There’s little doubt that the manufacturing industry is undergoing some seismic changes at the moment. Technological advances in automation, computing power and communications (the 4th industrial revolution) have made intelligent manufacturing and smart factories a reality. In a nutshell, smart factories employ advanced technology to optimize planning, production, transportation, and management processes. A recent report…

Over the years there have been plenty of false dawns with supposedly ‘revolutionary’ technology. Segways and maglev trains were supposed to revolutionize transport. Sony mini-discs were quickly superseded by the iPod. It’s easy to become skeptical when you hear about the next big thing. But some innovations are so powerful that it’s apparent they will…

Augmented reality, or AR for short, overlays virtual information over a user’s existing natural environment. Sound, graphics and touch feedback are seamlessly integrated to create an enhanced experience. The information overlaid is highly topical and relevant to what the user is doing. It ranges from simple text to instructions for complicated surgical procedures. Uses for…

Generative design creates various outputs through an iterative process. These outputs must meet certain constraints set by the designer, which can include parameters such as material type, manufacturing methods, and manufacturing costs. The process is different from methods such as topology optimization and lattice optimization as it can generate many possible solutions for the design.…

Additive manufacturing made a splash in the consumer market nearly a decade ago, but 3D printing has been around much longer than that. Now that 3D printers are available and functional for anybody with the internet and $200, they have become a necessary tool in most engineering environments. But what about manufacturing? Metal 3D Printing…