JULY 2012 VOL. 149, NO. 1 FEATURES 61 | It’s Manufacturing’s Turn in the Spotlight
IMTS 2012 is celebration of recovery from recession and an opportunity to prepare for the challenges that lie ahead. More than 1500 exhibitors are expected to fill 1.1 million ft2
(102,300 m2 ) of Chicago's McCormick Place in order to host upwards of 80,000 attendees who are looking to meet those challenges.
DEPARTMENTS 8 UP FRONT
71 | Managing Factory Data
Effective data management tools and techniques leverage critical metrics from the shop floor. The latest solutions for collection and analysis come from enterprise resource planning (ERP) software developers and from shop-floor data collection and analysis specialists.
85 | Innovative Technology Choices
It's important to match machine selection to a shop's needs and a job's demands. Each application has its own set of requirements with machine tool builders offering new technology and new machining center lines aimed at specific targeted applications, markets, and industries.
97 | The Ins and Outs of In-Line Automated Inspection
Automation is great for fast, accurate measurement of parts, but the tradeoff is usually flexibility. Metrology providers are devising ways of delivering both. One of the lessons they're learning is that sometimes repeatability is as important as absolute accuracy.
Mapping Manufacturing’s High Road 10 CALENDAR 12 QUALITY SCAN
Using Statistical Process Control to Manage Your Suppliers
16 SME SPEAKS Plotting the Society’s Course
21 NEWSDESK Mexico Still Ranks as Top “Near-Shoring” Choice
37 TECH FRONT
Software Slims Composites, Metals Design
46 SHOP SOLUTIONS
Marine Final Inspection Gets CMM Thrust 113 KNOWLEDGE EXPRESS 115 PRODUCT PREVIEWS 129 CLASSIFIEDS 130 AD INDEX
The Cover: With repeatability as one of its strong suits, Renishaw's Equator Gage is well-suited to the shop floor. It pairs a parallel kinematic machine with a Renishaw SP25 scanning analog probe.
Manufacturing Engineering is a sponsor of the Shingo Prize