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The staff at Modern Applications News would like to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year!
[color-green]With the craziness of an election year now behind us, we hope you have the chance to relax and spend some quality time with your family and loved ones over the holidays.
We also hope the new administration's stated goal of revitalizing U.S. manufacturing is realized. We believe the manufacturing industry can be the catalyst for an overall economic resurgence in our country. We pray that we truly are entering a new golden age for America.
The implementation of AI, robotic integration and additive manufacturing remained -- or ascended to become -- the latest trends in our industry.
Here at Nelson Publishing, we are proud that our eNewsletters -- Modern Applications News (MAN), Tooling & Production (T&P), and the Manufacturing Center Product Spotlight -- continue to keep up with those trends as we try our best to deliver the latest, most interesting news from our industry. MAN begins its 58th year in January while T&P embarks on its 90th year of serving the machine tool industry!
[color-green]In what has become our annual tradition, we have put together our "Best of 2024" issue. We have compiled two lists -- the Top 10 Most Read Features and Top 10 Most Read Product Spotlights, as judged by the response of our readers. We hope you enjoy these stories and catch some helpful information you may have missed the first time around.
We want to thank all of our subscribers and advertisers for your loyalty to our publications and we'd like to wish you a successful and prosperous 2025!
An inefficient dust collection system means it wasn't sized properly for your metalworking process. We take the time to get the info needed to build the perfect system for your dust type and application. Camfil experts ensure NFPA compliance and safe indoor air quality.
Wisconsin Fabricator Adjusts on the Fly -- Because They Had To (Watch Video) In the contract machining and fabrication business, change is a fact of life. For Wisconsin-based WST Fab, a large customer order unexpectedly fell through on the day the company received its new cobot from Universal Robots, which was to be used in a machine tending system that was specifically designed for that part. So, what did they do? Full Article
How Workholding CAD Models are Key to Improving Your Shop's Operation (Watch Video) In the realm of modern manufacturing, speed, accuracy, and efficiency are paramount. One of the key tools that is revolutionizing the industry is the use of workholding component CAD models to aid in inspection programming, as well as facilitate offline fixture design for CMM and Vision inspection. The experts at Phillips Precision explain how the integration of CAD models into these processes offers a multitude of benefits, significantly enhancing productivity, reducing downtime, and alleviating stress on inspectors and programmers. Full Article
Can Artificial Intelligence Reverse the Productivity Slowdown? Ed Watal is an AI thought leader and technology investor. One of his key projects includes work on an ethical AI platform. He is the founder of Intellibus, a company whose vision is "A world where everyone is connected through AI, and everything happens instantly." In this exclusive article for MAN, Watal writes how he thinks the AI revolution will affect the current slowdown in manufacturing, and 4 ways metalworking manufacturers can implement AI to improve their operations. Full Article
Cutting a New Part in 2 Minutes Rather than 30 Minutes. Sound good? (Watch Video) In an effort to grow its operation, Dayton Gear recently partnered with Helios Gear Products to install two new CNC gear hobbers. Since the installation, Adam and Brian Baird, 3rd generation owners, have seen the production capabilities at their facility really kick into gear. Full Article
Top 10 Most Read Feature Articles continued.
Will AI Fix Manufacturing's Labor Gap? The manufacturing industry is facing significant labor and skills shortages. This introduces many challenges for businesses, such as production delays, higher operational costs, and higher burnout rates among employees due to increased workloads. Steve Ilmrud, Hexagon’s VP of Operations, writes that, increasingly, manufacturers are turning towards artificial intelligence (AI) to address these challenges and reshape employees' skill sets. Full Article
Knee Mill vs. Bed Mill Debate Comes Down to One Thing (Watch Video) Looking for a manual milling machine? Brace yourself, because the knee mill vs. bed mill discussion can get heated. With its Z-axis ram, the latter can carry heavier table loads and take bigger cuts than a knee mill. On the other hand, knee mills are far more common. So, which is better? The experts at Kent USA break down the battle. Full Article
Heimatec Speeders Key to Improving Production of Tiny Cardiac Monitoring Component Medical device manufacturer, Boston Scientific, was recently searching for a better way to produce a cardiac monitoring battery component. They found it with 17 Citizen Swiss machines and speed increasers from Heimatec. Read further for the details -- and to pick up some high-quality machining knowledge in the process. Full Article
Small California Shop Triples Output After Automating the Machine Loading Process TL Aerotek has built an excellent reputation for providing precision components for large aerospace companies. In business for just over five years, the small California job shop turned to Mitsubishi Electric for help automating its process. And with the new automation, the shop is now producing the number of parts in a week that used to take a month to complete. Full Article
Versatile, Conversational Machines the Hallmark of Michigan Shop (Watch Video) Hallmark Tool & Gage, a family-owned and operated business in Wixom, Michigan, claims to have more Hurco 2-meter and 3-meter DCX double column machining centers under one roof than any other company in the country. Hallmark invested in these 2-meter and 3-meter machining centers to expand the services they provide to their customers. Here's how. Full Article
