The Association For Manufacturing Technology’s (AMT) MT360 Conference will be held May 12-14, 2020, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California, bringing together the technology, manufacturing, and VC communities to discuss and demonstrate the role of transformative technologies in the future of manufacturing.

MT360 will showcase and demonstrate the integration of additive manufacturing (AM), augmented reality (AR), cognitive automation, and the digital thread into manufacturing operations.

“The MT360 Conference is part of AMT’s lifecycle strategy around transformative technologies,” says Douglas Woods, president of AMT. “The Silicon Valley and manufacturing technology communities evolved separately, and there are no well-orchestrated paths in the market to bring them together. There is enormous opportunity for collaboration, learning, and investment between these communities to accelerate product development.”

MT360 features:

• Tech Theater – Curated content from across manufacturing, technology, and investment showcases the application of transformative technologies to manufacturing
• Virtual Factory – Connects the concept of transformative technologies with demonstrated applications and solutions
• 16 Start Up Hubs – Includes start-up companies and VC investors presenting on innovative technology applications, investment opportunities
• Tech Garages – Anchored by companies, such as Cisco, showcasing connection to digital manufacturing and how the various solutions they see evolving

Keynote presenters include:

• Mickey McManus, visiting research fellow at the Office of the CTO at Autodesk; principal and chairman of the board, MAYA Design
• Rob Csongor, Vice President of Autonomous Machines, NVIDIA
• Douglas Ramsey, Chief Development Officer, Hackrod
  

GWS Tool Group has acquired Intrepid Tool Industries, its first add-on acquisition in 2020. Located near Phoenix with ~100 employees and operating out of a 35,000ft² facility, Intrepid is a leading provider of carbide, HSS, and PCD cutting tools to the aerospace sector, with a special emphasis on threaded-shank and/or brazed construction drills, reamers, and countersinks. Intrepid’s product mix and capabilities align perfectly with that of the GWS go-to-market strategy. With the addition of Intrepid, GWS further solidifies its position as the premier multi-disciplinary manufacturer of high-performance cutting tools in the marketplace today.

“Intrepid could not have been a better fit for our organization,” says Rick McIntyre, GWS’ CEO. “In addition to this investment establishing a substantial physical presence on the west coast on which to further build, their industry leading product and service portfolio is the perfect complement to our already dynamic offering. With acquisitions like Intrepid, we continue to get very close to there being nothing within the cutting tool supply chain we can’t address with some of the most precision products in the world.”

“I am very excited for Intrepid Tool to be joining GWS Tool Group,” says Bret Tayne, Intrepid Tool founder and president. “The leadership of GWS Tool Group is the most dynamic and energetic team in the industry. This combination with GWS Tool Group serves the interests of all constituencies of Intrepid Tool, from customers to vendors to employees. We are proud to be joining such a talented organization.”

Cirtec Medical Corp., a strategic outsourcing partner for complex medical devices including active implantables and minimally invasive devices, signed a lease on an 85,000ft² manufacturing facility near its current facility in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. This follows Cirtec’s recent announcement of plans to build a 30,000ft² manufacturing facility in the Coyol Free Zone, located in Alajuela, Costa Rica. The addition of these facilities is part of Cirtec’s strategic plan to support current and future partners.

The new facility will become the company’s Neuromodulation Center of Excellence and focus on active implantable device manufacturing and clean room assembly of neuromodulation leads, implantable pulse generators (IPGs), and accessories. In addition, it will allow for expanded engineering competencies in mechanical, process, quality, electrical engineering, software, firmware, and testing. Other capabilities will include silicone injection molding, plastic injection molding, final packaging, and ethylene oxide sterilization

Construction on the new facility is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2020, with completion targeted in the second half of the year. The existing Brooklyn Park facility will become an all metals component and sub-assemblies facility, focusing on Swiss machining, milling, stamping, coil winding, laser cutting, and welding, and nitinol processing.

Tessy Plastics expands South Plant

Tessy Plastics Corp. was awarded new business, specifically for medical products, and will expand warehouse space in one of its manufacturing facilities, the South Plant located in Elbridge, New York.

“There is 69,000 square feet of warehouse space in the South Plant and we plan to add an additional 100,000 square feet on to it,” says Roland Beck Tessy’s president.

Tessy’s South Plant was built in 2010 and was initially being used for molding consumer products such as deodorant. “In late 2017, we decided to move all of the deodorant business to the North Plant in Baldwinsville, New York, so that we could mold, assemble, pack, and ship all from one location. It was a great decision as it allowed for greater efficiencies and freed up some space for incoming business. With the extra space, we are able to accommodate our new medical customer,” Beck says.

Tessy’s new medical customer offers a one-time use surgical suction device application that is used to collect/filter specimens such as polyps.

“This project was a perfect fit for us. It is a complex assembly with several molded components. A portion of the components, which were previously molded in a different material, will now be molded with Liquid Silicone Rubber (LSR). LSR is a material that is becoming more prevalent in the medical industry. Through the utilization of existing LSR injection-molding machines, we were able to produce excellent prototype parts for the customer. The prototypes were then approved and we have since kicked off the new LSR mold for production. We will mold and assemble all seven of the components that make up the one-time use filter,” Beck says.

The overall investment will be $20 million and will create 50 additional jobs.

“Production is targeted for 2021, and will include eight injection molding machines, two of which will be LSR, and an automated assembly line producing 13 million assemblies per year. We look forward to working on this project and are proud to work with another successful medical company,” Beck concludes.

Walter acquires Melin Tool

Walter has reached an agreement to acquire the Melin Tool Co., a privately-owned, Cleveland, Ohio-based company and manufacturer of solid carbide and HSS end mills, drills, and countersinks. The acquisition gives Walter customers access to advanced cutting tool solutions and responsive support. A stronger presence in the U.S. allows Walter to grow its product line with local market requirements and to improve market support with customized tooling solutions.

“The acquisition is aligned with our focus on expanding our milling business in round tools and reconditioning capabilities close to customers in the American market,” says Richard Harris, president of Walter. “I am very pleased that we have reached an agreement to acquire Melin Tool Company as it increases our market presence and has a strong innovation focus and high service level that is aligned with Walter’s approach to doing business.”

Michael Wochna will remain as president of Melin Tool.

Melin Tool Company is a provider of high-quality round tools. The company’s offer is focused in solid carbide end mills, drills and countersinks to the aerospace and medical industries.

Glebar acquires Tridex Technology

Glebar Co., a precision grinding solutions organization, has acquired Tridex Technology Ltd., a leader in electrochemical grinding (ECG) technology. With more than 100 years of combined ECG experience and a vast array of applications in the medical and aerospace industries, Tridex provides turnkey solutions and services tailored to its customer’s needs.

“We are humbled by this transformational opportunity and are excited to welcome the Tridex team to Glebar. Both companies’ respective customers will benefit from the synergy we create together,” says Robert Baker, CEO of Glebar. “This is hopefully the first acquisition of many and marks a new chapter in our 67-year history.”

Adam Cook, Glebar chairman, adds “This partnership is another step in the Glebar growth story. Tridex further bolsters our core focus within the non-elective medical minimally invasive procedures market and expands our reach in aerospace and other industries.”

With more than 100 years of combined experience Tridex Technology, offers the most advanced technology in burr free electrochemical grinding and tube cut off machines as well as precision abrasive cut off machines. This unique ECG technology combines abrasive grinding with electrochemical machining to provide stress free, low force cutting with no burrs and no metallurgical damage such as recast, heat affected zone, burning or work hardening. ECG is widely used for tube cutoff of materials such as stainless-steel hypodermic needle tubing where deburring is not practical. ECG is also used for aerospace applications such as fragile honeycomb

materials and turbine airfoils where the material is thin, fragile and heat sensitive.

Materials such as cobalt-chrome, Hastelloy, Inconel, and nitinol, which are very difficult to machine with conventional methods, can be easily and accurately cut with burr free electrochemical grinding. The precision abrasive technology is widely used in the aerospace fastener industry for cutoff of high temperature alloys, titanium and tool steel. 

Solar Atmospheres hires Tom Gundic as plant manager

© Solar Atmospheres

Tom Gundic has joined Solar Atmospheres Southeast as plant manager for the company’s Greenville, South Carolina facility. Gundic brings with him more than 14 years of vacuum heat-treating and brazing experience, with significant time spent leading teams in Nadcap and AS9100 quality systems.

Solar Atmospheres Southeast President, Steve Prout says, “We are excited to have such a uniquely qualified manager leading our Greenville operations team. Tom will be a tremendous resource in ensuring Solar remains a provider of exceptional vacuum thermal processing with unparalleled customer service to the US Southeast.”