Indianapolis, Indiana – The second annual Designing Medical Devices Forum has been announced for June 2, 2014, in Stuttgart, Germany. Co-sponsored by Specialty Coating Systems (SCS), Oliver Tolas, Zestron, and NAMSA, the one-day seminar will educate engineers on various aspects of the medical device design process, including device compliance, part cleaning, device coating, and packaging.

The seminar will begin at noon with a welcome reception and conclude with a networking dinner. Presentations throughout the afternoon will appeal to engineers in many disciplines, including R&D, design, manufacturing, quality, materials, and electronics, as well as to those involved in regulatory affairs and product management. For the most up-to-date agenda, visit www.deviceforum.net.

The Designing Medical Devices forum will be held at the Movenpick Airport & Messe in Stuttgart, Germany, which offers close proximity to the airport, train station and Messe Stuttgart. Admission to the June 2, 2014, seminar is free, pre-registration is required.

For more information, including the full forum schedule and registration information, visit www.deviceforum.net.

For more information on co-sponsors, visit the following sites: 

• Specialty Coating Systems 
• Zestron 
• Oliver Tolas 
• NAMSA

Source: Designing Medical Devices

Florence, Kentucky – Manufacturers looking for ways to better calculate their overall equipment efficiency, monitor their machine tools from one system and reduce their production losses will benefit from Mazak’s upcoming webinar titled “MTConnect: Practical Applications and Uses” on Tuesday, June 17, 2014, at 2 p.m. ET. 

Neil Desrosiers, Mazak applications engineer/developer, will host the free 30-minute webinar that will explore how MTConnect, an open-source, royalty-free manufacturing protocol, easily connects devices and systems from different suppliers to capture and share information in a common format. 

Not only will webinar participants learn the basics of MTConnect and how it exists to set the standard communication method for retrieving data from manufacturing equipment, but also how Mazak actively supports MTConnect as a way to provide complete manufacturing solutions. The company now builds MTConnect-compliant machines as well as offers moderately priced adapters for existing equipment in the field.   

Currently, MTConnect allows manufacturers to establish, at a reasonable investment, a means to gather valuable information on the machines in their factory operations, such as monitoring energy consumption, and use the data to improve equipment utilization and boost productivity. 

In fact, Mazak is a prime example of a company that has implemented the protocol and seen its many productivity benefits. In 2013, the company began converting its Kentucky manufacturing plant over to MTConnect to monitor its overall equipment efficiency. 

Mazak also has plans to use MTConnect for several custom applications unique to its manufacturing operations. These applications include monitoring machine tool spindle sensors for valuable maintenance data, as well as tracking part cycle times to benefit the company’s scheduling department.   

Registration for the “MTConnect: Practical Applications and Uses” webinar is now open at www.mazakusa.com/webinars. Once registered, all it takes to participate is a computer, an Internet connection and a web browser.

Source: Mazak

The MFG Meeting is a joint event for members of AMT-The Association For Manufacturing Technology, the National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA), and the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA).

Held at the Arizona Biltmore Resort, Phoenix, Arizona, The MFG Meeting brought together hundred more than 700 manufacturing leaders from March 5-8, 2014, in Phoenix, Ariz.

The theme for this year’s event was “Opportunity has no limits…leap for it.” This joint association event represents members that make up more than 4,000 small-and medium-sized manufacturers and distributors from all 50 states – members that provide products and services for medical, aerospace, defense, automotive, construction, energy, and much more.

The event included:

• A keynote on competitive advantage, organizational change and transformational leadership by Jack Uldrich, a renowned global futurist, independent scholar, and best-selling author;
  
• John Walker, chairman, Oxford Economics, and Alan Beaulieu, president, ITR Economics – known as the “dueling economists” – discussed the state of the economy and the industry;
  
• Markos I. Tambakeras, chairman of Xylem Inc., talked about water and the future of American manufacturing;
  
• Closing the skills gap was a topic of discussion by Dr. David DeLong, president of David DeLong & Associates;
  
• A presentation on knowing about “A, B & C players” – covered by Dr. Brad Smart, president of Topgrading Inc. – looked at role these players have in determining strategic competitiveness
  
• Closing out the event was Luke Williams, professor of innovation at NYU Stern School of Business, and executive director, Berkley Entrepreneurship Center at NYU, who covered driving innovation by intentional strategic intervention
  
• The overall event was one not to miss, so make plans to attend next year’s The MFG Meeting, scheduled for March 4-7, 2015, in Orlando, Fla.

Washington, DC – The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation (the Foundation) released the March 2014 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI). Designed to collect leadership data, the index reports a qualitative assessment of both the prevailing business conditions and expectations for the future as reported by key executives from the $827 billion equipment finance sector. Overall, confidence in the equipment finance market is 65.1, the highest index in two years and an increase from the February index of 63.3. The first quarter MCI levels are the three highest since April 2011.

When asked about the outlook for the future, MCI survey respondent Daryn Lecy, VP of operations, Stearns Bank N.A. Equipment Finance Division, said, “Considering we are coming off what are typically slower months and the likelihood that our extra-aggressive winter further impacted new business, we remain optimistic for 2014. We are fortunate to be experiencing year-over-year growth, increasing demand, and overall solid delinquency levels.” 

March 2014 Survey Results:
The overall MCI-EFI is 65.1, an increase from the February index of 63.3.

• When asked to assess their business conditions over the next four months, 31.4% of executives responding said they believe business conditions will improve over the next four months, up from 21.2% in February. 65.7% of respondents believe business conditions will remain the same over the next four months, down from 72.7% in February. 2.9% believe business conditions will worsen, down from 6.1% who believed so the previous month.
• 31.4% of survey respondents believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase over the next four months, up from 24.2% in February. 62.9% believe demand will “remain the same” during the same four-month time period, down from 69.7% the previous month. 5.7% believe demand will decline, down from 6.1% who believed so in February. 
• 31.4% of executives expect more access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions over the next four months, unchanged from February. 68.6% of survey respondents indicate they expect the “same” access to capital to fund business, up from 65.5% in February. No one expects “less” access to capital, down from 3.1% who expected less access the previous month. 
• When asked, 40% of the executives reported they expect to hire more employees over the next four months, relatively unchanged from February. 60% expect no change in headcount over the next four months, up from 53% last month. No one expects fewer employees, down from 6.3% who expected fewer employees in February. 
• 5.7% of the leadership evaluates the current U.S. economy as “excellent,” up from 3% last month. 88.6% of the leadership evaluates the current U.S. economy as “fair,” down from 93.8% last month. 5.7% rate it as “poor,” up from 3% last month.
• 31.4% of the of survey respondents believe that U.S. economic conditions will get “better” over the next six months, a decrease from 34.4% who believed so in February. 68.6% of survey respondents indicate they believe the U.S. economy will “stay the same” over the next six months, an increase from 59.4% in February. No one believes economic conditions in the U.S. will worsen over the next six months, a decrease from 6.2% last month. 
• In March, 45.7% of respondents indicate they believe their company will increase spending on business development activities during the next six months, a decrease from 56.3% in February. 54.3% believe there will be “no change” in business development spending, an increase from 43.8% last month. No one believes there will be a decrease in spending, unchanged from last month. 

How may I access the MCI-EFI?
Survey results are posted on the Foundation website, http://www.leasefoundation.org/IndRsrcs/MCI/, included in the Foundation Forecast newsletter and included in press releases. Survey respondent demographics and additional information about the MCI are also available at the link above.

Source: The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation