Manufacturers Campaign Against Deeper Cuts In US Defense Spending.

There are multiple reports stating that the Aerospace Industries Association, "which represents manufacturers such as Boeing Co. (BA), United Technologies Corp. (UTX) and Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT), has launched a campaign to stave off cuts in the national security budget as a special congressional committee seeks to find $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction throughout the federal government." Boeing and Pratt & Whitney said reductions beyond the 10-year, $350 billion cut in this summer's debt accord would have a devastating impact on a defense industry that Marion C. Blakey, the association's president, described as 'fragile.' What do you think?

Help Wanted: Metrology Jobs are in Demand

The U.S. Department of Labor reported 13.9 million unemployed Americans in July 2011, and even the creation of 117,000 jobs last month didn’t put a dent in the 9.1-percent unemployment rate. In fact, there has been little change in the unemployment rate since December 2010. So why am I repeating these depressing statistics? As bad as this may sound, we are much better off compared to the climb to more than 10-percent unemployment last year.

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Software Company Executive Believes Digital Tools, Techniques Will Shape Manufacturing's Future.

Technology Review (7/29, Simonite) reports that Autodesk, a California-based software company "is betting that" digital tools and techniques, such as 3-D printing, "will have an increasingly powerful role in what happens on factory floors, enabling manufacturers to embrace more flexible strategies that deliver more customized products." Buzz Kross, who is in charge of Autodesk's manufacturing industry group, "says that rising costs in China's maturing economy and high-profile problems with out-sourced components, like those that plagued Boeing's 787, are making the model of high-volume, low-cost outsourced production less economically attractive.
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US Manufacturing Sees Strong End to First Half of 2011

Proclaiming that "the US manufacturing sector closed the first half of 2011 with a bang," IW Senior Editor Josh Cable wrote in the weekly manufacturing report in IndustryWeek (7/4), "In the days leading up to the Fourth of July weekend, we saw positive manufacturing numbers issued by the national Institute of Supply Management and ISM Chicago, as well as by the Federal Reserve banks of Dallas, Kansas City and Richmond."

Tax Credits Helping to Make U.S. Manufacturers More Competitive

During these difficult economic times, manufacturers are looking for new ways to grow their business and increase productivity without adding additional costs to their operations. In particular, R&D costs can add significantly to a firm's operating expenses in the hope of bearing fruit at some point down the road. To spur new growth here, Congress has passed new laws that provide tax incentives to shops looking to increase their R&D activities.

Read the entire article here...

Is U.S. Manufacturing "Back"?

On Monday, Times reporter and blogger Stephen Gandel wrote a column entitled "A Surprising Recovery: American Manufacturing is Back." In it, Gandel discusses small but significant growth in facilities throughout the U.S., including America's heartland. Economists and politicians speculate that we may be on the verge of a "manufacturing renassiance" - not a bad thing considering these jobs tend to pay more and offer better benefits than food service or other, similar occupations. Do you agree with Gandel's position? Read the post below and then take to our social sites to let us know: http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2011/05/16/a-surprising-jobs-recovery-american-manufacturing-is-back/

FARO Announces the Sales of its First Edge Arm to Pro-Weld

FARO is pleased to announce the sales of our first Edge arm to Pro-Weld Inc. of Chesterfield, Michigan. Pro-Weld is a full-service leader in the manufacturing of automotive part rack systems and creating custom designs for customers in defense and aerospace industries.

For Pro-Weld, the decision to purchase the Edge came after considering the product’s revolutionary technology, ease-of-use and the cost of not choosing the most innovative portable coordinate measuring machine (CMM) available. Many of Pro-Weld’s customers expect the products they receive to be built within very strict tolerances and checked with a CMM solution prior to delivery. To meet these requirements, the company has historically subcontracted measurement and calibration services that often resulted in costly travel fees and work slowdowns. Now, with the Edge arm, Pro-Weld can perform the measurements they need in-house and without the need for outside expenses. Read the full story here.

The New FARO EdgeArm is Here!

This morning, FARO announced the release of its newest measurement and imaging solutions, the EdgeArm and V4 Laser Line Probe - the most advanced FaroArm system ever produced. The latest generation of the FaroArm product line continues to eclipse competitive models in every category. The Edge improves production, quality, and reverse engineering processes by rapidly verifying or scanning parts with confidence and accuracy. The new Arm also simplifies the user experience with improved performance, portability and reliability.


The all new FARO V4 Laser Line Probe provides unparalleled non-contact measurement capabilities. Its wider laser stripe significantly increases scan coverage without sacrificing accuracy, while variable capture rates can produce over 45,000 points per second for exceptional speed and feature definition.


Take a look at the new EdgeArm here.

Express Manufacturing Gains Full ROI with the FARO GagePlus

Acton, Ontario-based Express Manufacturing specializes in the quick production of accurate parts for their customers. With a primary focus on the aerospace industry, specifically landing gear, Express Manufacturing often inspects bearing and matting surfaces to exacting standards. Additionally, the need to remove a part from the tooling machine for inspection created problems since it is nearly impossible to set a part back into a machine for re-tooling exactly as it was before the removal.

Express required a solution that would allow them to quickly and accurately inspect a part and eliminate the need to remove it during the machining process. FARO’s GagePlus arm proved to be the ideal product for Express because it’s easy-to-use, highly accurate (up to .0002”) and designed to be used directly on the shop floor – especially for on-machine inspections.

During a risk-free trial program called the FARO Technology Test Drive, Express was able to evaluate the GagePlus on their own shop floor and immediately realize the benefit. The shop easily implemented the solution and inspected parts to the accuracy of a much larger and more expensive CMM.

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