Modern Manufacturing Technology

Machinery's Handbook, the 10-minute download

At more than 3,500 pages, Machinery's Handbook is so large that preparing it as a download has been a very tall mountain to climb. But Senior Editor Chris McCauley has reached the summit. You can now acquire the reference work in about 10 minutes (DSL line). And, there's a 10% discount to encourage you.

Even the smallest deviations are detected: Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation IFF have created the 'Wheelinspector', an in-line compatible system for 100 percent inspection of vehicle wheels without contact. 

Anything, everything, no limits. Subscribers get 20% off until midnight, December 31!.

If you're not monitoring the condition of your CNC equipment, you're machining in the dark.

What’s your production efficiency? Do you know how many hours your spindles turned last month or the last time your operator made an offset? Is the darned machine even turned on? If you don’t have some form of machine monitoring in place, even a manual one, you don’t have a clue.

What’s the best way to rapidly prototype a component planned for die casting? Engineers with die casting experience may reflexively answer “spin casting” or “machining.” A better answer, however, would be “die cast the prototype.” That’s right.

New connectivity between vision systems and automation solutions based on Ethernet Powerlink communications is creating simplified system architectures that enable higher performance application possibilities.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Orders for long-lasting manufactured goods rose more than expected in April, a hopeful sign that a contraction in factory output could soon run its course.

Fascinating Case Study

...researchers are looking to even stronger and lighter materials, such as composites made with carbon fibers coated with carbon nanotubes—tiny tubes of crystalline carbon. When arranged in certain configurations, nanotubes can be hundreds of times stronger than steel, but only one-sixth the weight, making such composites attractive for use in airplanes, as well as cars, trains, spacecraft, and satellites.

The first of 70 advanced technology locomotives built for use on the Amtrak rails in the Northeast rolled off the assembly line yesterday. The electric locomotives, which are assembled in Siemens' Sacramento, Calif. manufacturing plant, will be field tested this summer and could enter service as early as this fall. (Photo shows the control cab of the new "Cities Sprinter," which is capable of speeds >120mph.)

The immense potential of energy production from both U.S. oil and natural gas has begun to have a significant impact on the views of global energy leaders. Some believe that the U.S. could soon match Saudi Arabia's production level of 11 million barrels a day -- no small achievement. In a recent interview, Maria van der Hoeven, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, described the emerging dominance of North American energy as a "game changer" and a "supply shock that is sending ripples throughout the world."

The Composites Engineering Show, being held at the NEC, Birmingham on 12-13 November 2013, will provide its most ambitious open conference programme to date, providing attendee groups with vital technology, market and strategic, value-added information.

The Milwaukee School of Engineering will host the Fluid Power Conference & Expo June 11th and 12th, 2013. Not only is Milwaukee home to MSOE, the Fluid Power Institute, and the National Fluid Power Association, but many consider it the geographic center of North America’s fluid power industry.

U.S. manufacturers’ new orders of machine tools and related technology rose over 30% during March, the second month in a row indicating rising demand, and also gained an edge over the March 2012 result. March new orders totaled $507.91 million, an increase of 30.4% over the revised result for February, $389.37 million. The new result represents $468.09 million in metal cutting equipment and technology, and $39.83 million in orders for metal forming and fabricating products.

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IndustryWeek is delighted to be the exclusive media partner of the Industrial Research Institute's TechTournament, which will be held as part of the organization's 75th anniversary. The goal: to have you help us identify the most meaningful innovation of the past 75 years. IRI member organizations can download the complete Tech Tournament Guidelines Packet and begin preparing an entry for submission between June 1, 2013, and September 30, 2013.

With nearly 100 years of uninterrupted publication, Machinery's Handbook now has its own Facebook page. Check it out, Like it and leave comments.