The October Manufacturing PMI^® registered 59.3%, up 3.9 percentage points from September reading of 55.4% and the highest since September 2018 (59.3%). This figure indicates expansion in the overall economy for the sixth month in a row after a contraction in April, which ended a period of 131 consecutive months of growth.

Grategy
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CNBC
The Caixin/Markit Purchasing Manager’s Index for Chinese manufacturing came in at 53.6 for October, better than the 53.0 forecast by analysts in Reuters poll. The latest reading with the highest since January 2011, the survey results showed.

Yahoo! Finance
U.S. economic activity surged at a record clip for the July through September period, as an initial easing of virus-related lockdowns allowed businesses activity to return after a historic slump.

AGMA
Technology is fundamentally changing the way manufacturing is done. The gear industry is faced with emerging trends and innovation that is challenging engineers to stay in course with cutting-edge technology to keep design quality, materials and analysis efficient. It is imperative that researchers and gear engineers communicate ideas with fellow experts in the field. AGMA’s annual Fall Technical Meeting (FTM) is the perfect forum in which to share research and to disperse knowledge for the benefit of the industry at a global level.

Manufacturing Business Technology
Caterpillar’s sales fell 23% in the third quarter as the pandemic throttled demand for construction equipment and a trade war with China continues to create headwinds. The company still managed to top Wall Street expectations, despite rising COVID-19 infections that hamper almost all sectors, including construction.

Modern Machine Shop
New software sparks new thinking about meeting quality certification requirements without stifling growth. 

Thomas Net
Power solutions provider Cummins is investing further into an Indiana plant that is considered the company’s global high-horsepower headquarters. Columbus, Indiana-based Cummins said it will invest more than $25 million into its Seymour Engine Plant (SEP) over the next several years, creating and retaining more than 150 jobs over the next 5 to 10 years.

Drone Life
The three-year Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Integration Pilot Program (IPP) has ended as of October 25. Now, the program will move to a next phase, named Beyond. “The nine state, local and tribal governments that participated in the program have signed new agreements with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to continue to tackle remaining UAS integration challenges,” say a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announcement. 

Aviation Today
Capua, Italy-based general aviation aircraft maker Tecnam has partnered with Rolls-Royce to develop the P-Volt, an all-electric regional aircraft that the two manufacturers envision flying an assortment of different missions ranging from passenger operations to medical evacuation and cargo. According to an Oct. 23 press release, Tecnam is also partnering with several North American and European airlines for the development of the P-Volt. Tecnam envisions P-Volt featuring enough seating capacity for up to nine passengers, with all-electric motors, avionics, heating, and air conditioning systems as well.

Chicago Tribune
A Canadian train manufacturer is looking to lease space at a former Caterpillar plant in Kendall County, Illinois, as it competes for a contract to build rail cars for Metra that could result in 300 jobs. If awarded the contract, the transportation division of Montreal-based Bombardier would use a portion of the plant to manufacture rail cars compatible with Metra’s diesel locomotives.

Thomas Net
While lean manufacturing figures to always be a set of principles that supply chain leaders will follow, a new report suggests that executives will move toward prioritizing stability and resilience over lean when it comes to their operations amid and after the pandemic eventually subsides.

Business Wire
Having already helped almost 250 new customers around the world to achieve their digital transformation goals, PTC and Rockwell Automation announced today the expansion and early extension of their strategic alliance. This extension will ensure continuity in both companies’ sales and product development efforts and expand the agreement to include PTC’s product lifecycle management and software-as-a-Service (SaaS) products. This expansion will streamline both companies’ commercial efforts to extend a comprehensive digital thread solution, from upfront design through the operate, maintain and optimize-lifecycle stages. 

Robotics and Automation News
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is modernizing its Hannover factory and is installing state-of-the-art facilities to build the all-electric ID. 

3D Printing Media Network
Fabrisonic has become known for 3D printing unique features in the additive manufacturing (AM) space due to its use of Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing (UAM). The process’s key benefits include combining dissimilar metals, creating parts with complex internal geometries, and embedding sensors into solid metal parts.

Forbes
Has manufacturing missed out on an entire generation of skilled workers? In Connecticut, manufacturing is a major player in the economy — bringing 161,000 jobs, $14.9 billion in wages and $123 million in corporate income tax to the state. It’s too big to fail, but the state’s manufacturing training structures have atrophied. 

Industrial Machinery Digest
Like all manufactured parts, cutting tools require technical drawings to make a design a reality. Best practice for cutting tool manufacturers emphasizes the importance of a tool drawing that is detailed, clear and precise. Tool drawings are essential for many reasons — besides serving as a reference for operators to produce tools accurately and consistently, they also provide a record of the tool and enable
revision control. Drawings are also predominantly used when recommending designs to customers for quoting purposes. 

Automotive World
Dana Incorporated announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase a portion of the thermal-management business of Modine Manufacturing Company’s automotive segment. 

Additive Manufacturing
Are additives a solution whose full promise is yet to be realized for additive manufacturing (AM)? Almost certainly yes, says Ed Malison, business development manager with NSG, provider of glass flake additives. As AM expands into more and more plastics production, finding ways to incorporate additives into raw stock such as 3D printing filament will become increasingly valuable.

3D Printing Media Network
Binder jetting 3D printer manufacturer ExOne has been chosen to develop binder jet 3D printing processes for a novel steel alloy for the United States’ Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).
ExOne was awarded the contract by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) to qualify AF-9628, a high-strength steel produced by the U.S. Air Force, for binder jetting.

Smart Industry
COVID-19 has harshly impacted many industries, and industrial manufacturing has proven to be one of them as 80% of manufacturers expect the pandemic to have a financial impact on their business and a majority of those in the sector believe the pandemic will affect operations. Due to the onset of challenges over the past six months, companies have had to pivot, refocus and adapt their production lines in order to survive and keep up with customer demands. 

AGMA
We have enlisted the help of marketing subject matter experts who, with AGMA staff, will present six webinars for the power transmission industry. This series is an outcome of AGMA’s strategic plan that includes providing industry the tools to succeed at marketing their goods and services. The goal of the webinars is to provide member and non-members with tangible resources that they can useThe next webinar is “You don’t have to do it alone: How to outsource your marketing strategy,” November 11 at 1:00 p.m.