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Manufacturing Business Technology Volvo will begin producing electric motors on all its cars from 2019, becoming the first traditional automaker to forgo the combustion engine altogether. The Swedish company, which has been making cars since 1927 and has in recent decades become famous for its station wagons and safety features, said Wednesday that the decision was prompted by the wishes of customers, describing it as "one of the most significant moves by any car maker."
Visit https://www.mbtmag.com/news/2017/07/volvo-first-major-carmaker-forgo-traditional-engines to view the full article online. |
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Advanced Manufacturing Machine tool orders rose in May as the industry recovers from a two-year slump, the Association of Manufacturing Technology said in a monthly report. Orders totaled $351.85 million for the month, AMT said. That’s up 3.1 percent from an adjusted $341.33 million for April and 22 percent increase from $288.92 million in May 2016.
Visit http://advancedmanufacturing.org/machine-tool-orders-rise-may/ to view the full article online. |
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Shopfloor – NAM The Treasury Department in a notice issued said it plans to propose reforms, including possible repeal, of eight sets of regulations issued in 2016 by the Obama Administration. Included on the list are four regulation projects of specific concern to manufacturers: Sec. 385 debt-equity rules, proposed rules on valuing minority interests in family-owned businesses, rules for calculating gains and losses on currency exchanges and regulations allowing contractors hired by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to fully participate in summons interviews and receive summoned documents.
Visit http://www.shopfloor.org/2017/07/treasury-opts-revisit-tax-regulations-causing-problems-manufacturers/ to view the full article online. |
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AGMA Learn the fundamentals of gear manufacturing in this hands-on course. Gain an understanding of gearing and nomenclature, principles of inspection, gear manufacturing methods, and hobbing and shaping.
Visit https://www.agma.org/education/advanced-courses/2017-basic-training-for-gear-manufacturing1/ to view the full article online. |
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National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) As we begin the second half of 2017, indicators continue to provide mixed messages about the current state of the U.S. economy. On the one hand, the labor market continues to show signs of strength, and the overall outlook for the international economy remains strong. The Federal Reserve has focused on those positive developments as it pursues normalization for monetary policy, both in interest rates and in the size of its balance sheet. Yet, other data points suggest that there is a lot of room for improvement for manufacturing activity.
Visit http://www.nam.org/Newsroom/eNewsletters/Monday-Economic-Report/ to view the full article online. |
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CNN Money The U.S. manufacturing index ISM rose to its highest level, 57.8 percent, since August 2014, according to a release published Monday. Production, employment and new orders all showed solid gains last month. Three key drivers behind the increase: a weakening dollar, rising global growth and a solid U.S. economy.
Visit http://money.cnn.com/2017/07/03/news/economy/manufacturing-ism/index.html to view the full article online. |
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Manufacturing Business Technology (Video) Eight rotors, two seats, $200,000 — this giant drone look-alike wants to transform short-distance travel. Surefly is still a concept aircraft that's yet to take off.
Visit https://www.mbtmag.com/videos/2017/07/drone-octocopter-wants-carry-people to view the full article online. |
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3D Printing Industry A custom built 3D printer may enable wider use of metal additive manufacturing according to researchers at the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST). The Additive Manufacturing Metrology Testbed (AMMT) 3D printer was made by members of NIST’s Engineering Laboratory (EL) and Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML) and will be used to study 3D printing with metal.
Visit https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/nist-researchers-hope-remove-barriers-3d-printing-metal-new-machine-117868/ to view the full article online. |
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Manufacturing Business Technology The number of employees in the motor vehicles manufacturing sector in the United States has dropped slightly. According to preliminary data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 206,300 workers were employed in April 2017 in this sector, down from 211,000 in April 2016. Sales have reached 86.8 million units until May 2017. This figure is down from last year, when sales until the end of May had reached 88.6 million. Total sales stood at 214.4 units last year. Employment and sales seem to be in close sync.
Visit https://www.mbtmag.com/data-focus/2017/07/motor-vehicles-employment-and-sales-us to view the full article online. |
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IndustryWeek Pijor, the plant’s launch manager, makes sure the trains run on time. And there are a lot of trains—one truck comes off the line every 53 seconds, in one of 650,000 buildable combinations. Truck bodies ride assembly lines, roller-coaster style, up several stories and are then lowered by robots to meet their frames below in a satisfying (and surprisingly quiet) mashup.
Visit http://beta.industryweek.com/%5Bprimary-term%5D/making-trucks-run-time-visit-ford-s-f-150-launch-manager to view the full article online. |
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Forbes Can U.S. shale gas support domestic manufacturing expansion while increasing U.S. LNG exports? In recent months several industrial users of natural gas and some politicians in natural gas consuming states have questioned the open, free market approach to LNG trade taken by the Obama administration. They argue that unrestricted US LNG exports may hurt U.S. domestic users of natural gas, including both industry and retail consumers. These concerns are not unique to the US. In fact, the same reasons have been behind Australia’s decision to enact a regulatory measure that allows restrictions on LNG exports in case domestic market natural gas shortages emerge.
Visit https://www.forbes.com/sites/thebakersinstitute/2017/07/05/an-abundance-of-riches-us-natural-gas-manufacturing-and-lng-exports/#f9649294fc7e to view the full article online. |
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The Washington Post The keel of the nation’s 20th Virginia-class attack submarine named for Oregon was laid Saturday at the manufacturing plant for General Dynamics’ Electric Boat. The milestone marks the ceremonial beginning of a ship’s construction. Modern submarines do not have a traditional keel that runs the length of the ship because they are built in modules. Instead, at the event, the submarine’s sponsor wrote her initials in chalk on a metal plate for a welder to inscribe and to be mounted on the submarine.
Visit https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/keel-laying-marks-official-construction-of-attack-submarine/2017/07/08/4bcdc24a-6400-11e7-80a2-8c226031ac3f_story.html to view the full article online. |
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U.S. News & World Report An on-demand industrial startup that's been described as the "Uber of manufacturing" announced Wednesday it had secured millions of dollars in additional funding from the venture-capital arms of BMW and GE. The companies, along with Highland Capital Partners, have set their sights on Xometry — pronounced "Zometry" — for a $15 million investment to support a portal that connects buyers of customized manufactured parts with those who produce them.
Visit https://www.usnews.com/news/maker-cities/articles/2017-06-28/bmw-ge-commit-millions-to-digital-manufacturing-marketplace to view the full article online. |
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Advanced Manufacturing Over the past decade, governments in North and South America, Europe and Asia have enacted stricter fuel economy and emissions requirements. To comply with these regulations, the automotive industry has focused research and development efforts on improving the efficiency of the internal combustion engine, implementing new powertrain technologies, lowering the costs of vehicle electrification, and reducing vehicle mass — also known as light weighting.
Visit http://advancedmanufacturing.org/new-materialsnew-skills/ to view the full article online. |
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AGMA Come see why the Fall Technical Meeting (FTM) is the best opportunity to learn and share with some of the foremost experts in the gear industry. Speaking on design, analysis, manufacturing, application and gear drives, you will hear directly from the researchers about the results of their work.
Visit https://www.agma.org/events/2017-fall-technical-meeting/ to view the full article online. |
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Mining.com After a banner 2016, the recovery in the mining sector slowed dramatically this year and in some instances fortunes reversed. At the half-year mark, the world's 50 largest listed firms are worth a collective $768 billion, adding nearly $12 billion in market capitalization to year-to-end June. The top 10 make up more than half the sector's worth.
Visit http://www.mining.com/top-50-mining-companies-reshuffle-chinese-lithium-firms-climb-rankings/ to view the full article online. |
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Modern Machine Shop Gear manufacturing is less exclusive than it used to be. That is according to a machine tool builder offering what are said to be the first horizontal machining centers in the world capable of power-skiving, a demanding tooth-shaping process in which the workpiece and tool rotate in constant contact and near-perfect synchronicity at a precisely defined angle of engagement. Combined with a horizontal configuration’s well-documented potential for setup reduction, skiving capability reportedly enables machining gears mostly complete in a single setup. Manufacturers that stand to gain include not just established, high-production gear makers, but also any operation interested in machining high-quality gears without lengthy lines of dedicated equipment.
Visit http://www.mmsonline.com/blog/post/hmc-skiving-consolidates-gear-machining- to view the full article online. |
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Gear Motions Niagara Gear, a division of Gear Motions, Inc., recently completed the installation of its first machining cell. The in-house machining capabilities were added to reduce lead-time and provide more flexibility and control to meet customer delivery requirements. The machining cell consists of two turning centers, a vertical machining center, and marking capabilities. Products will be produced for the Niagara Gear division, as well as other divisions of Gear Motions.
Visit http://www.gearmotions.com/niagara-gear-adds-in-house-machining-capabilities/ to view the full article online. |
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IoT for All Much is written about consumer IoT, but the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is beginning to capture significant attention. So what are the differences?
Visit https://iot-for-all.com/consumer-iot-vs-industrial-iot/ to view the full article online. |
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eWeek A growing number of industries are implementing the Internet of Things to make themselves connected. Here’s how the Industrial IoT is improving specific industries.
Visit http://www.eweek.com/cloud/how-industrial-internet-of-things-is-shaking-off-hype-and-getting-real to view the full article online. |