Replace the hand cranks on a knee mill or engine lathe with servo motors, then connect them to a computer that provides instructions via a special programming language (G-code, typically) and you
Mount a laser over a bed of metal powder, program it to trace a cross-section of a part model on the surface (thereby fusing the metal particles), then drag some
Said to have a tensile strength 100x greater than steel and boasting a wide range of industrial applications, these nanostructures are constructed of individual carbon atoms arranged in repeating
When the CAD system can share information with the shop's CAM software (or its MES, MOM, PLM, etc.) it's called interoperability, a crucial component of the digital thread.
Instead of IIoT sensors sending all of their data to the cloud for storage and analysis, processing it at the device or a local server is both faster and less
MOM takes MES one step further by pulling in the quality and maintenance departments, providing a comprehensive, real-time view of manufacturing operations. It's like ERP but without the front
In 1983, 3D Systems founder Charles Hull invented a process he dubbed stereolithography (SLA), which uses a UV laser to successively draw thin layers of a CAD model onto a
This is the generic term for FDM, first coined to avoid trademark infringements.
Instead of making parts based on discrete orders or customer forecasts—pushing them through the production floor—a pull system works off of actual demand. The result is lower inventory levels,
With single-piece flow, there's no work-in-process or finished goods inventory, and lead times aren't much longer than the total cycle time needed to make one part. What's more, defects