Smart manufacturing is getting a lot of coverage in the media, and with good reason. In this podcast, Alan Rooks, Editor in Chief, talks with Frank Arteaga, Head of Product Marketing, Market Region NAFTA, for Bystronic about the definitions of smart manufacturing; how it can help OEMs and fabricators alike with profitability; how analyzing data can help with visualizing the fabricating process; and the best ways to make sense of all of the data pouring in on the manufacturing process.

Natalie Lowell, member and industry relations manager at SME, details all that the nonprofit is doing to help address the skills gap in the U.S. She details a formal level of membership at the high school level with value streams of SME resources to augment the success of the student, as well as educators' resources. Access to the SME Connect community is one of the resources available to encourage students to discover and explore a future in science, technology, engineering and manufacturing-related careers.

Robotic solutions are gaining in prominence and importance. In this podcast, Senior Editor Jim Lorincz talks with Simon Whitton, regional division manager, Kuka Robotics Corp., about how Kuka Ready-to-Use preconfigured robotic product solutions can integrated into existing shop operations, ensuring that sustainable and high-performance levels of manufacturing efficiency can be achieved.

The manufacturing of solid-carbide and PCD rotary tooling has improved markedly, and high-tech grinders have played an important role in this evolution. Circular and band saws have followed a similar evolution. In this this podcast,  Editor in Chief Alan Rooks talks with Shannon Fox, North American sales manager for Vollmer of America Corp., a builder of tool grinding machines, and Dr. Roland Loroch, managing director of Loroch GmbH, a business unit of Vollmer that is focused on re-sharpening and measuring circular and band saws. The discussion focuses on how rotary tool grinding machines are creating more complex, tighter-tolerance tools, and new demands on circular and band saw blades.

Applications for robotic welding systems continue to grow, and those systems are becoming more sophisticated and agile. In this podcast, Editor In Chief Alan Rooks talks with Erwin DiMalanta, director-welding and cutting business line for ABB Robotics (Auburn Hills, MI) about emerging trends in robotic welding, lightweighting in the automotive and aerospace sectors and other issues. He also explores ABB’s new Robotic Inspection System, which was developed through a collaboration between ABB and NUB3D, which develops digital, 3D inspection and quality-control solutions. The 3D white-light scanning sensor can access most areas of both simple and complex parts

A more diverse workforce that includes more women can help manufacturers fill the growing skills gap. In this podcast, Sandra Bouckley, president of SME, talks with Senior Editor Jim Lorincz about the need for increased diversity in the workforce and how it can increase productivity and creativity while producing new solutions to manufacturing issues. She also examines why women make up just 29% of the manufacturing workforce in the US and strategies for increasing that percentage.

Markforged has played a role in advancing the art and science of additive manufacturing. They have helped companies make great strides in getting the best results out of their 3D printing operations. Now, the company is helping manufacturers that are not involved in 3D printing to identify the opportunities where 3D printing could be used to make stronger products, manufacture them at less cost, and ship those products faster. In this sponsored podcast, Manufacturing Engineering Editor Emeritus Jim Sawyer interviews Applications Engineer Nick Sondej to learn how Markforged makes this happen.

Manufacturing operations are looking for the fastest, most reliable equipment to deliver components machined quickly and with the highest accuracy possible. At SOUTH-TEC, we discussed the advantages of the Swiss-style machine tool equipment offered by Tsugami/Rem Sales (Windsor, CT). Bob Budnovitch, engineering manager, training/turnkey, and Frank Maiocco of Tsugami/Rem Sales, spoke with Senior Editor Patrick Waurzyniak at SOUTH-TEC in Greenville, SC, about the latest machines that Tsugami displayed at the show and what customers can expect from the company’s advanced machining equipment.

At the SOUTH-TEC show in Greenville, SC, we’re joined by Greg Cooke, applications engineer for Promess Inc., in Brighton, MI, who talks about how manufacturers are looking for flexible assembly solutions in a variety of manufacturing industries. Promess, a manufacturer of turnkey monitoring and motion systems used in a wide variety of Assembly and Test applications around the world, began expanding into the southern US manufacturing region about 10 years ago, as the downturn in the economy began. Cooke, who’s based in Huntsville, AL, spoke with Senior Editor Patrick Waurzyniak about some of the ways Promess diversified to prosper in the recession and into the present with flexible assembly solutions.

In an interview in Shanghai, Eric Green, VP, user experience & marketing for the DELMIA product brand at Dassault Systèmes, weighs in on what “super fab labs” in Beijing and Moscow might well produce. He also describes how Dassault’s 3D Experience Lab works. He identifies the three most important smart manufacturing trends to watch in China, in his opinion. He says Huawei has one of Dassault's most compelling smart manufacturing client stories to tell so far in China (and references a Smart Manufacturing magazine story, available at tinyurl.com/HuaweiCloud, about that firm). And he describes what changes will be needed because of the speedy adoption of robots in China.