Current pulse

Laser and resistance spot welding symposium

Amada Miyachi America Inc., a manufacturer of welding, marking, cutting, and micro machining equipment and systems, will be presenting Medical Device Manufacturing – Enable Part Functionality with High Yield, a free symposium focusing on laser and resistance spot welding in medical device manufacturing.

Design and manufacturing engineers will gather to learn about techniques and developments in laser welding, resistance welding, laser cutting, and laser micro- machining specific to medical device manufacturing.

Amada Miyachi’s technology experts and product, application, and process development engineers will discuss micro-welding source selection, material selection, part design, process development for validation, and UDI laser marking. The event will be held in San Jose, Costa Rica, on Aug. 11, 2015 (presentations in Spanish) and Aug. 12, 2015 (presentations in English). www.amadamiyachi.com

Carol King joins GCH Tool Group sales team

GCH Tool Group, a supplier of spare parts, components, and assemblies for centerless, ID, OD, double disc, and surface grinders, welcomes Carol King to its sales team. King, the new sales engineer, will be the point of contact for GCH Tool customers.

King began her career as a press operator and brings many years of hands-on manufacturing experience to GCH Tool.

“Carol has a passion for manufacturing. Her proven track record of growing sales and providing excellent customer service, combined with her energy and enthusiasm, will contribute to our company’s growth,” says Anthony Giacalone, GCH Tool Group sales manager. www.gchtool.com

Blue Ocean Robots expands into the US

Blue Ocean Robotics ApS is opening an office in West Chester, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati, to provide emerging robotics solutions, sales, and services to the healthcare, education, and manufacturing sectors.

The announcement follows strong performance of Blue Ocean Robotics in Denmark and positions the company for entrance into the U.S. market.

Timothy DeRosett will lead the company in the United States, which will operate under the name Blue Ocean Robotics LLC. Prior to joining Blue Ocean, DeRosett was director of strategic initiatives for Yaskawa Motoman. www.blue-ocean-robotics.com

SGS Tool Co.’s new manufacturing facility

SGS Tool Co., a manufacturer of solid carbide cutting tools, has built an end mill facility in Munroe Falls, Ohio, increasing capacity to keep up with market demand. Next to the company’s existing manufacturing facilities, the new 76,000ft² facility includes a two-story office building and climate control to enable precision machining and consistency in production.

TMD editors were recently invited to tour the new facility. Rows of Rollomatic and Walter tool grinders line the vast production floor, but there is plenty of room for more machines to be added to the facility. Quality and consistency in the production of carbide cutting tools is obvious with a range of inspection tools located near each production cell. Next door is the company’s drilling facility, so with this expansion, the two divisions are able to jointly share in warehousing of the raw material stock used in the production of the tools.

Since a ribbon cutting ceremony in May 2015, SGS Tool has been producing more than 8,000 end mills a day using the latest CNC machining technology. www.sgstool.com

Methods Machine Tools celebrates 10 years

In May 2015, Methods Machine Tools Inc. held an open house to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of its Detroit Technology Center in Wixom, Michigan. A traditional Japanese sake-barrel smashing ceremony took place to kick-off the two-day event, which involved technical seminars, tours, and access to applications experts provided by Methods.

In addition to live machining demonstrations, industry experts held two seminars each day on geometric dimensioning and tolerancing in the manufacturing world, and another on FANUC robotics, which highlighted automation, dual check safety, material handling solutions, and costs. Attendees also viewed the latest products and met with company representatives from Amada, Edge Technologies, Hembrug, MCU, MP Tool & Engineering, MSC Industrial Supply, Nikuni, Sandvik, Tsudakoma, and Weiler.

Machines on display at the event included Yasda machining centers, Nakamura-Tome multi-tasking turning centers, FANUC RoboDrill vertical machining centers, FANUC wire EDM machines, Kiwa-Japan horizontal machining centers, and Feeler vertical machining centers and horizontal turning centers.

“Our open house was a big success, attracting manufacturers that were eager to see the latest machines, our impressive technology center, and to discuss their applications in a relaxed environment,” says Thomas Saur, general manager, Methods’ Detroit Technical Center. www.methodsmachine.com

Knee implants market set for growth

The global knee implants market was $8.4 billion in 2011 and it is forecasted that this market will reach $15 billion in 2018 with compound annual growth rate of 8.64% from 2011 to 2018. The U.S. and Europe are the two big markets for knee implants and both the countries enjoy more than 70% market share of global knee implants.

A new report from Transparency Market Research shows that the knee implants market will grow due to factors such as increase in the rate of age-related diseases such as osteoporosis and arthritis, diabetes, obesity, ageing population and sports-related injuries. However, due to technological advances such as minimally invasive surgery, better implant materials, and better success rates, even the younger populations are able to undergo knee replacement surgery. These technological advancements have made it possible to have procedures with small incisions, lower blood loss, less tissue injuries, and faster recovery times. Growing awareness among patients regarding their health will also help to drive the market.

In this emerging market, both patients and surgeons have more options for implant due to the newer available techniques, which are giving better patient outcomes. This has given options for implant manufacturers to provide new product solutions.

The leading players in the knee implants market are B.Braun, Smith and Nephew, Stryker, Zimmer, and Depuy. They accounted for almost 80% of the total market. Zimmer is the market leader among them with 30% market share. http://goo.gl/9PNO7Y