EDITORIAL DIRECTIONS

In recent years there has been a growing trend toward “ease of use” in the areas of technology and equipment development. Whether it’s robotics, machine tool design, HMI advancements, or tooling and workholding setup/changeout, the focus – which in many ways began as an effort to address the skills gap by attracting a younger generation to industry – is now on flexibility and providing manufacturers with the ability to achieve small-lot, high-mix production runs. This has benefited both smaller job shops and major production manufacturers alike.

Add to that list of benefits the capability to allow companies to actually shift lines from making their accustomed parts to producing ventilators and personal protective equipment (PPE) in support of battling the coronavirus and the resulting COVID-19. This is especially true of companies involved in 3D printing, and not only due to the technology’s inherent flexibility, but because OEMs have purposefully been making the machines easier to set up for whatever new part is being programmed into the printer. IIoT advances, including improved machine condition monitoring and data gathering, makes it possible to track and refine each new process for ultimate streamlining. New gripper designs and quickchange tooling, spindle heads, and workholding devices are especially important in enabling this increased production flexibility.

To me, though, in the midst of these perilous and unnerving times, the examples of manufacturers of all types voluntarily shifting production toward providing life-saving ventilators and preventive gear such as PPEs without having to be coerced into doing so has been like a ray of sunshine piercing the clouds of a terrifying storm. It’s an example of the extent to which people, companies, and entire industries are willing to go in order to help one another survive this incredibly troubling period.

So we at IMD would like to express our admiration and appreciation for manufacturers such as these, as well as the software designers, 3D printer and other machine tool OEMs, automation experts, system integrators, and dedicated members of the industrial supply chain for their important efforts, and especially the results being achieved. So let’s just keep hunkering down and helping each other… there is hope ahead!

Russ Willcutt Editorial Director, Industrial Machinery Digest

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