Additive manufacturing, augmented reality, cognitive automation, and the digital thread demonstrate transformative technologies in the future of manufacturing.

The Association For Manufacturing Technology’s (AMT) MT360 Conference will be held May 12-14, 2020, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California, bringing together the technology, manufacturing, and VC communities to discuss and demonstrate the role of transformative technologies in the future of manufacturing.

MT360 will showcase and demonstrate the integration of additive manufacturing (AM), augmented reality (AR), cognitive automation, and the digital thread into manufacturing operations.

“The MT360 Conference is part of AMT’s lifecycle strategy around transformative technologies,” says Douglas Woods, president of AMT. “The Silicon Valley and manufacturing technology communities evolved separately, and there are no well-orchestrated paths in the market to bring them together. There is enormous opportunity for collaboration, learning, and investment between these communities to accelerate product development.”

The acquisition extends the geographic reach and custom product capability, further entrenching GWS as a leading custom tooling provider in North America.

GWS Tool Group has acquired Intrepid Tool Industries, its first add-on acquisition in 2020. Located near Phoenix with ~100 employees and operating out of a 35,000ft2 facility, Intrepid is a leading provider of carbide, HSS, and PCD cutting tools to the aerospace sector, with a special emphasis on threaded-shank and/or brazed construction drills, reamers, and countersinks. Intrepid’s product mix and capabilities align perfectly with that of the GWS go-to-market strategy. With the addition of Intrepid, GWS further solidifies its position as the premier multi-disciplinary manufacturer of high-performance cutting tools in the marketplace today.

“Intrepid could not have been a better fit for our organization,” says Rick McIntyre, GWS’ CEO. “In addition to this investment establishing a substantial physical presence on the west coast on which to further build, their industry leading product and service portfolio is the perfect complement to our already dynamic offering. With acquisitions like Intrepid, we continue to get very close to there being nothing within the cutting tool supply chain we can’t address with some of the most precision products in the world.”

“I am very excited for Intrepid Tool to be joining GWS Tool Group,” says Bret Tayne, Intrepid Tool founder and president. “The leadership of GWS Tool Group is the most dynamic and energetic team in the industry. This combination with GWS Tool Group serves the interests of all constituencies of Intrepid Tool, from customers to vendors to employees. We are proud to be joining such a talented organization.”

The project will expand Cirtec’s production capacity as well as increase office, engineering, and active implantable device space.

Cirtec Medical Corp., a strategic outsourcing partner for complex medical devices including active implantables and minimally invasive devices, signed a lease on an 85,000ft2 manufacturing facility near its current facility in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. This follows Cirtec’s recent announcement of plans to build a 30,000ft2 manufacturing facility in the Coyol Free Zone, located in Alajuela, Costa Rica. The addition of these facilities is part of Cirtec’s strategic plan to support current and future partners.

The new facility will become the company’s Neuromodulation Center of Excellence and focus on active implantable device manufacturing and clean room assembly of neuromodulation leads, implantable pulse generators (IPGs), and accessories. In addition, it will allow for expanded engineering competencies in mechanical, process, quality, electrical engineering, software, firmware, and testing. Other capabilities will include silicone injection molding, plastic injection molding, final packaging, and ethylene oxide sterilization

Construction on the new facility is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2020, with completion targeted in the second half of the year. The existing Brooklyn Park facility will become an all metals component and sub-assemblies facility, focusing on Swiss machining, milling, stamping, coil winding, laser cutting, and welding, and nitinol processing.

Glebar acquires Tridex Technology; Solar Atmospheres Southeast hires plant manager; Tessy Plastics expands Elbridge facilities; Walter acquires Melin Tool

Tessy Plastics Corp. was awarded new business, specifically for medical products, and will expand warehouse space in one of its manufacturing facilities, the South Plant located in Elbridge, New York.

“There is 69,000 square feet of warehouse space in the South Plant and we plan to add an additional 100,000 square feet on to it,” says Roland Beck Tessy’s president.

Tessy’s South Plant was built in 2010 and was initially being used for molding consumer products such as deodorant. “In late 2017, we decided to move all of the deodorant business to the North Plant in Baldwinsville, New York, so that we could mold, assemble, pack, and ship all from one location. It was a great decision as it allowed for greater efficiencies and freed up some space for incoming business. With the extra space, we are able to accommodate our new medical customer,” Beck says.

Tessy’s new medical customer offers a one-time use surgical suction device application that is used to collect/filter specimens such as polyps.

“This project was a perfect fit for us. It is a complex assembly with several molded components. A portion of the components, which were previously molded in a different material, will now be molded with Liquid Silicone Rubber (LSR). LSR is a material that is becoming more prevalent in the medical industry. Through the utilization of existing LSR injection-molding machines, we were able to produce excellent prototype parts for the customer. The prototypes were then approved and we have since kicked off the new LSR mold for production. We will mold and assemble all seven of the components that make up the one-time use filter,” Beck says.

The overall investment will be $20 million and will create 50 additional jobs.

“Production is targeted for 2021, and will include eight injection molding machines, two of which will be LSR, and an automated assembly line producing 13 million assemblies per year. We look forward to working on this project and are proud to work with another successful medical company,” Beck concludes.

Walter has reached an agreement to acquire the Melin Tool Co., a privately-owned, Cleveland, Ohio-based company and manufacturer of solid carbide and HSS end mills, drills, and countersinks. The acquisition gives Walter customers access to advanced cutting tool solutions and responsive support. A stronger presence in the U.S. allows Walter to grow its product line with local market requirements and to improve market support with customized tooling solutions.

“The acquisition is aligned with our focus on expanding our milling business in round tools and reconditioning capabilities close to customers in the American market,” says Richard Harris, president of Walter. “I am very pleased that we have reached an agreement to acquire Melin Tool Company as it increases our market presence and has a strong innovation focus and high service level that is aligned with Walter’s approach to doing business.”

Michael Wochna will remain as president of Melin Tool.

Melin Tool Company is a provider of high-quality round tools. The company’s offer is focused in solid carbide end mills, drills and countersinks to the aerospace and medical industries.

Glebar Co., a precision grinding solutions organization, has acquired Tridex Technology Ltd., a leader in electrochemical grinding (ECG) technology. With more than 100 years of combined ECG experience and a vast array of applications in the medical and aerospace industries, Tridex provides turnkey solutions and services tailored to its customer’s needs.

“We are humbled by this transformational opportunity and are excited to welcome the Tridex team to Glebar. Both companies’ respective customers will benefit from the synergy we create together,” says Robert Baker, CEO of Glebar. “This is hopefully the first acquisition of many and marks a new chapter in our 67-year history.”

Adam Cook, Glebar chairman, adds “This partnership is another step in the Glebar growth story. Tridex further bolsters our core focus within the non-elective medical minimally invasive procedures market and expands our reach in aerospace and other industries.”

With more than 100 years of combined experience Tridex Technology, offers the most advanced technology in burr free electrochemical grinding and tube cut off machines as well as precision abrasive cut off machines. This unique ECG technology combines abrasive grinding with electrochemical machining to provide stress free, low force cutting with no burrs and no metallurgical damage such as recast, heat affected zone, burning or work hardening. ECG is widely used for tube cutoff of materials such as stainless-steel hypodermic needle tubing where deburring is not practical. ECG is also used for aerospace applications such as fragile honeycomb

materials and turbine airfoils where the material is thin, fragile and heat sensitive.

Materials such as cobalt-chrome, Hastelloy, Inconel, and nitinol, which are very difficult to machine with conventional methods, can be easily and accurately cut with burr free electrochemical grinding. The precision abrasive technology is widely used in the aerospace fastener industry for cutoff of high temperature alloys, titanium and tool steel. 

Tom Gundic has joined Solar Atmospheres Southeast as plant manager for the company’s Greenville, South Carolina facility. Gundic brings with him more than 14 years of vacuum heat-treating and brazing experience, with significant time spent leading teams in Nadcap and AS9100 quality systems.

Solar Atmospheres Southeast President, Steve Prout says, “We are excited to have such a uniquely qualified manager leading our Greenville operations team. Tom will be a tremendous resource in ensuring Solar remains a provider of exceptional vacuum thermal processing with unparalleled customer service to the US Southeast.”

As your operations are transformed, you will need a workforce that knows how to take your business into the future time and time again.

In the factory of the future, technology will of course be key. Factories will integrate networked machines, sensors, and advanced robotics IT systems into existing processes. They will thrive on data, real-time figures, and unprecedented access to information to be more efficient, less wasteful, and better connected.

As your operations are transformed, you will need a workforce that knows how to take your business into the future time and time again. This means rethinking how your hire and how you upskill existing staff. This doesn’t have to mean starting from scratch. You may be well on your way to a great future workforce already.

The skills you need are changing You may already be using technology to move forward. As factories shift to a future focus, they are adapting what’s already available – like the cloud, robotics, and in-process measurement. This brings with it new skill requirements.

Knowing how to use these tools to their full potential means having a team of critical thinkers. The FoF will require a workforce that’s computer savvy and driven by problem solving. Staff will need to be analytical, knowing how to use data to continuously improve.

Teams should incorporate good software development skills and programmable logic controls experience. You will need people who can network machines and those who are able to capitalize on the immense value of automation. With the speed of the tooling industry increasing, they will need to become their own innovation hub, constantly looking for opportunities to grow and improve through technology.

How to hire for the factory of the future People working in factories of the future will need to be more fluid. They will have to think cross-functionally and collaborate to make the most of their complementary skills. Much like a software programming team, these workforces will need an agile mindset, be open to new approaches, and ready to adapt to work better, harder, smarter.

Finding and hiring these people will mean understanding what’s involved in their different roles. You’ll likely find you need to fill a mix of existing and new positions, some of which you might not have come across before.

Look for staff with a STEM – science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – background, they are more and more likely to be university graduates. But their education should only be a starting point. Look for applicants who demonstrate lateral thinking and problem-solving skills, signals that they can put their technical background into practical use.

Existing roles are evolving. Machinist skills such as operation monitoring, systems evaluation, and quality control analysis can be applied to new systems. Tool and die makers can use their technology design and operations analysis background to build better processes and create new tools. New roles will also appear: robotics engineers, automation engineers, and roles that combine elements of both.

Positions will also be created for people to bring new ideas into the business. Factories may start hiring senior IT staff such as a CTO or CIO. These tech leaders will become champions of innovation – sourcing, internally promoting and working to implement the very best for the factory.

In such a new field, having their authority on hand to assist with interviews can be a game-changer. Senior tech staff will have the right knowledge to spot candidates who can apply their expertise to your business. You may also be able to leverage specialised recruitment agencies that can make sure you’re only interviewing people who can bring the right combination of technical nous and creativity.

When you’ve got the right team – nurture it In the factory of the future the focus is shifting from working the production line to building a better one. Automation and robotics have changed the way the factory floor looks, and those changes will keep coming.

Just as with technology, setting yourself up with the right people doesn’t have to mean starting all over again. As long as you have clarity around where you’re going and how, you will give yourself the best chance to identify potential in your existing workforce.

Factor in training. Most businesses will need a training officer, not only to train staff on the existing production methods but to bring them on board with new operations.

Support your people to work together. A collaborative, agile approach should apply across the whole business, from learning how to use existing equipment to working together to implement new products. A team of champions will work side-by-side to make sure every element of operation is adding value and working to its full capability.

Engage your staff. Use your trainers and tech champions to communicate the vision and future of the factory. Motivate them to feel excited about the future by offering clarity and direction.

With competition increasing, the most important thing in the factory of the future is to retain skilled people. The next generation is demonstrating more of these diverse, flexible skills, but increasing demand means there is a global skills shortage. Finding and keeping good staff will make your workforce more efficient and save on hiring and training costs.

Giving staff members opportunities to try out new tasks, upskill in their existing roles, undertake further education and create ownership of the factory’s direction will all help to strengthen their loyalty to the business.

Give your team the tools to perform Having the best brains in the business won’t mean anything without the best tools. A team with great problem-solving skills can work together with machine manufacturers to create custom systems for the best output. The combination of analytical minds and high-level engineering means a flexible, adaptable system with endless potential.

Supported by internal champions, new products can be implemented with enthusiasm and real buy-in from your workforce. That means continuous improvement with a loyal team as your factory moves ever further into the future.

Written by Simon Richardson ANCA Product Manager