INJECTION MOLDING
To improve design, shorten production time, and reduce costs, Protolabs details “9 Mistakes to Avoid When Designing Injection Molded Parts,” derived from common issues its applications engineers see in quote requests. Tips include avoiding non-uniform wall thicknesses, using the correct CAD file format and determining whether cosmetic finishes are necessary. www.protolabs.com/resources/design-tips/9-mistakes-to-avoid-when-designing-injection-molded-parts/
As a key part of the supply chain, mold makers don’t just cut steel; they must have strong collaborative relationships with molding machine, automation and resin suppliers during the prototype and production phases of projects. StackTeck’s “How to Select Your Mold Manufacturer” looks at the challenges and opportunities involved in choosing a mold manufacturer. https://stackteck.com/about/whitepapers/how-to-select-your-mold-manufacturer-challenges-and-opportunities/
The design for manufacturability (DfM) process is a collaboration between engineering and production to ensure a smooth project that delivers quality parts and a better return on investment. Diversified Plastics’ white paper “Design for Manufacturing Yields Better Profits and Shortens Time to Market” provides information on how injection molded parts can benefit from optimizations during the DfM process, including material selection, wall thickness, corner radii, draft angles and mold-flow analysis. https://divplast.com/design-for-manufacturing/
ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
Fiber printers offer the ability to 3-D print industrial-grade composite structures featuring continuous fiber tapes for unrivaled part strength. Desktop Metal’s ebook, “Continuous Fiber 3D Printing: Technology and Applications,” provides an overview of Fiber technology and how it works, and discusses material selection and properties, key applications and examples of printed fiber parts. https://learn.desktopmetal.com/fiberebook
COVID-19
The coronavirus pandemic has changed manufacturing in many ways. Doug Burnside, VP of sales and marketing for Yaskawa Motoman, addresses COVID-19 challenges in “Adapting to a New Reality for Manufacturing,” using real-world examples of how companies have successfully adapted to meet demand, deploy new processes and operate safely. www.motoman.com/en-us/about/y-blog/a-new-reality-for-manufacturing
INDUSTRIAL IOT
Medical manufacturing depends on speed, accuracy and efficiency. One way to achieve this is through seamless collaboration between people and machines. Mitutoyo’s white paper “Factory Intelligence: Looking Beyond the Model-Based Enterprise” shows how innovations like model-based definitions and hyper-accurate metrology can be applied to medical manufacturing. www.techbriefs.com/component/content/article/tb/white-papers/test-and-measurement/34704
The rise of smaller devices and innovative IIoT hardware, as well as the growth in edge software development, is set to give manufacturers the ability to capture data at every level. By incorporating edge computing, companies can embrace a new frontier in manufacturing analytics and maximize potential while minimizing limitations. MachineMetrics’ eBook “The Edge: A New Frontier for Manufacturing Analytics” discusses edge computing, platforms and devices, and how they complement the benefits of the cloud. www.machinemetrics.com/the-edge-ebook
AUTOMATION
Robots come in many sizes and configurations, with a range of motion of between two and seven axes. They are easier to integrate than ever into manufacturing or processing environments, including food zones, clean rooms and warehouses. But it’s important is to know which type of robot — articulated, Cartesian, SCARA, delta or cobot — fits your needs from both capability and cost standpoints. Festo addresses these issues in “Robots. There’s one for every job — How to choose the right one.” https://pdfs.engineeringwhitepapers.com/Festo/WP_Robots%20Overview_EN.pdf
A new class of lean integrators are specializing in bringing collaborative automation to smaller companies. Universal Robots’ white paper “Cobots & Lean Integrators: Bringing automation to small and medium size enterprises” addresses benefits such as improved machine uptime, part quality, and employee productivity. It discusses the strengths and structures of lean integrators, and how they are empowering automation for smaller companies in all manufacturing industries. www.universal-robots.com/q22020us/nam-lean-integrator-wp-dl-202006/
