First Concept Laser M Line Factory systems to be delivered in Q2 2019. (Photo: GE Additive, GEADPR010)
GE Additive’s first Concept Laser M Line Factory systems will be delivered to customers in Q2 2019. Since GE Additive’s acquisition of Concept Laser in December 2016, the M Line Factory’s design architecture, system, and software have undergone extensive review and redesign in line with established GE processes and beta testing with selected customers.
The M Line Factory’s modular machine architecture offers automation and reliability, driving economical, scalable series production on an industrial scale.
Improvements incorporated into the system include:
- Improved in-machine architecture and automation
- Enhanced serviceability, scalable modular system design and ease of service
- Increased build volume: 500 x 500 platform
- Onboard software system: Modularized software architecture, superior exposure strategies and real-time, in-situ process monitoring
- Process control & thermal stability – control key process variables that dictate part quality.
The M Line Factory automates upstream and downstream stages of the production process and provides interfaces to conventional manufacturing methods in the form of automation, interlinking, and digitization.
The system forms part of GE Additive’s focus to provide additive machines that are reliable, repeatable, and ready for series production.
Index Corp. expands North American team
Company hires 15 employees, 12 of which are for newly created positions.
Index Corp. has hired 15 new employees during the past five months, with 12 of those filling newly created positions. Representing growth of more than 20% for Index’s North American workforce, the recent spate of hires has been undertaken to guarantee continued high levels of service and support amidst significant growth in sales.
“In 2017, Index undertook an ambitious five-year plan to increase our footprint in North America, encompassing workforce growth, adoption of a new ERP and CRM and significantly investing across all areas of our business” says Tom Clark, president and CEO of Index. “Thanks to a healthy market and high demand for increasing throughput while reducing cost per piece, we have surpassed our targets to date and are scaling up our workforce even faster than planned. Each of the new team members included in this announcement was carefully selected for their ability to contribute to exceeding the expectations of our existing and new customers.”
The announced hires include three field service engineers, three applications engineers, and four positions in operations, all of which are expansions to Index’s workforce. The company also has hired five individuals to office support positions, two of which are newly created.
Universal Robots hire 20+ former Rethink Robotics employees
Reinforcing both companies’ roles in collaborative robotics, it brings valuable expertise in engineering, product development, and customer applications.
Universal Robots (UR) is hiring 20+ Rethink staff members, merging UR’s Boston office with Rethink’s former headquarters in the Seaport area in Boston, USA, with immediate effect. These key personnel bring extensive collaborative robotics experience in engineering, product development, and customer applications, which will combine well with UR’s expertise to continue to drive new and innovative collaborative robotics solutions.
“Our new colleagues from Rethink have extensive expertise, knowledge and know-how not only about the technology but indeed also about the market conditions and what the customers’ pain-points are. All of this will benefit our customers and partners as we face an increase in competitors due to the huge market potential for collaborative robots,” says Universal Robots’ President Jürgen von Hollen. “Our ability to secure key members of the Rethink team will have a significant positive impact in meeting market needs and driving innovation.”
Collaborative robots, now the fastest-growing segment of industrial robotics, is forecasted to grow from $283 million last year to $3.26 billion in 2022 according to BIS Research. Universal Robots’ market-leading growth means continually adapting the company structure and processes to deliver its ambitious targets for 2019 and beyond. The addition of key Rethink Robotics personnel will help expedite UR’s strategic ambitions and actions.
BISTel joins Siemens’ MindSphere Partner Program
AI applications connect with Siemens’ MindSphere cloud-based open IoT operating system, speeding the customers’ journey to smart manufacturing.
BISTeL, a leading provider of adaptive intelligent (AI) applications for smart manufacturing has joined the MindSphere Partner Program, Siemens’ partner program for Industrial IoT solution and technology providers. BISTel applications are expected to be available on the MindSphere platform in Q1 2019.
BISTel’s advanced data analytics platform, eDatalzyer, and its real-time, health monitoring and predictive maintenance (HMP) solution will connect with the MindSphere cloud-based, open Industrial IoT platform to deliver significant business value to the manufacturing sector. Opportunities for enhanced business value include access to the latest industrial IoT technology and access to industry leading manufacturing applications that are designed to accelerate the customers’ journey to smart manufacturing, improve engineering productivity, provide greater operational efficiencies, and increase quality and yield. Smart Manufacturing (also referred to as Industry 4.0), is event driven, enabling issues to be addressed before they occur, and machines taken offline only when it is absolutely necessary.
According to W.K. Choi, CEO, BISTel, “We are delighted to work with Siemens and build MindSphere applications to take advantage of Siemens’ leading industrial IoT technology. BISTel’s real-time monitoring, fault detection, data analysis and predictive maintenance applications on the MindSphere platform enable customers to quickly turn manufacturing data into actionable intelligence that improves business performance and creates significant efficiencies across their manufacturing organizations.”
“BISTel is capable of delivering tremendous value in engineering and automation applications for smart manufacturing,” says Paul Kaeley, senior vice president, global partner ecosystem at Siemens PLM Software. “With BISTel as a partner in the MindSphere ecosystem, customers now have more strong options to solve operational challenges with advanced data analytics and predictive maintenance.”
About Industry 4.0
Industry 4.0 enables the digitalization of the manufacturing sector and transforms the way plants operate. Increased automation and the introduction of AI create new ways for engineers and operators to interface with factory equipment and processes and solve every day manufacturing problems in real time. Key to this, is Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technology. According to a recent Gartner Group study, the number of IoT connected devices worldwide will grow from 8.4 billion in 2017 to more than 20.4 billion by 2020, creating access to a wealth of new data across the manufacturing ecosystem. To achieve the vision of Industry 4.0 the manufacturing ecosystem must deliver this data to the right people, at the right place and at the right time. The proliferation of the Cloud, Big Data analytics and the adoption of AI based technologies are critical to achieving this goal.
Adaptive intelligence for smart manufacturing
BISTel is redefining AI as adaptive intelligence for smarter manufacturing. Several new AI based, real-time monitoring and advanced data analytics tools connect with IIoT platforms. These new solutions enable manufacturers to connect to and gather data from any data source. BISTel’s real-time monitoring applications detect faults before they occur, quickly conduct root cause analysis in hours and minutes versus the weeks and months it takes others. With its new health monitoring and predictive maintenance (HMP) solution, engineers and operators can now predict outcomes and adapt real-time to changing factory conditions.
Stratasys puts additive manufacturing to work
Built for F123 machines, thermoplastics bring elasticity, durability with soluble support; Vibrant colors advance true-to-life prototypes on J750, J735 3D printers.
Putting Additive Manufacturing to work across critical rapid prototyping, custom tooling, and part production processes, Stratasys is bringing to market advanced elastomers and enhanced materials for its leading FDM and PolyJet machines. Enabling customers to make it today with 3D Printing, the FDM elastomer solution is intended to provide manufacturers with new levels of elasticity, durability with true soluble support – while advanced colors for PolyJet drive enhanced realism to transform legacy design and prototyping processes.
Empowering engineers with fast, accurate, and functional elastomers, customers can now produce parts with unique resilience – with an ability to greatly stretch or compress without losing shape. Offered across the F123 3D Printer platform and via North America’s leading service provider, Stratasys Direct Manufacturing, the Stratasys TPU 92A Elastomer is designed to meet the needs of manufacturers requiring high part elongation, superior toughness, and full design freedom. With hands-free soluble support, the solution can significantly reduce both production time and labor costs.
“Creating elastomer parts using traditional silicone or CNC molds are extremely costly and time-consuming – while it is our view that other additive techniques just cannot deliver parts with the size and complexity of our elastomer approach,” Zehavit Reisin, vice president and head of solutions and materials business, Stratasys. “Manufacturers demand 3D printing solutions that can be put to work in real prototyping and extreme production environments. With reliable and highly resilient parts, our solutions are designed to enable customers to do just that.”
“The new Stratasys 92A is a compelling material for our consortium members because when combined with water soluble supports, it will provide them with the opportunity to produce medium to large, complex, durable and resilient elastomeric parts that were previously not feasible,” said Vince Anewenter, director of rapid prototyping consortium, Milwaukee School of Engineering.
Enhanced realism for advanced prototypes
Further advancing realism for 3D printed prototypes, Stratasys also announced a range of new materials for its J750 and J735 PolyJet 3D Printers. These enhancements include five new materials with an ability to mimic rubber, leather or plastic. These highly realistic prototypes are designed to enable teams to better meet specific design objectives, streamline iterations, and shorten time-to-market and time-to-revenue.
The Agilus30 White material can mirror such parts as rubber-like seals and gaskets for automakers – or vividly colored models used for prototypes in sporting goods, consumer electronic components, or toys/figurines. Mixing both rigid and soft materials, Agilus30 White produces the widest range of life-like prototypes on a single printer. The newest member of the Agilus family of colors that includes translucent and black, Agilus White creates the highest levels of detail – critical for such industries as healthcare, where true white is necessary for such applications as medical devices.
VeroVivid Cyan expands the J750 and J735 gamut to more than half a million distinguishable colors – encompassing rigid to opaque, flexible, and transparent. Producing vibrant colors and translucency in a single print, VeroVivid Cyan and the new VeroFlexVivid engineer effective, realistic prototypes for such markets as consumer goods, packaging, and eyewear. Supported by enhanced GrabCAD Print color profiles, designers can actually “print what they see” with enhanced color accuracy.
Antero 800NA and MED625FLX
MED625FLX is a bio-compatible material, well-suited for dental and orthodontic applications such as indirect bonding (IDB) trays and implantology case work ups. Now available on both Objet260 Dental and Objet260/500 Dental Selection 3D Printers, the material is designed to advance Indirect Bonding Trays by allowing the direct printing of flexible IDB trays, and is built to enable orthodontists to reduce bracket placement times up to 75% and cut the cost for labs to produce by 40%.
Delivering on previously announced roadmaps, Stratasys is now making its PEKK-based FDM thermoplastic – Antero800NA – available on F900 3D Printers. This high-performance material is chemical resistant, possesses ultra-low outgassing properties, and exhibits high heat resistance – ideally suited for aircraft and space applications.
