Table of Contents www.sme.org/manufacturingengineering


MAY 2012 VOL. 148, NO. 5


FEATURES 49 | Material Meld: Manufacturing for Orthotics


Plastics, metals, foams and Velcro are just some of the materials used to support, immobilize or treat muscles, joints, or skeletal parts.


59 | Advancing Grinding Technology Precision grinding processes match tooling, parts requirements.


69 | Cutting Medical Devices with Lasers


The latest developments in short-pulse and fiber lasers offer new ways to create today’s innovative medical devices. 81 | Micro Molding for Medical


Dynomax resolves issues with cracking, weld lines and short shots, resulting in top-notch micro molds for the medical industry.


87 | Medical Metrology in the Trenches Intricate, complex medical devices made in small lots are challenging to measure.


99 | KaiKaku: Manufacturing Re-Imagined


Kaikaku goes beyond production to break the existing paradigm and create a breakthrough using a new system or model.


DEPARTMENTS 8 UP FRONT


Medical Manufacturing: A Risky Business 10 CALENDAR


12 QUALITY SCAN One Flaw Can Trigger Worldwide Reporting Obligations


16 SME SPEAKS A Freshman’s First Year Journey


21 NEWSDESK


Report Details Dramatic Decline in Factory Output, Jobs


35 TECH FRONT Taming Multiblade Parts Programming


40 SHOP SOLUTIONS Texas-Sized Tools for Oil Patch Jobs


114 MFG4 SHOW PREVIEW Iconic manufacturing city will host a smorgasbord of innovation and creativity from four crucial industries


138 PRODUCT PREVIEWS 143 CLASSIFIEDS 144 AD INDEX


The Cover: A worker at Micropulse (Columbia City, IN) prepares a surgical drill guide. “We decided long ago to focus our expertise on medical manufacturing alone, which is quite challenging all to itself,” says Brian Emerick, president and CEO.


4 www.sme.org/manufacturingengineering | May 2012


Manufacturing Engineering is a sponsor of the Shingo Prize


146 FOCUS ON THE WORKFORCE Solving the Skills Gap Equation 151 KNOWLEDGE EXPRESS 152 VIEWPOINTS


The Growing Importance of Multitasking


69


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