Computing Advances Impact Manufacturing Systems

This is the first in a series of articles that will cover what I think is the most important trend in our industry—the accelerating improvement in manufacturing technology. We are all aware that equipment providers are constantly providing the industry with better solutions. This magazine devotes most of its pages to “new and improved” manufacturing devices of one sort or another. It is easy to fall into thinking this is normal, but it is a “new normal” in the long history of manufacturing. When seen in context, the improvements in recent years are so spectacular that to a rational mind it seems this rate of change can’t continue. Multi-axis machining to microns of accuracy, metrology devices that measures millions of points in a minute, lights-out manufacturing, collaborative robots, 3D printing. Where is the end?