacturing jobs in the state have increased for the fourth consecutive year, according to Manufacturing News Inc.

These and other insights are from IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Manufacturing 2016 Predictions published last month. IDC’s analysts combined primary and secondary research, discussions with clients, colleagues, and experts on manufacturing IT spending and investments in defining these top ten predictions. For an excellent analysis of IDC’s top technology predictions for 2016, please see fellow Forbes contributor Gill Press’ analysis Transform Or Die: IDC’s Top Technology Predictions For 2016.

February 24-26, 2016

Sheraton Sand Key Resort, Clearwater Beach, FL

The design of an optimum gear set requires the coordinated effort of the gear design engineer, the gear metallurgist, and the bearing system engineer. The instructors of this course are a gear design engineer and a metallurgist who have worked collaboratively on projects for more than 40 years. Learn the roles of each of these professionals and how collaborative efforts can provide better outcomes. Additional information on gear-related problems, failures, and improved processing procedures will be reviewed.

The second annual A.T. Kearney U.S. Reshoring Index shows that for the fourth consecutive year, reshoring of manufacturing operations to the United States has once again failed to keep up with offshoring. In 2015, the Index dropped to -115, down from -30 in 2014, and represents the largest year-over-year decrease in the last 10 years.

Undoubtedly, 2015 will go down in the history books as one of the worst years on record for mining companies, hit by record-low commodities prices that forced them to axe jobs, dividends, production and sell assets.

Before introducing cloud-based computing in 2013 and 2014, Evansville, Indiana-based Accuride Corp. managed its multi-facility manufacturing operation with a system that seems, in retrospect, primitive and cumbersome. 

Factory activity in New York shrank for the fifth straight month in December, forcing significant job cuts.

The New York Federal Reserve's Empire State manufacturing index, released last Tuesday, did improve but stayed in negative territory. It moved up to minus 4.6, from minus 10.7. Any figure below zero indicates contraction.

AGMA
Each year, the Fall Technical Meeting (FTM) provides an outstanding opportunity to share ideas with others in the gear industry on design, analysis, manufacturing and application of gears, gear drives and related products, as well as associated processes and procedures. Authors have the opportunity to present the results of their work to an audience of knowledgeable professionals from the United States and around the world, and to participate in discussions with that audience. Papers should be original to the AGMA audience (not a previously published paper), technically accurate, relevant, and free of commercialism.

Ford Motor Company recently announced it is investing an additional $4.5 billion in electrified vehicles by 2020. It includes the new Focus Electric with all-new DC fast-charge capability, which delivers an 80 percent charge in an estimated 30 minutes and projected 100-mile range.

Lately, it has become apparent that there are more and more creative uses for tablet computers in manufacturing operations. The versatility of these devices, as well as widespread availability of clever applications (more commonly referred to as apps), can simplify almost any task. 

Allied Machine & Engineering will appear on "Manufacturing Marvels," a 2-minute spotlight seen nationally on The Fox Business Network. The production will be shown on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015, at approximately 9:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

NASA opened its astronaut-application website Monday and is accepting applications through Feb. 18.Contenders need to be U.S. citizens with a bachelor's degree in science, math or engineering. Expect intense competition: More than 6,000 Americans applied for NASA's last astronaut class in 2013, with only eight picked. After all, it's an elite club, numbering only in the 300s since its inception.

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering and Clemson University announced last week they have developed a hybrid "4-D printed" composite material that can reconfigure itself multiple times into different shapes when exposed to different light and/or heat. According to the researchers, the real significance of the work is that they designed "a single composite that creates access to a range of dynamic responses and structures."

GE Aviation recently announced that testing is underway on the first demonstration core for the GE9X engine that will power the Boeing 777X aircraft. The GE9X engine contains several unique technologies and advanced material in the core: including a combustor with 3-D printed fuel nozzle tips and a new combustor dome design, as well as an ultra-lightweight, heat-resistant ceramic matrix composite (CMC) inner and outer liners.

3D printing is revolutionizing the way objects are created, from plastic toys to ceramic dental crowns. But the seemingly boundless possibilities of 3D printing technology have one major limitation — the printers themselves, which are large, bulky, and stationary.

For years now there has been lots of discussion — and action — around promoting STEM careers and generally boosting the idea of getting kids interested in an industrial career of one sort or another. Though major strides have been made in this area, few would say there isn’t much work that remains to be done. The reason: Technically-oriented young people still tend to gravitate more toward consumer technology companies when thinking about careers.

Just as disruptive technologies can create groundbreaking new products, they can also create new ways of making those products. As manufacturing goes digital, such changes are spurring an industrial revolution that could have as much impact as the advent of the assembly line.