Thirty prospective machinists will have their tuition paid at the E-Team program, an adult machinist training project  housed at Lynn Vocational Technical Institute. The program won more than $145,000 in grants from the Advanced Manufacturing Training Program that will pay tuition for 30 students, part of a $1.5 million Massachusetts state grant.

Pitt recently inked a deal to lease 11,500-square feet in the 150,000-square-foot former Westinghouse manufacturing facility on Susquehanna Street, where the university will offer hands-on training in advanced machine tools and computer-aided manufacturing. The first 15-week class is expected to form in February or March with up to 14 students.

The AGMA Fall Technical Meeting will be held in conjunction with Gear Expo 2017 this October in Columbus, OH. The submission deadline for this event has been extended to January 8, 2017.

Australian manufacturing ended 2016 solidly, with strength in new sales and exports. However, there was evidence of growing weakness in employment. The Australian Industry Group’s performance of manufacturing index rose 1.2 points in December from November to 55.4 points, indicating activity expanded over the month.

The China Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers' index, a private gauge of nationwide factory activity, rose to 51.9 in December from 50.9 in November--avoiding contractionary territory for a sixth straight month--Caixin Media Co. and research firm Markit said Tuesday. The figure marked the strongest upturn in Chinese manufacturing conditions since January 2013.

Last week, President Barack Obama signed the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a bill setting policy for all activities at the Department of Defense (DOD). Buried within the 969 pages of legislation (S. 2943) is a manufacturing engineering education program to be run by the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

AGMA
Learn what is required for the design of an optimum gear set and the importance of the coordinated effort of the gear design engineer, the gear metallurgist and the bearing system engineer. Investigate gear-related problems, failures and improved processing procedures.

ODG, a world leader in precision gears and transmissions, has announced the acquisition of Groupe Trudo Inc. and Engrenax Hydraulix Inc. Groupe Trudo Inc. (Trudo) in Richmond and Engrenax Hydraulix Inc. in Granby both operate in Quebec, the combined facilities total 100,000 square feet.  The companies have many long-standing OEM customers in the agricultural and construction markets. The acquisition furthers ODG’s gear manufacturing capabilities and gives the company expertise in bevel gears, spline rolling, heat treating and forging.  The acquisition will also facilitate growth in custom gearbox solutions.

Employment in manufacturing peaked in the late 1970s at over 19 million. Since then, despite occasional positive bumps, manufacturing employment has shown a long-term secular decline. Today, fewer than 13 million workers are employed in factory jobs. This long-run, large scale decline in employment is largely attributable to automation and the offshoring of jobs to low-wage countries. 

More good news is heading for American manufacturing next year: Both Tesla and Panasonic decided to create hundreds of jobs and begin production at a factory in Buffalo, NY, according to a recent statement.

Manufacturing employment in the U.S. has been on the decline since the late 1970s. Trade with China and other countries has played a role in that, but probably not the biggest role.

Paul Krugman ponders a recent critique of his trade-and-jobs analysis  by Forbes' Tim Worstall. According to Krugman, Worstall seems strangely unable to grasp what that he is and isn't doing, as he addresses the sectoral mix of employment, having fewer manufacturing and more service jobs.

In a city with such manufacturing history as Milwaukee, industry is always a big part of the discussion. In 2016, that discussion in the region has in many ways reflected the talk across the country. 

Amazon has filed a patent for flying warehouses that could use a fleet of drones to make deliveries to customers. A U.S. patent document filed in 2014 describes giant airships as "airborne fulfilment centers" (AFCs) that could be stationed above metropolitan areas and used to store and quickly deliver items at times of high demand, using drones dispatched directly from the airship.

The World Economic Forum estimates solar and wind are now the same price or cheaper than fossil fuels in more than 30 countries.

Remember when you had to line up rides to the airport the day before? Or have to ask all of your friends to help you move? That was the worst. Luckily the Gig-Economy movement has arrived. Need a ride? Take an Uber. Need help moving, or some errands done around the house? Hire someone on TaskRabbit. Need someone to redo your website? Find a developer on Upwork.

Manufacturing.net
The fact that mobile technology has changed the face of marketing for manufacturers is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that Apple currently ranks first  in Industryweek’s list of the best U.S. manufacturers. 

At General Electric Co.’s 2017 outlook event this month, CEO Jeff Immelt was asked how he can get investors to appreciate the company’s new digital transformation and 3-D printing investments. His response: It "makes a s---load more sense than Six Sigma did."

U.S. Steel Corp.  said it will restart production at an idled plant and call back employees following an agreement to supply iron-ore pellets to third-party customers.