PM Blog

For any PMTS 2019 attendees who are looking for new Swiss machining, single- or multi-spindle screw machining, CNC lathe turning or milling, Absolute Machine Tools (booth 3050) has the necessary platforms to get a production turning job done with the latest technology.  

“While most booths feature sliding headstock, fixed headstock or some specific technology, we have multiple platforms in order to create custom engineered solutions to our customer’s manufacturing challenges,” says Courtney Ortner, chief marketing officer, Absolute Machine Tools. “We have solutions for turning challenges from high volume, low mix to low volume, high mix. We provide cost-effective, custom engineered solutions to the precision turning industry.”

IFS Industries has benchmarked industrial IoT (Internet of Things) with two surveys, each a year apart. The 2017 survey found IoT had become widely adopted in manufacturing and other industrial sectors primarily for cost reduction within condition-based maintenance (CBM). This year’s research shows there has been a shift toward transformation of operations, with data now being used in automation and artificial intelligence engines. IoT for process automation is currently the most commonly reported use case, but respondents also reported using IoT to create new revenue opportunities. Asset performance management and leveraging IoT to create new field service management offerings is the next step in this evolution, but this puts pressure on companies to ensure their enterprise software can facilitate the demands of IoT.

IoT: Realizing its Potential
Manufacturers laid the groundwork for today’s approach to IoT by networking programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems. This enabled industrial automation and CBM to be used in large enterprises as a cost-reduction strategy. CBM could be handled without any integration between a sensored device and the enterprise—an alarm or indicator on the equipment would alert technicians to required maintenance work.

Every other year, the Precision Machining Technology Show (PMTS) brings together leading suppliers and professionals in the precision machining industry. This year’s show, which will take place April 2-4, 2019, will feature the latest technology, including machines, tools, workholding, software, from more than 300 exhibitors. PMTS 2019 will also host live equipment demonstrations, Tech Talks and networking opportunities. But most significantly, PMTS 2019 will have a new location at the Huntington Convention Center in Cleveland, Ohio.

Cleveland is known for many things, from its location on Lake Erie and music to its sports teams and growing food and drink scene. Many of these features have influenced and been influenced by its history as a manufacturing hub. Its setting on Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River made it the perfect place to manufacture steel and other goods, such as automobiles and aerospace parts, to be shipped around the country and world. In recent years, Cleveland has advanced its manufacturing industry. The region is still home to metal producers, as well as manufacturers in cutting-edge industries including aerospace, automotive and medical devices.

Do you have a co-worker under the age of 40 who goes above and beyond his or her job description to improve a work environment or the precision machined parts industry at large? Do you know a colleague who is outstanding at his or her job who you think deserves recognition in the industry? If so, please nominate him or her for Production Machining’s 2019 Emerging Leader Awards.

The awards place emphasis on leadership and potential leadership, whether it is in the nominee’s company or their environment in the industry.

In manufacturing, preventive maintenance is already popular and can be used in conjunction with mobile workforce management software. It is triggered by time, events, or meter readings. The age of a piece of equipment in addition to manufacturer service recommendations is also taken into consideration for preventive maintenance. Another way to say preventive maintenance is planned scheduled maintenance. However, this time-based maintenance approach may not accurately reflect the usage of a piece of equipment and could lead to unnecessary maintenance fixes, regardless of the actual state of the equipment or parts.

With the increased networking of machines and manufacturing facilities in the Internet of Things and Industry 4.0, predictive maintenance is increasingly becoming an essential component in keeping pace in the global marketplace. Companies are figuring out ways to marry mathematical calculations, integrated sensors and computer monitoring to determine when machine components need to be changed based on the actual condition of the equipment. Predictive maintenance is used to predict machine failures before they occur, and also gives companies enough time to schedule a future service appointment in advance.