Congrats to the 2015 Manufacturing Award Honorees!

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT:
• Bear Metal Works
• Harmac Medical Products

DREAM IT DO IT:
• Napoleon Engineering Services
• Power Drives Inc.
• Tam Ceramics LLC

EXPORTING:
• Dynabrade Inc.
• Jacobs Ladder LLC

FAMILY- RUN MANUFACTURING:
• Eastman Machine Company
• Perry’s Ice Cream Company Inc.
• Rigidized Metals Corporation

INNOVATION:
• American Douglas Metals Inc.
• Sti-Co Industries Inc.
• Whiting Door Manufacturing Corporation

OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE:
• General Motors Tonawanda Engine Plant
• Staub Machine Company Inc.
• TRS Packaging

SUSTAINABILITY:
• Avanti Advanced Manufacturing Corporation
• Big Heart Pet-Milkbone Inc.
• Boston Valley Terra Cotta Inc.

OVERALL EXCELLENCE:
• Confer Plastics Inc.
• McGard Inc.

Companies were nominated and selected by an independent panel of judges based on category criteria.

The 2015 Manufacturing Awards will take place on May 5, 2015 at 7:30 a.m. at Salvatore’s Italian Gardens. To register, click here. 

 

By: Steve Levesque

 

Buffalo Manufacturing Works concluded our first series of Technical Working Groups with a session on emerging technologies in materials processing, characterization and testing with a group of attendees from members of our Founders Council, manufacturers and partners at the University at Buffalo, NYS Center of Excellence Materials Informatics and Insyte Consulting.

We believe that new applications for advanced ceramics, polymers and composites can evolve manufacturing so we set the stage with a few minutes spent on what “material science” meant to the group – with answers ranging from liquids, solids, advanced materials, replacement for traditional tooling, thermal processing and more!

Our materials & testing practice at Buffalo Manufacturing Works is centered on applications, testing, synthesis, and modeling expertise focused in the areas of non-metallic and composite materials so we surveyed various potential capabilities including:

• Precision Measurement
• Surface Characterization
• Microscopy/SEM
• Computed Tomography (CT)

The conversation then turned to materials synthesis and processing with coatings generating significant buzz as a potential focus area in our materials & testing technology roadmap.

Attendees discussed manufacturing solutions for coatings (plasma, thermal spray, cold spray and chemical vapor deposition ), surface treatments (etching, phase-change materials and surfacing), coatings for tooling (punches, dies, machining tooling), coatings for corrosion (coatings for aluminum used in carbine fiber applications), adhesives research (pressure coatings), coatings for color changes to indicate changes and anti-microbial coatings for medical devices. And that was all in under an hour!

What else is sparking interest from manufacturers?

• Powder development for additive manufacturing
• Product testing (strength, vibration and environmental)

Here is a link to the presentation we shared at the meeting.

Interested in learning more about our first round of Technical Working Groups? Check out takeaways from each session here:

Machining & Finishing
Additive Manufacturing
Flexible Manufacturing

By Ron Brown

Buffalo Manufacturing Works continued our Technical Working Groups with a session featuring the latest technologies in flexible automation with attendees from members of our Founders Council, partners at the University at Buffalo, NYS Center of Excellence Materials Informatics and Insyte Consulting.

This is one of our favorite topics as flexible automation provides the ability to adapt and rapidly accommodate changes in product configuration and production. Using today’s technology, manufacturers can quickly re-task a singular robot or robotic system for small-batch/high-mix manufacturing. As a result, companies are adopting and expanding their flexible processes with an eye toward cost savings, process flexibility, process consistency, and increased production efficiency.

The technical working groups serve as an important component of technology road mapping activities. In this session, attendees were asked to prioritize their automation needs from pick & place, palletizing, inspection, machine tending, sorting and simulation among others.

In response to industry feedback gathered at meetings, focus groups and discussions like this one; our flexible automation focus at Buffalo Manufacturing Works will concentrate on four areas:

• Robotics
• Automation Controls
• Process Monitoring and Inspection
• Process Simulation and Design

We were also proud to share that a state-of-the-art “robotic automation factory feasibility lab” is being built to maximize the applied research experience and minimize the time between concept and solution, enabling us to help our clients to develop and validate prototype equipment and processes in a timely manner.

Our Technical Working Groups concluded last week with a conversation on emerging technologies expected to impact materials processing, characterization and testing in 2015 – stay tuned for more about our focus on materials & testing!

Click here to view the presentation we shared.