Manufacturing

How to make remote work in manufacturing a reality The physical nature of the manufacturing industry has made the switch to remote work a challenge. Just 46% of the industry has enabled remote monitoring processes Here are the key challenges to overcome and ideas to enable the industry to successfully make the transition to more remote work. COVID-19 hit upon a major pain point separating the manufacturing industry from that of others. As a majority of US employees shifted to working from home as the pandemic hit, many manufacturing operations were simply shut down, or were forced to operate with...

Manufacturing industry setting its sights on digital transformation Advanced analytics, IIoT and cloud can help manufacturers become more agile and resilient to future "black swan" events. Covid-19 has forced the majority of manufacturers into digital transformation, a new report from InfinityQS has found. The report states that 52 percent have either begun or are currently looking into digital transformation initiatives to enhance their operational performance, with advanced analytics being a top priority for a quarter of them (24 percent). Last year was a challenging one, with many manufacturers putting their strategic plans on hold just to remain operational. Now, they...

Kennametal launches Stellite powder for Additive Manufacturing Kennametal has launched Stellite 21 AM powder for PBF-LB Additive Manufacturing (Courtesy Kennametal Inc) Kennametal Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, has launched Stellite 21 AM™ powder, reportedly the first Stellite™ powder qualified for Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB) Additive Manufacturing, and the latest addition to Kennametal Additive Manufacturing’s portfolio of high-performance metal powders for AM. Kennametal Additive Manufacturing is the company’s AM and production business unit within its Infrastructure segment. The business drew on deep expertise in metal powder production for hard facing and thermal spray applications to develop its Stellite 21 AM...

BMW Founds Robot & Software Company For Logistics Industry Tesla isn’t the only robot and software champ in the auto industry. Well, I can’t personally evaluate that, but it is notable that BMW Group has just launched a new company that is fully focused on becoming “a leading supplier of autonomous robotics solutions in the logistics sector.” Tesla isn’t the only robot and software champ in the auto industry. Well, I can’t personally evaluate that, but note that BMW Group has just launched a new company that is fully focused on becoming “a leading supplier of autonomous robotics solutions in the...

Rapid raises $12M for its manufacturing robotics   Image Credits: Rapid Robotics Bay Area-based Rapid Robotics today announced a $12 million Series A. The new round, led by NEA, brings the company’s total funding up to $17.5 million. It joins a recently closed seed round, announced way back in November of last year. Existing investors Greycroft, Bee Partners and 468 Capital also took part in the round. We noted at that stage that COVID-19 had a sizable impact on robotics investment. At the very least, the pandemic has served to accelerate interest in automation, as many “non-essential” workers have been...