Episode list

This program delivers the insight of 12 seasoned industry experts from across the globe. Each brings a fresh perspective as they share views on the practical applications and the future of direct digital manufacturing. Go inside Advatech and Loughborough University in the UK to see how rapid manufacturing is transforming the design practices, manufacturing processes, and business models across industries. This program also features real products currently being manufactured using rapid technology and discusses direct metal's role in rapid manufacturing as well as other processes in action.

Watch how lean manufacturing helped Peterson Pacific Corporation reduce the time it takes to manufacture new machines. You'll see how the paint booth location was changed to make a more efficient layout, and what the company did to add flow to its assembly process. In the beginning, Peterson Pacific Corporation greatly underestimated the amount of energy needed to sustain improvements. Interviews with key managers and supervisors illuminate how they selected the areas of the business to improve first, and the problems that slowed down their initial application of lean.

Rapid technology and 3D data capture are inspiring a new world of medical innovations from orthopedic implants to biomaterials used in tissue engineering. Part of SME's award-winning Manufacturing Insights video series, Medical Applications of Rapid Prototyping takes you inside the medical industry to examine how rapid prototyping is being used to reconstruct anatomy, build parts and rebuild lives. First we take you inside Biomet in Warsaw, Ind., where they demonstrate how CT and MRI scans are converted into rapid prototyping models for the purpose of creating custom implants specifically matched to the patients' own anatomical data. Next, Direct Dimensions in Baltimore shows how 3-D scanning technology and rapid prototyping are used to produce aesthetic prosthetics. You'll also meet the surgeons, medical illustrators and modelers from Johns Hopkins University who give these prosthetics their realistic look. The program closes with a visit to the Medical University of South Carolina, where they're using additive fabrication with living cells and advanced biomaterials to produce pioneering innovations in tissue engineering.

Hundreds of manufacturing operations are finding methods and tools that support near-dry machining or minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) provide numerous benefits in both metal cutting and forming operations. This program surveys four very different manufacturers: Ford Motor Company, Amerimax, Advanced Mold, and World Machinery and Saws System Co., that apply only the minimum amount of lubricant needed for each job. Each of these companies had once relied on traditional flood-coolant methods that supply large amounts of fluids to the machining process - creating high handling, cleaning, and disposal costs, as well as hazards to plant workers' skin and lungs. These shops have found that MQL systems cut these costs and eliminate hazards, while increasing production rates and tool lifetimes.

This program uncovers the innovations that are expanding this process beyond robotic resistance spot welding and arc welding. We examine how more high-volume manufacturers of vehicle structures are using laser and hybrid welding to make fast, reliable welds. See it first-hand, then apply it to your operations. Visit Harley-Davidson and Dana Corporation to see how they use laser and other robotic welding to create lightweight structures for high-performance vehicles such as the Corvette ZO6. You'll also see the latest advancements in laser and hybrid plasma welding from two systems integrators Comau and Weld Solutions, Inc.