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Where is the bill of materials? Getting things right first time with PLM and BoM

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plm bom article

Geoff Turner, product lifecycle management consultant at Design Rule, examines the value of getting the BoM right in the early stages of a project

The creation of a bill of materials, or BoM, is a fundamental part of product development. However, manufacturers are often unsure at what stage of the product development the BoM comes in.

Best practice dictates that the BoM needs to travel fluently through the different development stages, evolving and changing as products are designed, built and eventually, circulated.

In today’s complex manufacturing environment, a bill of materials can include a set of hundreds – or even thousands – of separate items.  [Read more…] about Where is the bill of materials? Getting things right first time with PLM and BoM

Hannover Messe: Smart materials paving the way to 3D printing and to the ‘microfactory’

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3d printed supercar

Get your complimentary ticket to Hannover Messe 2017

There may or may not be slight differences between what’s called “3D printing” and “additive manufacturing”, but essentially both are advanced techniques that could spell the end of assembly lines as we know them. 

It’s a widely known historic fact that giant car companies pioneered what we now known as the assembly line, where a product – such as a car or any other complex item – would move along production line, where different workers and teams of workers would do their jobs and eventually a finished product would be the result.

This process, however, is now being reconsidered in an age where customers are asking for increaing amounts of customisation and new technologies such as 3D printing and additive manufacturing are making this customisation possible.  [Read more…] about Hannover Messe: Smart materials paving the way to 3D printing and to the ‘microfactory’

HIT Robot Group unveils intelligently-controlled automatic jade production line

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HIT Robot Group, which claims to be China’s leading robotics developer and manufacturer, has launched a configurable and flexible automatic production line for high-precision jade processing.

This company says the intelligent production line exemplifies “a revolutionary transformation in design concept” from centralized control to enhanced decentralized control, which leads to scalable customization, greater flexibility for users, and therefore rapid response to market.

HRG says it has channelled its expertise in intelligent processing management into the new production line to achieve productivity and flexibility.  [Read more…] about HIT Robot Group unveils intelligently-controlled automatic jade production line

Automation fails without aligning materials support function with demand, says Synchrono

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By Thomas R. Cutler

Robot-to-person solutions are on a rapid trajectory for 2017 and beyond. Yet discrete manufacturing organizations which initiate material replenishment automation programs without properly analyzing processes and priorities for internal and external stakeholders, find far less value than anticipated.

Manufacturers are unsure about current replenishment capabilities within ERP (enterprise resource planning) and other systems, and are even less clear whether to fix, buy, or build a solution to gain the capabilities needed.

Too often disruptions in leadership and a change-averse environment can create barriers to improved production flow and automating processes.

The manufacturing sector is well-served when considering whether a replenishment solution can enhance flow and enable continuous improvements; often best practice robotic solutions follow.  [Read more…] about Automation fails without aligning materials support function with demand, says Synchrono

Additive manufacturing ‘revolutionising’ shipbuilding, says OR Laser

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container-ships

There’s a revolution brewing in the production of sliding bearings, according to OR Lasertechnologie

German industrial technology company OR Lasertechnologie says it’s only necessary to apply a layer of metal a few millimeters thick using the powder nozzle to reliably, cost-effectively, and easily protect the large shaft bearings used in ships from wear and tear. 

This represents something of a revolution in the shipbuilding industry, according to the company.

OR Laser says it develops and builds robot-assisted laser systems for direct metal deposition – which is similar to additive manufacturing – that take the production and repair of sliding bearings to an “innovative new level”.  [Read more…] about Additive manufacturing ‘revolutionising’ shipbuilding, says OR Laser