iPad and Manufacturing

Thanks to Neil Groundwater for sending me this article on iPad Takes On Manufacturing in Macworld.  Below is a snippet from the article:

“When Apple created the iPad, the [manufacturing] industry had a sort of wake-up call … that mobility is not only relevant for people outside the company, but also for those inside the company who have information needs and are not tied to their desk, but are tied to their asset,” says Pierfrancesco Manenti, a manufacturing analyst at IDC Insights."

Another Great Mark Albert Article at Modern Machine Shop

Mark Albert of Modern Machine Shop asks as a fundamental question:

"Are our machines running? How long have they been running? Are they getting parts done on time? Do the operators need help?"

Mark writes a great article (again) on MTConnect title:  

The Need to Know Is Basic 

  "A new MTConnect-based machine monitoring system is helping Jet Machine get reliable answers to these questions. Although currently implemented as a pilot program on three of the shop’s most important five-axis machine tools, the system gives Mr. Wulfeck and other managers a timely and accurate picture of machine utilization and performance. This makes it easier to make good decisions about both short-term issues, such as maintenance priorities, and long-term issues, such as new capital acquisitions. Plans call for connecting all of the shop’s CNC machines to this monitoring system."

 This is a great article that is absolutely worth reading and understanding.  Thanks Mark!

Thanks Joe Jablonowski! MTConnect Metalmecanica Article

Huge thanks to Joe Jablonowski who wrote an article on MTConnect in Metalmecanica.   Below is a snippet:

Las ideas comenzaron a surgir cuando el consejo AMT se preparó para su reunión anual a finales de 2006. Tres conferencistas expertos externos atendieron la reunión en ese tema y para su preparación realizaron un tour por la feria International Manufacturing Technology Show en Chicago durante el verano. Después del tour coincidieron en una cosa, como uno de ellos, David Edstrom, del fabricante de computadores Sun Microsystems, lo indicó: “Ustedes chicos ¡no pueden hablarse el uno al otro!”.

 It is certainly very nice of Joe to do this and great to see MTConnect articles appear in other languages!

Joe Jablonowski,  es editor y Publisher del Metalworking Insiders’ Report, el boletín de Gardner Publications para productores de equipos de fábrica. Con más de 35 años de experiencia en reportaje sobre manufactura, el anterior jefe de edición de American Machinist también conduce el Machine Tool Scoreboard en línea y el World Machine Tool Output & Consumption Survey anual.

EXTENDED! [MC]2 MTConnect Connecting Manufacturing Conference

Early-bird pricing EXTENDED to Oct. 17!

If you haven't yet registered for [MC]2, there's still time to take advantage of the savings offered by the early-bird discount. Through Oct. 17, you can save $155 on registration for the conference that will give you an in-depth look at MTConnect, and shows you the benefits it can bring to your business.   When you register, be sure to make your hotel reservations -- the block is filling up fast and we have secured a special conference rate.

In addition, the first 150 [MC]2 registrants will receive a free golf shirt, courtesy of Okuma!

Check out our great lineup of sessions.  Two tracks -- one technical, one business -- offer a mix of interactive discussions and hands-on workshops. There will be never-before-seen demos that will show the emerging possibilities for using the MTConnect standard.  You can also talk with exhibitors and learn about the commercially available products utilizing the standard right now.  

Whether you've already implemented MTConnect into your business operations, or you're just curious about what it has to offer, [MC]2 is the place that will give you all those answers and more!

Register today!

Very Sad Day - The Passing of Steve Jobs

I mentioned this on August 28th - but I am going to repeat it again because of Steve's Job's passing today.  I am typing this on a MacBook Pro with an iPhone in my pocket and looking at the iMac sitting across the room with my wife using her iPhone to do a crossword puzzle as we watch CNN's reporting on Steve Jobs.

It really is the classic success story of starting a company in a garage.  Who will ever forget the 1984 Macintosh commercial.




I had the great fortune to hear Steve Jobs speak on few occasions while at Sun Microsystems.  I remember when he told the story about walking through Xerox PARC and seeing the first window system graphical user interface and a mouse.
Steve said, "all of you would have realized that this was the future of computing and did the same thing I did."  I remember saying to the person next to me, "no we wouldn't, we're not Steve Jobs".  The one thing that is true, is that Steve Jobs has a a reality distortion field around him when he spoke.  He is without peer when it comes to talking technology in a clear, concise and compelling way.

There will never be another Steve Jobs....

Below is from Apple's web site:

Below is my favorite commencement address of all time by Steve Jobs at Stanford.



Below is Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak together.




Below is the NeXT computer booting that I remember when Joel Mclung, formerly of Sun then at NeXT, showed a NeXT computer to me and NeXTSTEP.

Amazing: The ascent of Alex Honnold

This was on 60 Minutes and was an amazing story on the world's best climber.

"If scaling a 1,600-foot rock face seems terrifying, imagine scaling it without ropes or a harness. That's what Alex Honnold recently attempted in Yosemite National Park, using nothing more than his hands and feet. "60 Minutes" cameras were strategically placed along the climb, capturing every harrowing move. Correspondent Lara Logan interviews the man now being hailed as the best climber alive."

JUST 1 DAY Until Early Bird Registration Ends For [MC]2 MTConnect Connecting Manufacturing Conference

Since its introduction to the manufacturing industry, the MTConnect standard has been revolutionizing the way manufacturing equipment and devices "talk" to each other on the shop floor. Anyone in the manufacturing industry can benefit from learning about this important standard. That's why you must attend [MC]2 MTConnect: Connecting Manufacturing Conference, November 8-10, 2011, in Cincinnati, Ohio. This conference will have something for everyone, from distributors to end users, to manufacturing technology builders, to software developers, to C-level executives, to professors, to students, and to anyone who just wants to really understand MTConnect. [MC]2 offers both business and technical tracks, hands-on technical workshops, panel discussions on the use and benefits of the standards, as well as a showcase of commercially available products utilizing the MTConnect standard. Conference attendees will have the opportunity to learn from the experts to really understand how MTConnect, as Modern Machine Shop said, is enabling tremendous productivity gains in manufacturing.  Those attending will return with new knowledge and skills so they can engage in a deeper dialogue on manufacturing productivity, as well as a much better understanding on what it takes to compete in 21st century manufacturing. Register now! This is an event like no other.

Great VT Football Special on Virginia Tech

I thought this was an excellent ESPNU All Access Special on VT Football.

JUST 2 Days Until Early Bird Registration Ends For [MC]2 MTConnect Connecting Manufacturing Conference

Since its introduction to the manufacturing industry, the MTConnect standard has been revolutionizing the way manufacturing equipment and devices "talk" to each other on the shop floor. Anyone in the manufacturing industry can benefit from learning about this important standard. That's why you must attend [MC]2 MTConnect: Connecting Manufacturing Conference, November 8-10, 2011, in Cincinnati, Ohio. This conference will have something for everyone, from distributors to end users, to manufacturing technology builders, to software developers, to C-level executives, to professors, to students, and to anyone who just wants to really understand MTConnect. [MC]2 offers both business and technical tracks, hands-on technical workshops, panel discussions on the use and benefits of the standards, as well as a showcase of commercially available products utilizing the MTConnect standard. Conference attendees will have the opportunity to learn from the experts to really understand how MTConnect, as Modern Machine Shop said, is enabling tremendous productivity gains in manufacturing.  Those attending will return with new knowledge and skills so they can engage in a deeper dialogue on manufacturing productivity, as well as a much better understanding on what it takes to compete in 21st century manufacturing. Register now! This is an event like no other.

3 Days Until Early Bird Registration Ends For [MC]2 MTConnect Connecting Manufacturing Conference

Since its introduction to the manufacturing industry, the MTConnect standard has been revolutionizing the way manufacturing equipment and devices "talk" to each other on the shop floor. Anyone in the manufacturing industry can benefit from learning about this important standard. That's why you must attend [MC]2 MTConnect: Connecting Manufacturing Conference, November 8-10, 2011, in Cincinnati, Ohio. This conference will have something for everyone, from distributors to end users, to manufacturing technology builders, to software developers, to C-level executives, to professors, to students, and to anyone who just wants to really understand MTConnect. [MC]2 offers both business and technical tracks, hands-on technical workshops, panel discussions on the use and benefits of the standards, as well as a showcase of commercially available products utilizing the MTConnect standard. Conference attendees will have the opportunity to learn from the experts to really understand how MTConnect, as Modern Machine Shop said, is enabling tremendous productivity gains in manufacturing.  Those attending will return with new knowledge and skills so they can engage in a deeper dialogue on manufacturing productivity, as well as a much better understanding on what it takes to compete in 21st century manufacturing. Register now! This is an event like no other.

Celebration of Birthdays and 28th Year Anniversary

Below are some photos (I THOUGHT I lost most of them by previously deleting a single photo on my MacBook Pro appears to have permanently fubarr'd by sandisk, so I know need to buy a low-level formatting program to clean up my 16GB sandisk - but I digress :-)    Lesson learned - if your near 80 year old mother wants to take extra photos of everyone in front of the limo - let her - don't tell her that you will send her the photos from your camera - you never know in life.    I used two photo recovery programs - Stellar Phoenix Recovery and SANDISK CardRescue (preview of paid version).  I can absolutely tell you that there is little difference between the two in terms of finding the photos that were lost.   Thanks to Dennis Govoni for his advice on how to deal with this issue.  NOTE:  I did use both the low-level formatting program and the format program on the Nikon COOLPIX S9100.  UPDATE:  It turns out that when the sandisk was fubar'd, my camera put them on the internal memory and Julie found these when we were looking for beach photos in May 2012.  It turns out that if the Coolpix has difficulty reading the memory card, it automatically goes to internal memory.  You need to always look because it might find it one minute and not the next.

Anyway, back to Julie's BIG 50th bday, Michael's 21st bday and our 28th wedding anniversary.  We had the limo pick up Julie, John, Michael, Tim and me.  We then got Jamie Caldwell who we consider our fourth son (Michael's best friend) and one hell of a great guy and a great athlete.  We then picked up my parents and my sister - the Dr. - and went to Ruth's Chris Steak House.  Afterwards we had the limo driver take us through DC since a few of us had not yet seen the new Martin Luther King Memorial.  It was a great time.   Notice below how Tim had to hide behind John.

 

 Michael, John, Julie, Tim and me.

John, Jamie, my mother, my father, me behind my father, Tim, Julie my wife, my sister Dr. Julie Edstrom and Michael

Michael with the reflection in the mirro

4 Days Until Early Bird Registration Ends For [MC]2 MTConnect Connecting Manufacturing Conference

Since its introduction to the manufacturing industry, the MTConnect standard has been revolutionizing the way manufacturing equipment and devices "talk" to each other on the shop floor. Anyone in the manufacturing industry can benefit from learning about this important standard. That's why you must attend [MC]2 MTConnect: Connecting Manufacturing Conference, November 8-10, 2011, in Cincinnati, Ohio. This conference will have something for everyone, from distributors to end users, to manufacturing technology builders, to software developers, to C-level executives, to professors, to students, and to anyone who just wants to really understand MTConnect. [MC]2 offers both business and technical tracks, hands-on technical workshops, panel discussions on the use and benefits of the standards, as well as a showcase of commercially available products utilizing the MTConnect standard. Conference attendees will have the opportunity to learn from the experts to really understand how MTConnect, as Modern Machine Shop said, is enabling tremendous productivity gains in manufacturing.  Those attending will return with new knowledge and skills so they can engage in a deeper dialogue on manufacturing productivity, as well as a much better understanding on what it takes to compete in 21st century manufacturing. Register now! This is an event like no other.

5 Days Until Early Bird Registration Ends For [MC]2 MTConnect Connecting Manufacturing Conference

Since its introduction to the manufacturing industry, the MTConnect standard has been revolutionizing the way manufacturing equipment and devices "talk" to each other on the shop floor. Anyone in the manufacturing industry can benefit from learning about this important standard. That's why you must attend [MC]2 MTConnect: Connecting Manufacturing Conference, November 8-10, 2011, in Cincinnati, Ohio. This conference will have something for everyone, from distributors to end users, to manufacturing technology builders, to software developers, to C-level executives, to professors, to students, and to anyone who just wants to really understand MTConnect. [MC]2 offers both business and technical tracks, hands-on technical workshops, panel discussions on the use and benefits of the standards, as well as a showcase of commercially available products utilizing the MTConnect standard. Conference attendees will have the opportunity to learn from the experts to really understand how MTConnect, as Modern Machine Shop said, is enabling tremendous productivity gains in manufacturing.  Those attending will return with new knowledge and skills so they can engage in a deeper dialogue on manufacturing productivity, as well as a much better understanding on what it takes to compete in 21st century manufacturing. Register now! This is an event like no other.

MTConnect to be at IMTS 2012

MCADCafe picked up AMT - The Association For Manufacturing Technology's press release on IMTS 2012.   Below is a snippet discussing additive technology and MTConnect.

"There will be two other big features in the ETC: Additive Technology, and MTConnect®, the open-source communications and interconnectivity standard for manufacturing equipment and devices.

Additive Technology will feature the latest advances in this exciting manufacturing concept. These technologies actually "compress time" in that they dramatically reduce the time between design and production and eliminate certain processes associated with traditional machining, such as tooling. Additive manufacturing truly makes things possible in manufacturing that were not possible before. In addition, 3-D printing, a type of additive manufacturing, allows for "desktop manufacturing," bringing production to places it previously couldn't be done, such as homes and classrooms.

Finally, MTConnect® will return to the ETC in 2012. First introduced at IMTS 2008, this ground-breaking interconnectivity and communications standard is changing the way manufacturing equipment and devices are monitored and their productivity analyzed. The standard has been gaining more widespread use throughout the industry and has been called the "Rosetta Stone" of manufacturing because it allows equipment and devices to speak a common language."

Lion Precision Supporting [MC]2 MTConnect Connecting Manufacturing Conference

Don Martin, president of Lion Precision, has been a huge supporter of MTConnect and has done an outstanding job as the chair of MTConnect’s Sensors Working Group.   This Working Group has played a critical role and has done an outstanding job providing a open and royalty free MTConnect framework to easily enable sensor measurements. The importance of easily enabling sensor data in manufacturing can not be understated.

Below is a quote from Don that appears on American Banking & Market News:

“MTConnect enables machines to communicate information on nearly every parameter of the manufacturing process. Lion Precision is uniquely positioned to provide MTConnect compliant noncontact displacement sensors that can be used to monitor spindle performance including error motions and thermal growth as well as any other parameter requiring precision position measurements.”

 Lion Precision is a real thought leader as illustrated by the NASA example below that appears in the same article.  I blogged about this win a year ago almost to the day.

"The MTConnect protocol is being used by Lion Precision for a joint development project with NASA’s Stennis Space Center – the earliest implementation of the sensor protocols of MTConnect. The NASA project includes a multiple-channel eddy-current displacement sensor system to monitor valve position in rocket engine test cells."

60 nanoseconds faster than photons

Very, very interesting...

My youngest son Tim brought this to my attention when it broke yesterday.  My first thought was "cold fusion" until I read it came out of CERN.

Here is the bottom line so far:  "In the course of doing the experiments, the researchers noticed that the particles showed up 60 billionths of a second earlier than they would have done if they had traveled at the speed of light."

10 Days Until Early Bird Registration Ends For [MC]2 MTConnect Connecting Manufacturing Conference

Since its introduction to the manufacturing industry, the MTConnect standard has been revolutionizing the way manufacturing equipment and devices "talk" to each other on the shop floor. Anyone in the manufacturing industry can benefit from learning about this important standard. That's why you must attend [MC]2 MTConnect: Connecting Manufacturing Conference, November 8-10, 2011, in Cincinnati, Ohio. This conference will have something for everyone, from distributors to end users, to manufacturing technology builders, to software developers, to C-level executives, to professors, to students, and to anyone who just wants to really understand MTConnect. [MC]2 offers both business and technical tracks, hands-on technical workshops, panel discussions on the use and benefits of the standards, as well as a showcase of commercially available products utilizing the MTConnect standard. Conference attendees will have the opportunity to learn from the experts to really understand how MTConnect, as Modern Machine Shop said, is enabling tremendous productivity gains in manufacturing.  Those attending will return with new knowledge and skills so they can engage in a deeper dialogue on manufacturing productivity, as well as a much better understanding on what it takes to compete in 21st century manufacturing. Register now! This is an event like no other.

Social Security Is Not A Ponzi Scheme

I had this discussion with my father.  Here is an article by Dean Baker showing that if Social Security is a ponzi scheme, then so is the entire US government and most businesses.  Below is a snippet:

"The way in which Social Security is ostensibly similar to a Ponzi scheme is that it depends on new workers in the future to meet obligations that it incurs today. This also happens to be true of any debt issued by either the government or the private sector.

If the size of the working population in the United States collapsed tomorrow, then it would not have the tax revenue to pay off government bonds. Similarly, if the public stopped buying General Electric's products, it would also be unable to pay off its bondholders. Yet no one in their right mind would describe the bonds issued by the federal government or General Electric as Ponzi schemes."

 The image below is from Mother Jones: