IndustryWeek The shop floor is rapidly changing as it evolves from a place bound by hands-on labor and interpersonal communication skills to an environment of smart machines that collect and analyze data, captured in real-time, to provide valuable insights into the manufacturing process. Meanwhile, the skills gap widens as advanced manufacturing firms struggle to find and train workers with the skills they need to keep pace with the technological-industrial revolution.
Visit http://www.industryweek.com/education-training/how-prepare-your-workforce-smart-manufacturing to view the full article online.
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Detroit Free Press Detroit used to be rich in tool-and-die shops, the small family-run firms that created specialized tools and gadgets to cut and shape metal in the automotive and other industries. Many of the hundreds of such small tool shops have gone out of business, but their modern equivalent is 3D printing, an industry that could thrive in Detroit. The area’s entry into the industry is a company called EnvisionTEC, based in Dearborn. Founded by Lebanese immigrant Al Siblani, the firm makes printers ranging in price from $10,000 to $1 million.
Visit http://www.freep.com/story/money/business/columnists/2016/08/13/envisiontec-detroit-3d-printing-economy88621100/ to view the full article online.
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EurekAlert! For years, employers, pundits and policymakers alike have bemoaned the lack of qualified workers available to fill vacant manufacturing jobs in the U.S. Despite the prominence of the skills-gap debate, a new paper co-written by a University of Illinois expert in labor economics and workforce policy finds that the demand for higher-level skills in U.S. manufacturing jobs is generally modest.
Visit http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-08/uoia-sgf081516.php to view the full article online.
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IndustryWeek Accuride President and CEO Richard Dauch Dauch, who’s lead or helped lead three supplier restructurings, was part of a speakers' panel on the topic at the Center for Automotive Research's Management Briefing Seminars in early August. The other speakers, an analyst for a private equity firm and a financial advisor, talked about what the future held for mergers and acquisitions in the automotive supply chain.
Visit http://www.industryweek.com/change-management/three-restructurings-five-lessons-adventures-automotive-supply-chain to view the full article online.
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Boston Globe To some, they’re engineering marvels, the ultimate solution to precarious energy prices and dangerous levels of carbon emissions. To others, they’re expensive, blinking monstrosities that mar the pristine horizon and will prove a boondoggle for electricity customers. Yet over the past two weeks, the five massive wind turbines rising from the sea just off the southeastern bluffs of this small island — well within view of the pricey, cedar-shingled homes onshore — have claimed a landmark distinction: This fall, they are set to become the nation’s first offshore wind farm.
Visit http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/08/14/the-nation-first-offshore-wind-farm-takes-shape-off-block-island/243IxkMseo3fDuhI8gN3ML/story.html to view the full article online.
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Materials Handling & Logistics Over the next three years, a growing number of successful manufacturers will enhance their manufacturing processes with smart operations, a broader supply chain strategy that extends beyond the factory walls, according a UPS report, "The Rise of Smart Operations: Reaching New Levels of Operational Excellence."
Visit http://mhlnews.com/technology-automation/smart-operations-new-key-manufacturing-excellence to view the full article online.
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Nanowerk The entry of nanotechnology into manufacturing has been compared to the advent of earlier technologies that have profoundly affected modern societies, such as plastics, semiconductors, and even electricity.
Visit http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=44211.php to view the full article online.
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Mining.com Gold has enjoyed its best first half of the year performance since 1908 and silver's 48% surge is a big swing even for such a volatile metal, but the 2016 rally in industrial metals has been just as remarkable. Base metals are showing across the board gains year-to-date. Bellwether copper has been unable to break $5,000 decisively but is still ahead year-to-date while the likes of zinc (+41% at $2,280), tin (+27% at $18,440) and nickel (+24% at $10,770) have been stellar performers. Iron ore (+41% to $60) and coking coal (+34% ) have also come back strongly despite all predictions.
Visit http://www.mining.com/chart-shows-tough-mining-conditions-still/ to view the full article online.
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