Advanced Manufacturing Now

Senior Editor Michael McConnell speaks with Jason Rolland, PhD, chief technology officer at Carbon, a California-based 3D printing technology company, about the growing role of additive manufacturing in healthcare and where he thinks the technology will go in the future.

This episode is a recording of the latest episode of Advanced Manufacturing Live. Previous episodes of Advanced Manufacturing Live are available on advancedmanufacturing.org/live. Follow SME Media on Facebook, LinkedIn, X and YouTube to join us live every other Thursday at 1 p.m. Eastern Time.

In this episode of Advanced Manufacturing Now, we speak with Heather Curtis of Tormach and Joe Leonhard of Sheboygan Central High School about how their partnership with the National Coalition of Certification Centers is shaping the future of manufacturing education.

Hole making remains one of the most critical and cost‑intensive operations in metal cutting. From initial drilling to high‑accuracy finishing, choosing the right tooling strategy has a direct impact on cycle time, tool life, and bore quality. This webinar delivers a practical, application‑driven overview of modern hole‑making solutions, covering solid drilling, indexable drilling, adjustable diameter tools, rough and finish boring, and reaming. Real‑world examples across steel, stainless steel, titanium, and cast iron demonstrate how advanced tool designs, modular connections, and diameter adjustment capabilities can significantly improve process stability and productivity while maintaining tight tolerances. Participants will gain insight into how to select the appropriate hole‑making concept based on material, bore size, depth‑to‑diameter ratio, tolerance requirements, and machine interface—helping them reduce machining time, simplify setups, and increase consistency on the shop floor.

Key Takeaways for Attendees

• How to choose the right hole‑making strategy Understand when to use solid drills, indexable drills, rough boring, finish boring, or reaming based on hole size, depth, and accuracy requirements.
• Improving productivity with indexable drilling Learn how insert geometry, diameter adjustment, and modular connections enable higher feed rates and faster changeovers without sacrificing performance.
• Achieving tight tolerances and surface finish Compare finish boring versus reaming and understand the trade‑offs in accuracy, cycle time, surface quality, and setup effort.
• Managing large diameters and deep holes Explore solutions for large bore sizes and deep drilling applications, including adjustable cartridges, guide pads, and modular extensions.
• Critical setup and process considerations Best practices for tool runout control, diameter adjustment, coolant delivery, and bore measurement to ensure repeatable, stable results.

Brought to you by: Ceratizit

Visit https://advancedmanufacturing.org/webinars for more webinars and an interactive experience with visuals.

Manufacturers expect levels of tech enablement and automation to more than double by 2030, according to PwC's Global Industrial Manufacturing Sector Outlook 2026. In this episode of Advanced Manufacturing Now, we speak with Ryan Hawk, global and US industrials and services leader for PwC, about the report and what industry leaders are saying about the future of manufacturing.

We're joined by Stephen Luckowski, director of the Department of Defense Manufacturing Technology program's Technology Transfer, Transition, and Commercial Partnerships (T3CP) Office. SME Chief Technology Officer Brett Conner speaks with Luckowski about the responsibilities of the T3CP Office, as well as its recent patent holiday providing no-fee commercial evaluation licenses for a curated selection of patents from War Department laboratories.

Wire harness manufacturing is facing rising complexity, tighter timelines, and zero tolerance for errors - yet many teams still rely on physical formboards and manual interpretation on the shop floor. In this webinar, we'll explore how manufacturers are digitizing wire harness manufacturing execution, replacing guesswork with guided, real-time build instructions driven directly from design data.

This session will examine where errors typically occur, why they're often discovered too late, and how leading teams are shifting quality upstream during the build process. Attendees will learn how digital execution reduces training time, minimizes reliance on tribal knowledge, and enables consistent, scalable wire harness production.

Key Takeaways:

• Why physical formboards and manual drawings no longer scale for modern harness manufacturing
• Where wire harness manufacturing errors really originate and how to prevent them earlier
• How guided, digital execution reduces rework during the build
• How manufacturers dramatically shorten training and ramp time for new technicians
• What scalable, repeatable shop floor execution looks like for complex harness builds
• How to increase throughput without increasing labor dependency

Presenters: Andrew Armstrong Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer

Henry Lopez Senior Field Applications Engineer

Brought to you by: Cadonix

Visit https://advancedmanufacturing.org/webinars for more webinars and an interactive experience with visuals.

SME Media Editor-in-Chief Steve Plumb and Senior Editor Michael McConnell sit down with Harry Moser, president of the Reshoring Initiative, to explore the growing impact of reshoring on the U.S. economy. They discuss how reshoring can quickly strengthen the U.S. economy and boost competitiveness by building a stronger skilled workforce.

This is an audio-only recording of our latest episode of Advanced Manufacturing Live. Follow SME Media on LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube to catch our next episode live.

On July 4, 2026, America will officially celebrate 250 years of independence. But the festivities have already started, with a barrage of local parades, tech activities, educational events and contests across the country, including the Great American State Fair, sponsored by Freedom 250. CEO Keith Krach, a serial entrepreneur and innovator, shares some of the highlights, history and what's next as the country reignites the American spirit.

We sit down with Laura Beckwith, Director of Product Management at Configit, to explore the evolving role of generative AI in manufacturing—and why it's not as simple as plugging AI into existing systems.

Mae Krier has lived an amazing life. She started working at Boeing, riveting the wings of B-17 and B-29 planes during World War II, and has been a fierce advocate for all the Rosies ever since. She's inspired countless girls and women throughout her life, and now—after just turning 100—she's working with Raya Kenney to erect a monument to the Rosies in Washington, D.C.

To learn more about the WWII Women's Memorial Foundation, visit them at wwiiwomenmemorial.org