2022 has been extremely impressive for U.S. manufacturing technology orders.

Monthly orders of manufacturing technology surpassed half a billion dollars for the first time in 2022, totaling $552.3 million in March, according to the latest U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Report published by AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. March 2022 orders were 15.2% higher than February 2022 orders and 20.4% higher than March 2021. The first quarter of 2022 had orders totaling $1.47 billion, 26.5% higher than the first quarter of 2021 and the highest Q1 of any year since 1998.

“The first quarter of 2022 has been extremely impressive for manufacturing technology orders,” says Pat McGibbon, chief knowledge officer at AMT. “Previous forecasts had predicted a strong beginning to 2022 and a soft summer which would rebound by IMTS in September, as summer orders are often delayed in anticipation of new products being exhibited at IMTS. However, inflation, the war, and saber-rattling in the east are creating a level of uncertainty and risk that businesses must consider. Despite these challenges, we see the manufacturing sector continuing to invest in additional capacity.”

According to the ISM® Report On Business® – Manufacturing (PMI®), the manufacturing sector grew in March but at a slower rate than in previous months. Growing backlogs at all levels of the manufacturing sector have been expanding in the last several months. "The rebound of demand for manufactured goods overwhelmed supply chains and created a backlog of orders," McGibbon says. "This backlog is now propping up a floor on the demand for manufacturing technology. As consumer demand varies from month to month, tackling these backlogs necessitate additional machinery capacity."

Despite the near-record orders for manufacturing technology, the first quarter of 2022 had the first negative GDP growth since the onset of COVID. The contraction was primarily due to a widening trade imbalance that masks the underlying strength of the consumer.

“To have one of the best quarters in manufacturing technology orders and then find out GDP was contracting over the same time almost defies logic,” McGibbon says. “However, there have been many instances over the past several months where orders have been up, despite some headwind that would have been a major issue for the industry prior to COVID.”

Economists had predicted consumer demand would soon shift back to services, but this shift has been happening at a slower rate than anticipated.

McGibbon says, “Supply-side issues continue to conceal the true potential of consumer demand for manufactured goods, where expenditures have been slipping the past few months. While these issues result in shortages for industries that manufacture final consumer goods, manufacturers of components farther from the consumer are amassing backlogs. Assuming demand for the final good persists despite growing delivery times and rising prices, these growing backlogs for components could fuel demand for manufacturing technology well into the summer months.”

Ultra-high precision robotic machine tool positions an object anywhere in a 215mm circle with accuracy, speed, and controlled force.

Shrewsbury, Massachusetts-based Coventry Associates has developed a 3-axis system for a variety of machining operations. Called the Eccentric Positioning System (EPS), this fully electric system, eliminates pneumatics and hydraulics, reduces setup and cycle time, uses less energy, has a smaller footprint than any existing system of machining, and is offered at a competitive cost, according to Craig Gardner, president of Coventry Associates.

EPS is a mechatronic system that consists of a stack of three eccentric rotary tables. By controlling the rotation of each rotary table, the precise position and angle of a tool is achieved. The positioning accuracy and adaptive performance of the EPS system is enabled by the Siemens Sinumerik CNC.

EPS has already been incorporated into an ID grinding machine where it has demonstrated that it can do three things that no one else in the industry can do. First, it can dress or grind any shape without the use of diamond rolls or special dressing attachments. Second, it can grind by adaptively controlling the normal grinding force rather than the feed rate which dramatically improves material removal rates. Third, it compensates in real time for deflections that result in workpiece diameter and/or taper variation, improving both quality and throughput.

“It has potential applications in all grinding and turning operations for the machine tool industry,” Gardner states, further observing that the EPS will be made suitable for any machining operation that requires a combination of high positioning accuracy and controlled force.

Coventry’s launch product, EPS SingleTool, is designed for bearing ID grinding operations, using a single wheelhead. A shoe or chuck workhead can be used, with single point or rotary dresser for shaping any contour. Power consumption is 10kW max. and the weight is 630kg, with exterior dimensions of 305mm x 660mm x 560mm.

Coventry validated the positioning performance of the EPS SingleTool using a laser interferometer to measure its resolution, accuracy, repeatability, and straightness capability. Because of the unique kinematics of the EPS, all motions are three axis interpolated moves. The results of these measurements are shown in Table 1. These measurements show state of the art positioning capability with a repeatability of 52nm. The system also has high static and dynamic stiffness as well as the ability to grind with large forces and make rapid motions to minimize the time required to make non grinding motions.

Figure 3 shows accurate steps and repeatability without backlash in 0.125um steps over a total travel of 5µm

Figure 4 shows the X deviation or “straightness” achieved during three back and forth (six passes total) Z-axis moves. This data shows that the difference between the maximum and minimum values for all six passes was less than a micron over 200mm of travel.

Similar results were obtained for the X axis straightness as shown on Figure 5.

Coventry worked closely with the Fraunhofer USA offices in Boston, Massachusetts, plus two key partners, Saint Gobain Abrasives and Siemens Industry Inc., to develop the initial SingleTool ID grinding application.

 “Our business strategy is to bring the EPS to market as a hardware and software solution, either as a complete machine to end users or as a platform for machine builders. Our solution features all-electric operation, using no pneumatics or hydraulics. We typically see resolution less than 0.12 microns with 0.05 microns repeatability, plus linear accuracy to 0.12 microns with consistent static and dynamic stiffness to a maximum grinding force of 3.34kN. Rapid motion, including acceleration and deceleration, is tracking a 203mm movement in 1.16 sec,” Gardner explains.

March orders up from February and up 10.6% compared with the $177.6 million reported for March 2021.

March 2022 U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $196.4 million, according to the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute (USCTI) and AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the Cutting Tool Market Report collaboration, was up 17.2% from February’s $167.6 million and up 10.6% when compared with the $177.6 million reported for March 2021. With a year-to-date total of $523.9 million, 2022 is up 11% when compared to the same time period in 2021.

These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals reported by the companies participating in the CTMR program. The totals here represent the majority of the U.S. market for cutting tools.

“The total sales volume for March 2022 is the highest total since October of 2019; this is a welcome volume,” comments Brad Lawton, chairman of the AMT Cutting Tool Product Group. “However, we must ask: What part of this volume is the result of inflation? At the recent MFG Meeting presented by AMT, the presence of inflation in the economy was clear but not expected to develop into a recession. The cutting tool industry will positively evaluate the future and plan accordingly for a soft landing.”

Rice engineering team’s wireless video laryngoscope would aid airway managers.

Rice University bioengineering students are making a critical procedure easier for airway managers and safer for patients with a simplified, high-tech intubation device.

The Gateway to Airway team at Rice, working with an anesthesiologist, has developed a sleek laryngoscope that simplifies intubating patients for scheduled or emergent procedures.

Bioengineering senior Reed Corum demonstrates his team’s laryngoscope on a manikin at Rice University’s Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen.

The handheld, 3D-printed device contains a miniature wireless camera. Clinicians can use a switch on the comfortable handle to adjust light from an LED near the camera, which feeds high-resolution video to one or multiple monitors.

The team – seniors Reed Corum, Rebecca Franklin, David Ikejiani, and Victoria Kong – presented the device at the George R. Brown School of Engineering’s annual Engineering Design Showcase.

The Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen was approached by Dr. Kenneth Hiller, an anesthesiologist in private practice, about collaborating on a laryngoscope that would allow easier access to image the throat and larynx and help place a breathing tube into the trachea.

Hiller, who has a patent on the design, recognized early on that engineering it into a true product would require specialized knowledge.

“Current state-of-the-art devices have limitations,” Hiller says. “Placing an endotracheal tube can be challenging in a significant number of patients’ airways. For years, I’ve mulled over what I’d like in a device that can simplify the process and improve patient safety.”

“He came to us with something built out of popsicle sticks and a metal tube and said, ‘This is what I’m working toward, but I don’t know how to build it myself,’” Franklin recalls.

“He wanted a video laryngoscope that not only had wireless video but also had a better blade profile,” Kong says. “There are two main types of laryngoscopes: with straight blades and with curved blades, and all the video laryngoscopes on the market are in the curved blade format. While that’s great for compressing the tongue to get it out of the way, it has a very high displacement volume. It takes up a lot of room in the mouth.

“That makes it very difficult for the physician to insert the endotracheal tube to give the patient air,” she says. “The straight blade gives you a more direct line of sight. We wanted to combine the stabilization afforded by curved blades and a straight-blade profile, and we did that by tapering our blade.”

Hiller’s request was for a device that would cost under $500.

“That’s within the constraints of our project and overall design, but it’s looking like we can easily get it below $200,” Corum says. The vacuum-formed, disposable sleeves that cover the blade can be made quickly for pennies, he says.

“It’s unfortunate that we’re developing this so late in the COVID pandemic, because any procedure that requires intubation requires a laryngoscope as well,” Ikejiani adds.

“I wasn't really aware of the impact this could have in the context of COVID-19,” Kong says. “But as we got into it, I realized this is an important tool to help airway managers minimize contact with potentially contagious aerosolized particles. And the wireless video capability of our device further creates distance for the safety of the health care provider.”

Kong notes all the video-enabled laryngoscopes on the market require wiring to an external monitor, often a small one on the handle of the device itself. “That limits the amount of space and number of people who can be working on the same patient,” she says.

“Having the screen attached makes the scope more delicate and harder to transport from room to room,” Franklin says. “Having the video accessible on a tablet means a doctor in another room can watch and give feedback about technique to the airway manager performing the actual procedure.”

She notes the off-the-shelf camera’s wireless range is about 33m.

The students said they anticipate future refinements to include stainless steel construction for durability.

They also see uses for the device beyond the clinic. “EMTs use their scopes in the field, and we can see expanding to people, for example, in the military who require remote oversight where users may not have expertise gained from years of experience,” Kong says.

“This has been a distinct privilege for me to collaborate with such a prestigious institution and such talented, motivated students,” Hiller says. “I would welcome opportunities to work with Rice on future ventures.”

Hear manufacturing insights from our panel of experts representing Makino, Mitsui Seiki, and Okuma.

Register today for next week’s roundtable, Smart manufacturing with advanced machine tools, and learn from our panel of experts how smart manufacturing is delivered by combining manufacturing, information, and communication technologies ? connecting the entire manufacturing system for efficiency and competitiveness.

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