Ian McCausland, Author at Manufacturing In Focus

Ian McCausland

Archived
Changing the Face of Manufacturing
The Rapid Development of 3D Printing

3D printing has been maturing rapidly since the beginning of the decade, although the process can be traced back to a 1984 patent filing by a group of French inventors – Alain Le Mehaute, Oliver de Witte, and Jean Claude Andre.

Manufacturing in Focus
Threat or Opportunity?
Keeping Perspective and Redefining Work in the Age of Advanced Automation

by Ian McCausland

Recently, the specter of automation has cast a shadow over the manufacturing industry. Alongside gains in productivity, automation also produces widespread fear of job losses and mass unemployment. Statistical evidence, based on historical trends in automation, reveals a much less alarmist picture, while advances in the area broadly defined as Artificial Intelligence (AI) are seized upon as evidence that in the near future, human labour will be made obsolete, or worse, AI will be the catalyst of humanity’s destruction.

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This Plastic World

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AI in the OR?

June 2024

Recycled Rubber and Plastic Bottles

May 2024

Daisy Chains and Golden Gates

April 2024

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This Plastic World
The Enduring Impacts of Synthetic Materials

Featured Articles

Under the Sea
A New Frontier for 3D Technologies

Many manufacturing and construction careers are fraught with risk. This is especially true when it comes to projects that take workers below the water’s surface into the cold, dark depths. With this new environment comes a new set of challenges and risks that requires added skills like scuba certification, as well as immense mental and physical fortitude.

The Integrated Cleaning Systems Experts
PROCECO

Parts washing is vital for manufacturing success. Far from an afterthought, it is an integrated part of the process in sectors as diverse as rail and transit on the one hand, and aerospace and automotive on the other.

A Better Signaling Solution
WERMA

WERMA delivers intelligent signal technology to keep operations running safely and efficiently. Founded in 1950, the German-based business boasts subsidiaries throughout Europe as well as in China and the United States. Manufacturing in Focus sat down with Udo Skarke, General Manager of WERMA USA, located in Norcross, Georgia, to learn more about the company’s latest technology and strategies for success.

Floating on Air
AeroGo

What would you have done if your company was trying to take advantage of oil prices at $150/barrel (as they were once), and wanted to position an oil rig over an abandoned wellhead in a Los Angeles oil field?

Expand Machinery Is Living Up to Its Name
Expand Machinery

Expand Machinery’s commitment to remaining an industry leader by providing the highest value and precision machining productivity available has resulted in a diverse product line that offers unparalleled machine quality. Of particular note is the company’s newly acquired line of Japanese-manufactured equipment, of which it is especially proud.

Leveraging Big Data for Big Gains
EAC Product Development Solutions

“We’re just not as efficient as we should be.” These words, along with worrying about staying ahead of the competition, have kept many a manufacturing CEO awake at night.