Will reshoring really bring back manufacturing jobs? Will there be enough engineers and trained specialists to handle the major increase American manufacturing production?  Will artificial intelligence and advanced robotics replace skilled workers?  These are all questions that everyone from manufacturing CEOs to assembly-line workers ask every day, and in the age of increasing tariffs, uncertainty is rising exponentially.

Engtechnica.com Editor-in-Chief Roopinder Tara has definite opinions about these issues, especially the impact of artificial intelligence, and he discusses them in a wide-ranging conversation with engineering.com’s Jim Anderton. 

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The post Will reshoring bring back manufacturing employment?  appeared first on Engineering.com.

This video is brought to you by the Italian Trade Agency via its Machines Italia project.

Ask any engineering professional, or even a person on the street about Italy, and you’ll hear similar answers: history, high-fashion and technology, particularly automotive in aviation technology, will be the inevitable response. In manufacturing, Italy has long been known as a source for advanced production equipment in sectors such as machine tools, injection molding and automation.

A recent innovation in die casting which has attracted global attention in the electric car industry, was developed in Italy by IDRA, based in Travagliato, near Brescia. That large format innovation appears to be spreading across the automotive industry, fundamentally changing the way light vehicles are designed and built.

Engineering.com’s Jim Anderton discussed this technology and Italian engineering in general by IDRA Group’s General Manager & CEO John Stokes. 

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Learn more about Italian manufacturing technology by downloading the latest edition of Machines Italia magazine – Volume XVII from our sister site, Design World.

In an era of economic volatility and industry disruption, North American manufacturers are turning to partners who can help them adapt, automate, and grow. This issue of Machines Italia spotlights how Italian machine builders are meeting that call, delivering flexible, sustainable, and highly automated solutions that empower end users to navigate today’s toughest challenges.

And, visit Machines Italia to learn more about the Italian manufacturing sectors and how to connect North American buyers to Italy’s manufacturers.

The post Large format die casting showcases advanced Italian technology appeared first on Engineering.com.

Engineering.com senior editor Michael Ouellette covers global manufacturing, including the hottest topic today, artificial intelligence. But is it all it’s cracked up to be? Ouellete is skeptical, and pulls no punches in conversation with host of the Industry Insights & Trends podcast edition, Jim Anderton.

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The post The truth about AI in manufacturing appeared first on Engineering.com.

Today’s advanced design software often includes the capability to do advanced computational tasks that ere traditionally done by physical testing. The original engineering methodology was always iterative.  Design, test, break and redesign has been the hallmark of engineering for millennia, but a new generation of advanced tools suggest a future where the physical fit and test functions are replaced by software. Will real-world testing disappear in the future? And with artificial intelligence, will the role of the engineer change into something more akin to graphic design, or even art?

Engineering.com executive editor Jim Anderton discusses the future of computer-aided engineering with senior editor Michael Alba.

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The post Will simulation replace engineers?  appeared first on Engineering.com.

It’s been said that additive manufacturing is the newest 25-year-old technology in industry. The science-fiction quality of complex part making from powder or liquid precursors does seem like magic, but it has evolved from a laboratory curiosity to a serious manufacturing technology.

The aerospace industry has fully embraced 3D printing, and many components are now designed for it, and can’t be made in any other way. Widespread adoption in high-volume part making however, is still limited by factors such as capital cost and machine throughput, although advances are underway which should expand additive throughout manufacturing.

Engineering.com executive editor Jim Anderton explores the complexities with senior editor Ian Wright.

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The post What’s the state-of-the-art in additive manufacturing? appeared first on Engineering.com.

This episode of Designing the Future is brought to you by Bentley Systems.

Engineering is applied science. It’s also an art, the confluence of creativity and blue sky thinking, constrained by physics. For large engineering projects, particularly in the civil engineering space, it’s also about project management. The marriage of great designs, with great planning and high-performance execution delivers projects that arrive on time, on budget and to specification. The bigger the project, the greater the complexity, and problems can scale exponentially with that complexity.

Today, there are new factors. Mass collaboration across a city, a nation or around the world is common for large engineering projects, and it’s a given that very large projects involve more than one software platform. Factors such as regulatory compliance, and data security are also in play, as well as real questions about the emergence of new technology. It’s a big subject, and it’s important.

engineering.com’s Jim Anderton spoke with Julien Moutte, chief technology officer for Bentley Systems, about the current state-of-the-art in big project engineering technology.

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Learn more about Bentley’s engineering software and digital-twin-powered, AI-driven capabilities for complex and dynamic infrastructure lifecycle.

The post Advanced technology delivers big engineering projects on time and on budget appeared first on Engineering.com.

This episode is brought to you by Dassault Systèmes. Please complete the registration form to watch the full conversation.

Engineering is about change. Positive change, change that advances technology and makes life better for everyone. The pathway between an engineer’s idea and a product rolling off an assembly line has evolved from a pencil and paper, to computer-aided design, and now to software systems which are themselves part of the design process.

Today, the engineer’s toolset is impressive. Rendering, simulation, automatic generation of key documentation, configuration and revision control, IP security, generative design are some of the tools in the box, and today, artificial intelligence promises a revolution that may be bigger than the deployment of computer-aided design half a century ago. Robotics is the key to 21^st-century manufacturing, and unlike the machines of 20 or 30 years ago, today’s industrial automation must work seamlessly with humans, side-by-side. It’s an excellent example of a challenging engineering space with a big payoff for success.

Joining engineering.com on this episode of The Engineering Roundtable are three experts in cloud-based engineering software and collaborative robotics. They discuss how engineers use advanced tools to develop complex parts and processes:

Panelists:

Kim Ferentiuk, Sales and Strategic Account Manager, Robotics & Heavy Equipment, Dassault Systèmes
Michael Mayr, Director, Sales and Business Development, Robotics & Machining Industry, Dassault Systèmes
Dr. Florian Schüssler, Head of Product Development, AIRSKIN

Moderator:

Jim Anderton, Multimedia Content Director, engineering.com

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Learn how to navigate the changing landscape of the robotics industry. Find out more now.

The post A Perfect Match: Cloud-based Engineering Tools and Advanced Robotics  appeared first on Engineering.com.

This episode is brought to you by IP.com. Please complete the registration form to watch the full conversation.

The nature of intellectual property is changing. For designers, scientists and engineers, innovation can have widely different meanings, from a novel way to combine carbon atoms into a molecule for the pharmaceutical industry, to a control algorithm for an interplanetary spacecraft. Once, the concepts of novelty and innovation were simply defined in legal terms, and the methods for protecting innovation were clearly defined.

Today, it’s more complicated. Not only is the concept of innovation more nuanced, but the very nature of information is also in play. How much of a human genome is patentable? How much of a copywritten algorithm is defensible? Can artificial intelligence be assigned a patent? The stakes and never been higher, and the difficulties in keeping proprietary information away from competitors, have never been more challenging.

Joining engineering.com on this episode of The Engineering Roundtable are four experts to discuss this complex topic.

Panelists:

Jim Durkin, Managing Director, Product Management, IP.com
Ameet Bhattacharya, CTO, IP.com
Joe Manico, Research Scientist, Kodak Moments
Elle Gahl, President & CEO, Shadow Ridge Analytics

Moderator:

Jim Anderton, Multimedia Content Director, engineering.com

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To learn more about IP.com and their AI solutions for innovation, contact sales@ip.com or visit https://ip.com.

The post IP is Changing in the Age of AI  appeared first on Engineering.com.

The space launch industry in the 21^st century has been characterized by a shift away from traditional, large aerospace companies to smaller startup firms. Light and medium lift to low earth orbit is widely believed to be a huge growth opportunity in mid-century, if costs can be kept under control.

Reusability is widely believed to be the key to low cost, and a new entrant, Stoke Space, is developing a medium lift launch system called Nova which promises to compete with the SpaceX Falcon 9 system, with full reusability and rapid vehicle turnaround. Nova is being developed with advanced technologies, especially in the second stage, including a regeneratively cooled metallic heatshield, and a propulsion system that takes advantage of aerospike principles. 

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Access all episodes of This Week in Engineering on engineering.com TV along with all of our other series.

The post A new SpaceX competitor goes for the medium lift orbital market appeared first on Engineering.com.

This episode is brought to you by Dell Technologies.

The digital twin is perhaps the most important development in computer-aided design since digital rendering. It’s more than a way to digitally represent products and the processes that make them, it’s a parallel engineering world, a place where what if scenarios and experiments can be performed to optimize designs and processes. Digital twin is not only a tool that speeds development in engineering, it’s a vital element of engineering risk management, a way to try things that would be unthinkable in the physical world, with the possibility of a high-value payoff.

Artificial intelligence can offer similar benefits to engineering processes, and is already a critical tool to aid in decision-making. What happens at the confluence of these two important technologies? What are the implications of artificial intelligence operating through the digital twin to change the engineering process?

Joining engineering.com on this episode of The Engineering Roundtable are three experts to discuss these implications:

Panelists:

Todd Edmunds, Global CTO Smart Manufacturing, Edge & Digital Twins, Dell Technologies Global Industries
Jason Nassar, Senior Consultant, Product Management, Dell Technologies Edge Solutions
Pieter Van Schalkwyk, CEO of  XMPro

Moderator:

Jim Anderton, Multimedia Content Director, engineering.com

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Dell Technologies can support your digital transformation efforts. Sign up for a free consultation with Dell experts to see how Digital Twins can enhance your AI infrastructure management.

Want to learn more? Watch Dell Technologies’ Industrial Digital Twin demo video on YouTube.

The post Revolutionizing Industry 4.0: Scaling Digital Transformation with AI & Digital Twins appeared first on Engineering.com.