MT Magazine September/October 2022

FEATURE STORY

WORKFORCE ISSUE

16

manufacturing and building the workforce may cause some disagreement about the details, but manufacturing has consistently had bipartisan support because there is a recognition of the importance of manufacturing to the country, both economically and security-wise.” She points out that “There is a real understanding that manufacturing is a key to the future.” And AMT continues to work to lock in that understanding of the importance of manufacturing. Creating the Tools So what will the next few years look like in the realm of manufacturing technology as the 120th year of AMT gives way to 121, 122 … and beyond? Tim Shinbara, AMT chief technology officer, keeps his finger on the pulse of manufacturing today and his eye on the horizon of what’s to come. Companies achieve competitive advantage through acts of innovation. – Michael E. Porter Metal cutting seems likely to be advanced by improvements in spindles, cutting tools, and f ixtures, and Shinbara emphasizes that while improvements will certainly continue in those areas, what will be more important is that the elements will be connected by data. According to him, this data will enable the use of virtual simulations before any cutting is performed, leading to consistently accomplishing “first-part right” and “one-and-done” machining. Such simulations are made possible by using the vast data accumulated from actual, physical machining – gained through sensors on machines – that is processed to create part and process models that are virtual analogues of the real world, aka “digital twins.” Metal forming may see some significant changes, Shinbara suggests, both in terms of materials being formed – an increase in the number of exotics, generally machined – as well as in tooling: robots will perform toolless forming operations, driven by machine learning algorithms. (As you can see from just these two metals-related processes, digital tools and methods play a huge role in manufacturing: Want to know what “smart manufacturing” is? That’s a big part of it.) Additive manufacturing, of course, will continue to advance: “It will become better, quicker, and faster. There will be more additive manufacturing in the world.” Part of this, Shinbara explains, will be the result of digital tools, as in the ability to precisely model things like the interaction of the beam with the material. Metals will be a much bigger part of additive, including refractorymaterials, which will find increased use in hypersonic applications (and know that hypersonics is one of the aforementioned CETs).

publish/subscribe model (the publisher is a device with a specific set of capabilities that sends out a message regarding what it can do; depending on the required task, other devices “subscribe” to those capabilities). Sensors – vision, in particular – will become more ubiquitous and more useful, thanks to machine learning and AI. There will be an increase in the number of cobots involved in assembly operations. Controls will become more intuitive. Programs will be more about features and functions than G-codes. The controls themselves are going to be more like thin clients, with some things resident onboard in memory (e.g., there will be local functionality like conditionals to check for real-time tool breakage) while more of the information will be in the cloud. However, Shinbara notes, there will have to be increased consideration of cybersecurity at both network and control levels: “We will need edge devices with cyber protection.” Ultimately, nations succeed in particular industries because their home environment is the most forward-looking, dynamic, and challenging. – Michael E. Porter While manufacturing seemed to be ebbing in importance in the United States some 20 years ago, AMT President Douglas K. Woods points out that there has been a massive reversal in the past two years, particularly when the pandemic made it clear that global supply chains are far more fragile than anyone had anticipated. “Reshoring, near-shoring, direct foreign investments – all of these are up significantly,” Woods says, pointing out that companies are recognizing the importance of having manufacturing operations closer to where the consumption of those products is – rather than having those products in a country on the other side of the planet that is susceptible to lockdowns, or on a cargo ship in an overwhelmed port. Woods says that every couple of years, there tends to be the emergence of a new technology or technique that becomes a core part of manufacturing. And for 120 years AMT has been facilitating – through advocacy, community, education, exhibitions, and more – competitive manufacturing in America.

If you have any questions about this information, please contact Gary at vasilash@gmail.com.

In assembly he sees a greater amount of interaction between various pieces of equipment via a