A few readers wrote in to MACHINE DESIGN commenting on the mistake I made on my blog item ''Artistic EDM''. In it, I said that ''electrically conductive materials cannot be EDMed.'' Ovbiously, this is incorrect. As one reader says, ''EDM will spark-erode any material that conducts electricity.'' Dear readers, thanks for keeping me on my ...

Initial thoughts on my tour of Tata:First, some quick background...My Italian client, Maus, part of the Carraro Group in Italy, builds grinding, finishing and other machining centers, as well as turnkey production lines for wheel end components, gears and other end products, usually heavy cast parts.  Another of the Carraro family is ...

We just got word that Misumi USA Inc. will conduct several configuration technical seminars entitled ''Designing a better machine faster with the configurable component.'' The seminars are designed to help engineers overcome the time and performance pressures typically associated with custom machine builds by using off-the-shelf ...

Day one brought announcements about new capabilities in Autodesk's 2009 releases. But all that later. CEO Carl Bass spoke on trends on CAD. An interesting example, he says, is the bar for engineering and design has been raised by the gorgeous graphics of entertainment industries. Another trend has an increasingly global ...

A few days ago, at the big MD&M 2008 show in Anaheim, Calif., we attended a Roundtable Discussion in which lead medical-manufacturing experts discussed topics such as outsourcing, material innovations, and recent manufacturing trends. Participating experts included Dave Mabie, Atek Medical, Steve Bruner, Nusil, Jerry Hansen, Circle Medical, ...

It's day two or is it day three here at the MD&M show in Anaheim Calif. -- jet lag and all the excitement has made me lose all sense of day and time! There is some pretty amazing and cool new technology on display. Here are just a few examples that caught my eye: -- Machines from Everite Machine Products in Philadelphia grind and cut ...

Day Two: Jeff Ray, CEO of SolidWorks, says the show has so far drawn 4,400 attendees. In the future, he wants to see more sharing between DS technologies and SolidWorks. He says software developers cannot afford to ''fall in love with their own technologies.'' Companies should never think that they own customers. Nobody does. Customers can pick ...

 This hit my inbox this afternoon from the Alliance for American Manufacturing after the Commerce Dept. jobs report of this morning:       According to the latest figures from the Commerce Department, the United States lost another 31,000 manufacturing jobs in December in addition to the 13,000 lost in November.  For ...

You are not alone if you are having trouble coming up with a clear idea of what sustainability is when it comes to manufactured or produced goods. At the Pack Expo show yesterday, keynote speaker John Luke, CEO of packaging materials supplier Meadwestvaco, cited a study by the Hartman Group that found most consumers couldn't come up with a clear ...

This new blog is a continuation of my on-going one, archived here. As mentioned previously, my first love is manufacturing, specifically the shop floor. I moved through the ranks the hard way, in one job, working for a half-crazy, old-world machinist, Frank. His motto: ''You shalt NOT make scrap.'' His was the classic old-fashioned shop -- ...