Optimism about business prospects in the next 6 months

(Level of optimism: 1 = not optimistic at all; 10 = extremely optimistic)

1 – 3%

2 – 1%

3 – 2%

4 – 1%

5 – 8%

6 – 14%

7 – 31%

8 – 26%

9 – 10%

10 – 5%

56% plan to increase workforce in the next 6 months

Only 5% have confidence in ability to obtain, retain required talent

2/3 of manufacturers,distributors don’t plan to take advantage of/are unsure if they qualify for Employee Retention Credit

Confidence in using existing data to make business decisions

32%: Completely confident

40%: Fairly confident

14%: Somewhat confident

11%: Slightly confident

3%: Not confident at all

More than 50% experienced at least two information security events in the past 12 months. Top reported instances:

81%: Email phishing scams

42%: Unemployment fraud

9%: Ransomware

Source: https://www.sikich.com/2021-industry-pulse-results

1. As a leader in CNC tool grinding technology, when did Rollomatic enter the N. American market?

Founded in the 1980s, Rollomatic is a private Swiss company specializing in the design and manufacture of high-precision CNC machines for production grinding of cutting tools, cylindrical grinding, and laser cutting ultra-hard materials. We provide complete manufacturing solutions for grinding precision tools and parts, including wheel dressing and measuring finished parts. Rollomatic has shipped CNC grinding machines into the North American medical industry for bone drill and bur production for 30 years, so we have vast experience in grinding stainless- steel and steel cutting instruments.

2. What grinding solutions does Rollomatic deliver to customers?

Our experience with the orthopedic industry has taught us to develop and offer grinding solutions so customers can efficiently produce a large variety of orthopedic cutting tools - bone drills, hip reamers, arthroscopic burs, bones saws, cranial perforators, tissue shavers, and bone taps. Spherical cutters and hip rasps are largely used to prepare the hip socket and femur for hip joint replacements. Apart from the cutting geometry grinding, Rollomatic offers pinch/peel grinding machines for the attachment of orthopedic tools – a form of quick disconnect feature at the end of the tool shank. We can grind any grip feature of all known handpiece brands.

3. How does Rollomatic’s R&D meet customers’ demands?

We constantly work to enhance grinding speed, quality, and capabilities to benefit our customers. Application engineers grind tools and parts every day to find ways to improve existing processes or validate customers’ tools. We test new superabrasive wheels to increase feed rates, surface finish, and minimize bur issues with stainless steel. Our in-house developed desktop tool design software, VirtualGrindPro, is constantly updated and expanded.

4. How do Rollomatic grinding machines meet the future demand of connectivity and Industry 4.0?

Our solutions range from simple machine monitoring software to a future off-site platform providing modular cloud services including computing, data storage, and analytics. RMonitor machine monitoring software can be used as a live production cockpit to improve productivity, provide scheduling flexibility, and display manufacturing history. RConnect is designed to extract data from your Rollomatic machines using standard communication protocol, OPC-UA. The data can then be transferred to ERP programs, factory management software, or measuring machines.

5. Has Rollomatic developed any robotic solutions?

The new Kawada humanoid industrial robot can easily be placed where a person usually operates. It uses its head and two arms, equipped with cameras, to take over tedious, dangerous, or repetitive tasks, allowing workers to focus on areas that require creativity to generate greater added value.

For more information:
http://www.Rollomatic.Ch/en/contact/usa

When a hip joint affects quality of life by restricting movement and causing chronic pain, many people decide to have an artificial joint implanted. Total joint replacement surgery, including hip replacement, is one of the most performed elective surgeries. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), more than 450,000 total hip replacement surgeries are done yearly in the U.S., and this number is expected to reach 635,000 surgeries annually by 2030. Here are five things to know about machining hip components:

This is most important where the hip stem and the joint ball connect. For the conical surfaces to fit together perfectly, they need to be produced with the highest precision and surface quality. The CERATIZIT machining solutions for this precise operation are the KOMtronic U-Axis and stepped reamer. These and other precision tools ensure all required tolerances are met while increasing productivity compared to conventional production methods.

Artificial hip joints consist of difficult-to-machine materials which need to be machined within the narrowest tolerances and as economically as possible. Ultimately, an artificial hip replacement of the highest quality should be available to as many people as possible. We work with great dedication to find suitable tool solutions for these tasks.

3. Artificial hip joints have demanding and varied requirements. For the hip stem, made from high-strength titanium alloy Ti6Al4V, an angle tolerance of ±5° must be maintained in the conical connection area. Other tolerances are 3µm for straightness, 8µm for roundness, and 60µm for the diameter. It’s also important to achieve the specified contact ratio for the cone and produce a precisely defined groove profile.

4. The joint ball is made from a cobalt-based alloy (Co-Cr-Mo). Its conical hole must have the same shape, angle, and dimension tolerances, as well as the specified contact ratio. No unintended marks, ridges, or grooves can be made during machining.

5. To produce the conical outside profile, opt for pre-machining with a solid carbide conical milling cutter. The subsequent roughing and finishing are performed using the U-Axis system. This is an interchangeable, freely programmable NC axis for machining centers that can machine contours and be used for turning.

CERATIZIT’s Team Cutting Tools Part of CERATIZIT Group’s Team Cutting Tools, along with Cutting Solutions by CERATIZIT, WNT, and KLENK, KOMET brand tooling is a trusted partner in the medical industry. The freely programmable KOMTronic U-Axis systems enable any contour and turning machining on non-rotationally symmetrical parts.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
https://cuttingtools.ceratizit.com/us/en.html
customerservice.usa@ceratizit.com
800.783.2280

Ready Robotics’ Forge/OS 5 offers a single programming interface for hundreds of models of collaborative and industrial robots, as well as the peripherals required for automation. The open platform enables machine builders and software developers to create solutions and applications that instantly scale across robot brands.

Forge/OS 5 helps companies manage automation without needing deep expertise in robot programming. It also reduces complexity for those with multiple brands of robots and peripherals on their production floor, by removing brand-specific robot programming languages and simplifying gripper and other peripheral hardware integration. A robot powered by Forge/OS 5 can be programmed using Task Canvas, Ready’s no-code programming app.

As an open platform facilitating third-party development, developers can build apps on Task Canvas to focus on use cases that scale across robotic brands, benefitting from accessible core services of modern software. Hardware original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) can easily integrate their hardware with a robot powered by Forge/OS 5. Custom machine builders can create solutions for customers without needing expertise in brand-specific robot programming languages.

Ready Robotics
https://www.ready-robotics.com