Wednesday, December 2, 2015
International Metalworking News for Asia – Dec issue now available!
Monday, October 19, 2015
Being creative in a challenging market
However, there are also many examples of smart companies that had been operating in different parts of Asia for a number of years and knew the importance of building and maintaining strong business relationships, which could often take some time to cultivate, and it’s these type of companies that are servicing the Vietnamese market successfully. One such company that has many years’ experience creating excellent business partnerships in Vietnam, and indeed throughout Asia, is the Swiss manufacturer of cutting and bending machines, Bystronic.
Anthony Evans, IMNA Vietnam correspondent, managed to catch up with Mr. Johan Elster, Bystronic’s President of the company’s international Business Unit Markets, and asked him about the company’s strategy for the Asian market, and what type of Bystronic products does the Vietnamese market demands.
Read the full interview? Click: Bystronic in Vietnam: Being creative in a challenging market. If you wish to read our E-zine click International Metalworking News for Asia October issue
Monday, October 12, 2015
International Metalworking News for Asia - October issue
1st ASEAN Automotive Summit 2015
Thursday, July 2, 2015
International Metalworking News for Asia
In this edition of International Metalworking News for Asia (IMNA) is a feature titled, “Finding the right tool for your automotive design needs.” It explores ASEAN’s position as a hotspot for global manufacturing. Find out more in the Software & Control section.
Didier Lacroix, senior VP for International Sales & Services at Cognex Inc. said that machine vision is necessary for many robot-driven operations in automotive production. In the Tooling & Workholding column, he explained how 3-D vision system can help in the production of vehicles that involves the manufacture and assembly of various parts and components.
We have been hearing a lot about additive manufacturing recently. Although additive manufacturing is not a new concept, it might be less familiar in countries around the region with less developed manufacturing infrastructure. David Wong S K of Nanyang Polytechnic’s Additive Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC) has joined IMNA’s Editorial Board. He talked about the wider adoption of AM that will radically impact manufacturing processes and productivity in the Industry Focus section.
In addition to the regularly scheduled June issue, we interviewed companies, such as GF Machining Solutions, Schunk and ABB, during the MTA Singapore exhibition.
Also, this month we published a supplementary issue of IMNA Vietnam for our readers in the region. The IMNA June Vietnam Supplement Magazine shines a light on the dynamic and fast-growing Vietnam market. It offers useful case-in-point solutions to real world development challenges in the manufacturing industry.
Lastly, visit the new industrysourcing.com/metalworking website designed with a fresh new look and user-friendly navigation, updated with the latest information about the metalworking industry in Asia.
Finding the right tool for your automotive design needs
1 month to go before the 2nd Asia Automotive World Class Manufacturing Summit
Thursday, June 11, 2015
New concepts after welding: The message applied to metal stress relief
Establishing new relationships across Asia at Asian Automotive Manufacturing Summit 2015
Spearheaded by Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s automotive sector has been growing at a phenomenal pace. In order to capture the market, OEMs from across the world are flocking to Indonesia and are expanding their operations.
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Outlook 2015: Rajiv Ghatikar of Siemens PLM Software
ASEAN is moving ahead to forge a strong regional supplier ecosystem and adopting disruptive technologies that will change the way people live and create products. The 3 noteworthy trends that will be big in metalworking and manufacturing in 2015 are:
Smart technologies
Smart technology will have the greatest impact on the manufacturing industry. Today’s products and machines are becoming increasingly complex, with operations that depend on internal software that’s typically more complicated than the design itself, not to mention the push to connect products to the Internet. Key to success in this manufacturing environment is to embrace “digitalisation”, a concept that extends beyond creating digital pictures to adopting digital as a fundamental approach to innovation. The next generation of smart products will have additional dimensions of connectedness and cognitive capability - smart innovation that enables a model-based enterprise in which smart product development is based on "systems thinking”.
Big data in PLM
In this new world of intelligent, connected products, data collected about a product’s operating environment and about how customers use the product can be tapped by product designers as they consider improvements for the next generation. But the value of that information is only optimised when designers apply intelligence and action to this data to improve product automation and production. This is where Big Data will come into play. Recognising the need for segregating the relevant pieces of data from the larger mass of information, companies are diverting their IT spends towards setting up specialised data optimisation laboratories and arming their data centres with state-of-the-art data mining mechanisms. Traditional factory floor data analysis tools, like Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), are making way for newer, faster, smarter Product Lifecycle Management applications.
Digital manufacturing
A key point of integration between PLM and various shop floor applications and equipment, enabling the exchange of product-related information between design and manufacturing groups.
For instance, let’s look at the automotive sector - in 2012, the ASEAN nations manufactured more than 4.2 million vehicles, including nearly 2.5 million in Thailand. The highest sales were in Thailand (1.4 million), Indonesia (1.1 million), and Malaysia (627,000). It is predicted a 2.2 million-unit increase in passenger car production in Southeast Asia by 2020. With car demand slowing in China and reversing in India, global marques with excess capacity are retooling their strategy in Southeast Asia and taking bold steps into previously overlooked markets such as Indonesia, Malaysia and even Myanmar.
With the growing ambition and growth, come key challenges like environmental issues, safety, information management and market complexity. Innovation is the only key to solve these challenges. PLM is important for manufacturers to empower businesses to make unified, information-driven decisions at every stage in the product lifecycle. A good example of this is Siemens PLM incorporating cloud capabilities in its software to increase cost effectiveness, improve efficiency and product quality, and speed up time-to-market.
A quick note on geographical trends in manufacturing:
While there were a lot of talks about reshoring in 2014, manufacturers from the U.S. and Europe still found the need to shift production closer to the growing Asian consumer markets. They sought outposts such as Singapore that have enhanced their capabilities in advanced manufacturing and other high-tech areas such as robotics and 3D printing. This trend will continue well into 2015.
Ringier Metals wraps up TMTS 2014 exhibition
“I wish that, with all the supportive policies, the production value of Taiwan machine tool industry could rise from NTD 145 billion in 2013 to NTD 255 billion in 2020. This is a big challenge, and requires everyone in the industry to work hard together,” President Ma added.