Manufacturing

MMC brake drum 45% lighter than cast iron Lightweighting is a goal not just for light vehicles, as the folks at Century Inc. will gladly tell you. Its Advanced Materials Division has developed an aluminum metal matrix composite (MMC) manufacturing technology, along with a demonstrator brake drum for heavy trucks that weighs 38.5 lb (17.5 kg) and is interchangeable with standard cast iron drums weighing 70 lb (32 kg). Read full story

Longer range for new Omni-ID passive RFID tags Omni-ID has released a suite of new RFID products specifically designed for the manufacturing, transportation, and defense industries to track high-value assets. The 100-ft-plus read range Ultra tag uses 512-bit memory and 240-bit EPCglobal Class-1 Gen2-compliant silicon. Read full story

OES puts emphasis on error prevention Until recently, companies had learned to rely solely on postproduction inspection methods and devices to detect any bad products before they might be shipped. Progressive companies are shifting their focus by putting less emphasis on the inspection stages and more emphasis on refining and improving the manufacturing process itself. Read full story

DFMPro advances integration of design for manufacturing Software Integrated with CAD provides on-the-fly design for manufacturing while engineers design parts and assemblies. Read full story