#DATAMATTERS

Measurement

How Manufacturing Data Can Save the World

Digital spaces rooted in real-world sensor data help scale big ideas and move humanity toward a more sustainable, autonomous future.

Matt Danford
Former Senior Editor, Modern Machine Shop

Data-Driven Manufacturing

Machine Monitoring Has a Lot to Learn

Supplementing CNC connections with sensors and machine learning enables predicting performance on the level of the individual part.

Data-Driven Manufacturing

4 Ways “Tag and Track” Technology Keeps Data Chains Intact

Scannable images and tags inextricably link relevant information with workpieces, cutting tools and other physical assets.

Data-Driven Manufacturing

Edge Computing Device Simplifies Small-Scale Digital Manufacturing

A nonprofit group touts an economical means of unlocking capability ranging from CNC machine tool monitoring to closed-loop process control.

Automation

5 Smart Drilling Lessons Apply Beyond the Application

A specific machine learning use case illuminates general principles for applying artificial intelligence at any CNC machining business.

Data-Driven Manufacturing

Top Shops Are Data-Driven by Definition

CNC machine shops at various stages of digitalizing their operations share a commitment to evidence-backed decision-making.

Data-Driven Manufacturing

Monitoring Machine Tools? Don’t Discount DNC

Networks that feed part programs to shopfloor CNCs can double as a foundation for pulling data from them.

Data-Driven Manufacturing

The CNC Reveals its Secrets

Machine monitoring becomes a platform for predictive maintenance without requiring extra sensors.

Matt Danford
Former Senior Editor, Modern Machine Shop

Data-Driven Manufacturing

Robots Get a Ride with CNC Machine-tending AGVs

Mobile machine tenders prove that “automation-ready” is a state of mind.

Data-Driven Manufacturing

Is Wireless Data Collection a Cultural Choice?

Untethered digital inspection tools are easier to justify for those who are willing to hold themselves accountable and improve for improvement’s sake.

Data-Driven Manufacturing

Cybersecurity Process Maturity Demands a Plan

Plans may fail, but planning has intrinsic value for building sustainable, adaptable data defenses.

Data-Driven Manufacturing

Probing Feedback Keeps CNC Machining On Track

CNC machine tools that operate like self-contained, automated smart factories can be an introduction or an addition to digital manufacturing workflows.

Additive Manufacturing

Five 3D Printing Trends Mirrored in Machining

The underlying drivers of additive manufacturing’s advance are increasingly easy to spot on automated CNC machine shop floors.

Data-Driven Manufacturing

Manufacturing E-Commerce Expands with Expectations

Whether by automating on their own terms or joining a vetted network, manufacturers are responding to demand for easy online part ordering.

Data-Driven Manufacturing

Wireless Couplers Work Wonders for Workholding

Possibilities range from individual control of chuck jaws and tombstone fixtures to more reliable robots.

Matt Danford
Former Senior Editor, Modern Machine Shop

Data-Driven Manufacturing

"Soft" Automation is Long Overdue

Digitalizing and systemizing the clerical work of quoting and quality control is more achievable and more urgent than ever.

Data-Driven Manufacturing

Digital "Fingerprints" Put Twins in Perspective

Unique identifiers keep the digital thread intact through design, production and quality control.

Data-Driven Manufacturing

Wires Make the World Wireless

Leveraging 5G requires infrastructure grounded in physical wiring and thinking grounded in practical application.

CAD/CAM

Simulation Gets Real

Capability to generate something close to a true digital twin can significantly improve confidence in CAM program prove-outs.

Data-Driven Manufacturing

5 Best Practices for Manufacturing Cybersecurity

A Department of Defense (DoD) push to protect data by vetting suppliers more thoroughly illuminates how any CNC machining business can improve.

Data-Driven Manufacturing

All Top Shops Are Winners

Standing out in one category is not enough to earn a spot among the highest-performing CNC machining businesses.

Automation

AI Chip Flushing Keeps the Lights Out

Swiveling, camera-guided coolant nozzles solve a CNC machining automation problem that is ideal for artificial intelligence (AI).

Matt Danford
Former Senior Editor, Modern Machine Shop

Data-Driven Manufacturing

Machine Monitoring Circles Back to Basics

Deeper insights from more varied data are no replacement for manufacturing fundamentals.

Data-Driven Manufacturing

CNC Data Feeds Make Social Distancing Easier

Machine monitoring helps work remotely, avoid close contact on the shop floor and prevent underbilling for lights-out machining.

Data-Driven Manufacturing

Adding Part Traceability to CNC Machine Monitoring

Focusing on what makes money puts CNC machine monitoring data in context.

Data-Driven Manufacturing

Can Sharing CNC Data Lift the Machining Industry?

Masses of anonymous metrics arrive ahead of even the leading economic indicators and help machine shops benchmark performance.

Automation

What Makes Smart Robots Smart?

How manufacturing technology “thinks,” and the extent to which it should, are critical considerations in applying artificial intelligence intelligently.

Data-Driven Manufacturing

Robots Get Hand-Eye Coordination

Artificial vision, touch and intelligence help collaborative robots cope with the unpredictable.

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