Active Implants’ NUsurface meniscus implant has been granted a Breakthrough Device Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The NUsurface Meniscus Implant is the first artificial meniscus to be marketed in Europe and, if cleared by the FDA, would be the first artificial meniscus in the U.S.

The FDA Breakthrough Devices Program was implemented to expedite the development and review process for medical devices that are novel or offer new technology for patients with life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating conditions. This program is designed to ensure patients and healthcare providers have more timely access to vital devices.

“The Breakthrough Device Designation is a significant step in our mission to fulfill a substantial unmet need in the U.S. orthopedic market,” says Ted Davis, president and CEO of Active Implants. “We believe we will have the data required for our FDA submission next year, after completing enrollment in our clinical trials in 2018. We look forward to working closely with the FDA to expedite the review process for the NUsurface Implant to provide a new treatment option to the hundreds of thousands of patients who continue to experience persistent knee pain following meniscus surgery, but are too young for total knee replacement.”

It’s been a busy September and the month isn’t over yet. Congratulations are in order for new hires, promotions in the manufacturing industry. Mark Wright will now lead Methods Machine Tools as the newly appointed president and CEO. Sandvik Coromant welcomes Annika Langéen to the position of VP of Marketing for the Americas. Maja Foster will take the role of Global Marketing Director for Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence’s Production Software business.

In case you could attend EMO Hannover 2019, GIE Media’s Manufacturing Group had feet on the ground throughout the show. Here’s a quick recap from Robert Schoenberger.

Keep reading, there are more details about the news mentioned and I’ve included a video and about Jeannette Song, an operations professor at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, and the mathematical model she created to help firms balance the costs of storing spare parts and the need to have them instantly available.

© Methods Machine Tools
https://www.methodsmachine.com

Methods Machine Tools Inc., appointed Mark Wright as its president and CEO. Wright will assume all operating functions of Methods Machine Tools Inc. including the Sudbury, Massachusetts headquarters and all seven direct offices throughout the United States as well as its National distribution network.

Wright’s career spans nearly every level of operating responsibilities in a wide variety of industries including software, hardware, machinery, and services. He has led operations, sales, and financial teams. He has worked in Asia and the Far East and has a very global outlook in strategic planning, growth initiatives, and sales channel programs and development. Wright has significant experience in team building and process improvement. His key strengths include collaborating across functional lines, communicating with global executives, working in various other cultures, and contract negotiations.

Sean Holt, head of Sales Area Americas for Sandvik Coromant, welcomes Annika Langéen to the VP of Marketing role for the Americas. Langéen is responsible for the strategic direction of global marketing and brand positioning for the sales area.

Langéen joined Sandvik Coromant in 2014 as regional sales manager South Sweden and was appointed to VP of sales for Nordic countries in 2016. Experienced in various roles within sales and operations, Langéen is a leader who drives improvements, delivers results and develops people. In her new role, she is accountable for the strategic direction of global marketing and brand positioning. Through her proven track record and dynamic management style, she will continue to elevate the brand and improve the customer experience. Langéen holds master’s degrees in Technology Management and Science, Chemical Engineering & Technology from Lund University in Sweden.

Langéen’s home base is at the Schaumburg, Illinois, office, the location of the Sandvik Coromant Center.

© Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence
https://www.hexagonmi.com/en-US

Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence has appointed Maja Foster as global marketing director of its Production Software business. Joining the company after seven years at machine tool manufacturer Mazak, including the last three as European marketing manager, Foster brings a wealth of metalworking industry experience to her new role, in which she will be setting marketing strategies for all product lines under the Production Software umbrella.

In addition to the marketing responsibilities, Foster will also lead product management, a specialist team whose tasks include gathering market intelligence, performing market analysis and defining future product content and direction.

© Big Kaiser | http://www.bigkaiser.com

In order to offer more flexibility to customers, Big Kaiser has moved production of its CAT50 milling adapters to the U.S. The product performance and design will not change, but the move allows for more variation and faster delivery of special lengths for specific applications.

“The market has spoken,” Alan Miller, engineering and product manager, says. “As awareness of Smart Damper has spread, more and more customers have asked for specials for their unique projects. This allows us to do more of that without the delay of coordinating with our partners overseas and additional shipping time.”

With both a patented counterweight and friction damper, the Smart Damper is a dynamic damping system that eliminates vibration for higher productivity. It provides quiet, vibration-free milling with long projection tools, ultimately making it easier to achieve fine surface finishes and higher metal removal rates.

Smart Damper adapters are also available for turning and boring applications.

Jeannette Song, an operations professor at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, has created a mathematical model to help firms balance the costs of storing spare parts and the need to have them instantly available.

A paper describing the model, Stock or Print? Impact of 3D Printing on Spare Parts Industry, has been published in the journal Management Science. Song worked with Yue Zhang, who conducted the research while earning her Ph.D. at The Fuqua School of Business and is now an assistant professor at Pennsylvania State University.

July 2019 U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $198.4 million according to the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute (USCTI) and AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the Cutting Tool Market Report collaboration, was down 0.6% from June's $199.7 million and down 1.3% when compared with the $201.0 million reported for July 2018. With a year-to-date total of $1.5 billion, 2019 is up 2.6% when compared with 2018.

These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals reported by the companies participating in the CTMR program. The totals here represent the majority of the U.S. market for cutting tools.

Brad Lawton, chairman of AMT’s Cutting Tool Product Group says, “While orders for production machines are down 12%, cutting tool shipments are still holding up in comparison to 2018 figures. The impending downturn in investment is expected to be short and shallow but it is still likely to yield a couple of tough quarters for cutting tool manufacturers.”

“The Purchasing Managers’ Index dip below 50 in July suggests that the year over year growth in cutting tools is likely to turn negative when August shipment levels are published. Still, some industries demand for cutting tools continues to expand as cautiousness shifted production downstream deeper into the supply chain or into contract machine shops,” said Dave Burns, President of Global Business Advisory Services LLC.

“umati is opening up a new chapter in production,” says Dr. Heinz-Jürgen Prokop, Chairman of the VDW (Verein Deutscher Werkzeugmaschinenhersteller – German Machine Tool Builders' Association). “The interface enables machine tool manufacturers to fulfill another Industry 4.0 promise: the simple, fast, and secure exchange of data.”

70 companies from 10 countries connected 110 machines and 28 value-added services at EMO Hannover 2019 via the umati standard interface. Creating a connection and providing a uniform language for machines, systems, and software are essential prerequisites for reaping the benefits of digitalization in production.

umati has also already made a strong impression internationally. Three international consortia from major machine tool manufacturing countries have joined the interface: ProdNet from Switzerland, Edgecross from Japan, and NCLink from China. In addition, the machine tool associations from China, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, and Taiwan as well as the European machine tool association Cecimo are supporting the project.

"Choosing the OPC UA standard as a basis for the development of the interface supports international dissemination. It ensures that umati can be used free of charge worldwide," Prokop says.

90 companies are contributing to the standardization work in the Joint Working Group together with the OPC Foundation. The release of Version 1.0 of the Companion Specification, the next milestone, is planned for the middle of next year. 

A few EMO booth highlights

SKF and FANUC demonstrated an edge platform technology solution for the machine tool industry for automated anomaly detection of machine tool health. By using FANUC’s Industrial IoT Platform, FIELD system and SKF’s IMX condition monitoring technology as the basis, end-users will be able to predict spindle health using vibration, temperature, speed and process data. The results are integrated into the end-user’s existing FIELD system dashboards for a straightforward user experience.

© SKF - https://www.skf.com &
FANUC - https://www.fanucamerica.com

Parameters and thresholds per machine are set and adjusted based on real, historical data, not just theoretical standards. Benchmarking real-time bearing performance, across several connected machines in the same factory setting, gives additional insights. Through SKF’s engineering expertise and knowledge of spindles, lubrication systems and sealing solutions, this can lead to improved spindle performance, increased uptime and optimized inventory management.

Davide Giordana, SKF’s director, machine tool industry says, “The value of digitalization and automation within manufacturing lies in the insights it creates for machine owners and operators. By giving end-users real-time insights into the performance of their spindles using bearing trend development and diagnostics, we can help them make better decisions about maintenance. Simply put, this enables higher and more reliable performance.”

Fastems presented automation equipment, software, and expertise, “engaging with customers and prospects to explore the optimal way to take a conventional machining cell or manufacturing operation and automate it,” explained David Suica, president of Fastems LLC, the North American subsidiary of Finland-based Fastems Oy Ab. “We can discuss everything from a modular system incorporating a robot to a comprehensive and complex FMS solution, and all the various iterations in between that spectrum. Automation solutions require a customized approach and a collaborative effort with our customers. While we provide equipment such as pallet stackers, robots, load/unload stations, and sophisticated software, the design and configuration of all the pieces require experience and proven success. That’s what Fastems brings to each and every customer’s particular automation needs.”

The company also highlighted its most recent introductions and services. For its Robotized Finishing Cells (RFC), Fastems launched new simulation services and a new version of its FastSimu software. The simulation services are comprised of packages pertaining to activities before and after an RFC acquisition.

The new version of FastSimu is an off-line software tool for the RFC that graphically simulates various finishing operations such as deburring and milling. Programmers can view realistic simulations of the process and conduct virtual testing of new tools and optimize the operations as necessary to avoid collisions.

The Fastems RoboCell ONE sets new standards in relation to extremely adaptable and flexible machining, particularly heavy workpieces within batches of different sizes. The easy-to-configure robot cell is primarily designed for handling heavy workpieces weighing up to 176 lb (80kg) and for automating up to two machine tools of the same type – either lathes or milling machines. The solution comes into its own at the point where existing automation systems reach their limits solely due to the maximum weight of the workpiece. The RoboCell ONE has been specifically developed for the flexible production of different batch sizes including a wide variety of components. A special feature of the robot cell is an optional, automated gripper change system for the flexible handling of workpieces and the simple implementation of new components – without interrupting production operations. The robot can accordingly be fitted with single, double, or special grippers. Up to 6 different grippers may be used for handling workpieces in specific production operations. A single robot can be operated in one linear axis is able to supply 2 machines with workpieces in a flexible manner.

© FASTEMS - http://www.fastems.com

The new MMS Version 7 combines three previously separate manufacturing facets in a single, powerful software solution that links all relevant processes – part handling, pallet handling, and workcell operations. The manufacturing processes in the individual areas can be planned, forecasted, controlled, and monitored separately or in combination as required. This allows the full transparency of manufacturing operations by providing a detailed overview of the entire production process. MMS users will therefore not only find it easier to plan the production and the resources required for it as a package, but also to control it more effectively and adapt flexibly to future orders. 

© Ecoclean - https://ecoclean-group.net

Shown at EMO, Ecolean’s EcoCvelox is a highly flexible, modular solution for cost-efficient high-pressure waterjet deburring and cleaning in a single procedure. The process-dependent configurable and expandable machine with integrated linear transport system enables processing of parts with dimensions up to 200mm x 200mm x 200mm cycle times of only 15 seconds per palette in the so-called one-piece flow. An integrated CAD / CAM interface allows for quick and easy programming of the high-pressure deburring process – either with a single spindle or a high-pressure turret with up to five tools. In combination with an innovative system for parts handling, it ensures that process operations for new workpieces can be implemented in the shortest possible time. Component cleaning and drying can be carried out by means of injection flood washing, spraying, controlled rinsing and ultrasound, as well as high-speed blowing and vacuum drying. The system can be loaded automatically with a robot or portal system as well as manually.