San Diego, California-based General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) has partnered with Australia-based Conflux Technology on the development of a heat exchanger. The part is being developed using a metal additive manufacturing (AM) for possible integration onto GA-ASI’s line of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS).

Conflux Technology is an AM applications company based in Geelong, Victoria that specializes in thermal and fluid engineering. Conflux is providing design expertise in the optimization of AM heat exchangers to increase the performance of RPAS.

“GA-ASI and Conflux are developing novel and state-of-the-art thermal solutions for application to our existing and next generation RPAS. This will allow enhanced endurance and lower manufacturing cost, as well as more flexibility in our product design and integration,” said Linden Blue, GA-ASI CEO.

“Fundamental efficiency gains require heat transfer innovations. In Conflux we have a highly innovative engineering team that blends first principles thermo-fluid dynamics with design creativity and additive manufacturing process expertise,” said Michael Fuller, Conflux Technology CEO. “Conflux heat exchangers derive their performance from highly complex geometries enabled by additive manufacturing. Our scientists and engineers, alongside their GA-ASI counterparts, will now develop heat exchange applications to improve fundamental efficiencies for GA-ASI’s RPA systems.”

The Australian Government recently selected GA-ASI’s MQ-9B SkyGuardian variant to provide the armed RPAS for the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

IMTS – The International Manufacturing Technology Show has announced that it has cancelled IMTS 2020 because of health and safety requirements imposed by the state of Illinois for holding conventions during the COVID-19 pandemic.HANNOVER MESSE USA, that was to run concurrently with IMTS is also cancelled,

In lieu of the traditional biennial show, IMTS will offer two digital programs, IMTS Network and IMTS Spark, over the next several months.

IMTS is fully committed to returning to McCormick Place as scheduled for its normal rotation, September 13-18, 2022.

“The show has been held uninterrupted for more than 80 years, but now the global coronavirus health crisis requires the cancellation of what would have been the 34th edition of IMTS for the health and safety of our exhibitors, audiences, and local business community,” says Peter R. Eelman, vice president & CXO at AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology, which owns and produces IMTS. “Our organization and its members take immense pride in presenting one of the world’s largest manufacturing technology events, one that dates back to 1927. The cancellation is especially poignant because the show was poised to offer an unmatched breadth and depth of resources to help industry rethink, reestablish, and reengage with supply chains disrupted by COVID-19.”

© IMTS | IMTS.com

Visitors who have registered for IMTS 2020 have the choice to receive a refund on registration or transfer their registration to a tax-deductible donation to Miles For Manufacturing, where every dollar is given to programs that prepare students for careers in manufacturing technology. Exhibitors will receive direct communications from IMTS.

Digital experiences
The IMTS Network will live-stream a wide variety of features and human-interest stories from the Manufacturing Technology sector. IMTS Spark, a new program, will be a comprehensive digital platform that connects IMTS exhibitors and visitors, provides educational and networking opportunities and offers first rate experiences, will launch in the near future.

IMTS had already taken action to help manufacturers address supply chain issues created by COVID-19. The IMTS.com/supplychain microsite – ReBuilding the Supply Chain – shows OEMs how to rethink their current operations, how they can reengage with suppliers and secure trading partners, and how they can reestablish connections for a more localized industrial base. It includes a brief history of why the supply chain disruption occurred, and IMTS has mapped out future content to show steps that can be taken to secure the supply chain moving forward.

HANNOVER MESSE USA 2020 cancelled

HANNOVERMESSE USA, the North American staging of HANNOVER MESSE, the world’s leading industrial trade show for digitalization, announced today that this year’s trade show and educational event is canceled due to the published guidelines for reopening the state of Illinois economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic. HANNOVER MESSE USA is held simultaneously with the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS), which was canceled on June 8, 2020. Hannover Fairs USA, the organizer of HANNOVER MESSE USA 2020, planned to shine a spotlight on Industry 4.0 and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions that support post-pandemic manufacturing. HANNOVER MESSE USA will return alongside IMTS in the East Building of Chicago’s McCormick Place from September 12-17, 2022.

“Along with our partners at AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology, we are sad about the need to cancel the entire event. However, the wellbeing of our exhibitors, attendees and staff remains our primary concern,” said Larry Turner, president and CEO of Hannover Fairs USA. This year’s HANNOVER MESSE USA, would have covered 130,000ft² of exhibit space and was to feature technologies and solutions that allow manufacturers to securely run their facilities remotely, thereby limiting the number of workers on the factory floor. The show was slated to offer an expanded educational conference plus on-floor education sessions highlighting today’s top Industry 4.0 and IIoT visionaries.

As a result of the cancellation, IMTS expects to host expanded digital programs over the next several months. HANNOVER MESSE USA 2020 exhibitors and thought leaders will be able to participate in these digital programs to network and share technical knowledge with the manufacturing community. Additionally, select HANNOVER MESSE USA 2020 exhibitors are slated to participate in HANNOVER MESSE Digital Days, a new two-day digital event focused on industrial transformation in the fields of industry, energy and logistics during and after the pandemic and economic shutdown. HANNOVER MESSE Digital Days takes place virtually from July 14-15, 2020, offering exciting keynotes from business, science and politics plus panel discussions, live chats, networking and innovation presentations. To sign up for the digital event, go to https://signup.hannovermesse.digital/.

Bystronic Inc. – a worldwide supplier of high-quality press brakes, lasers cutting systems, automation, and software for the economical processing of sheet metal and tubes – achieved a major milestone in the U.S. with its first laser cutting machine assembled at its new facility in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. This important milestone strengthens Bystronic’s commitment to its customers and to the North American market by providing locally assembled machinery to reduce overall lead time, installation time, and import costs.

By assembling laser cutting machines in the U.S., Bystronic is further developing its market presence and operations network. The next generation BySmart Fiber 3015 laser cutting machine, now with 8kW and 10kW fiber laser power, is the first machine to be locally produced in the three major market regions of the world: North America, Europe, and Asia, thus strengthening Bystronic’s global product availability and supply chain diversification.

The next generation BySmart Fiber will be shipped virtually fully assembled to most locations within North America. This process will reduce the installation time at the customer’s location by as much as 65%. Also, the machines will be 100% inspected and tested in the U.S. plant before shipment, which ensures that production will be up and running shortly after the installation is complete. Customer delivery lead times will also be reduced significantly.

The current plan is that from this fall 2020, the next generation BySmart Fiber 4020 will also be assembled at the U.S. facility.

Lean manufacturing
From the very beginning, it was the goal of Bystronic to use the best practices from the manufacturing plants in Switzerland, Germany, and China in this new facility. The assembly area is laid out as a ‘lean flow’ line. Using this concept, the base machine frame starts at one end of the line, is assembled in stages, and the finished machine exits at the end of the line, much in the way cars are assembled. Components and sub-assemblies are brought to the production line in a just-in-time fashion to complete the machine.

Local sourcing
Bystronic will locally source machine components and sub-assemblies as economically practical. They have already identified suppliers for the mainframe, housing, dust tray, laser source, and other components, and orders have already been placed with these vendors. Many of these vendors are current Bystronic customers and will be using Bystronic machinery to produce the parts.

The newly built Hoffman Estates facility will include a leading-edge Customer Experience Center and the headquarters for the Americas market region. It will serve as the hub for Bystronic U.S. business operations including sales, service, training, spare parts, and the refurbishing of used machinery.

Currently, Bystronic employs approximately 160 employees in the U.S., with a notable increase planned within this year and beyond as more products are added for U.S. assembly. The total area of the new building is 164,894ft². The total area for machine assembly and parts warehousing is 103,39ft², the Experience Center is 30,72ft², and the total office area is 30,780ft².

Experience Center, Bystronic smart factory
The vision of the smart factory is now a reality for Bystronic customers. With its new Experience Center near Chicago, Bystronic is now demonstrating the future of sheet metal processing to U.S. customers. Bystronic will be offering customized live demonstrations and displaying its entire range of sheet metal processing solutions: the latest technologies for laser cutting, integrated automation and storage solutions, flexible bending systems, tube and profile processing solutions, a software landscape that covers the entire sheet metal processing chain, and smart services.

Vision becomes reality
What started as a vision back in 2018, has now come to fruition. The total investment for this project represents approximately $30 million and a firm commitment of the Swiss and globally active Bystronic Group to the North American market.

It’s often said that the best achievements are accomplished by those with a vision of the end result. Bystronic Inc. and Bystronic Manufacturing Americas are well on their way to achieving this initial vision.

A grand opening for the new Experience Center and headquarters for the Americas in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, is scheduled for September 16 & 17, 2020.

Bystronic’s North America headquarters is in Elgin, Illinois. Offices are also located in Toronto, Canada and Monterrey, Mexico. 

Bystronic Inc.

Bystronic Inc. production line at the Hoffman Estates facility. Photo: Bystronic Inc.

NASA has awarded Northrop Grumman Space subsidiary Orbital Science Corp. of Dulles, Virginia, $187 million to design the habitation and logistics outpost (HALO) for the lunar Gateway, part of NASA’s Artemis program to build a sustainable presence at the moon.

The award funds HALO’s design through its preliminary design review, expected by the end of 2020. A second contract expected then will allow Northrop Grumman to fabricate and assemble HALO for integration with the Gateway’s power and propulsion element (PPE) by the end of 2023.

Integrating the elements on the ground prior to launch reduces cost and technical risks while enhancing the likelihood of mission success by eliminating the need for the two elements to dock in lunar orbit.

Developed through NASA’s NextSTEP initiative, the HALO design is derived from Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft that delivers supplies, spare equipment, and scientific experiments to the International Space Station, with 13 successful missions to date.

The HALO module serves as a crew habitat and docking hub for cislunar spacecraft, or spacecraft that navigate between the Earth and the moon. HALO will feature three docking ports for visiting spacecraft, including the Orion spacecraft and other lunar support vehicles.

Building on Cygnus’ pressurized cargo module, Northrop Grumman added command and control capabilities, including environmental control and life support systems, which, when coupled with NASA’s Orion spacecraft capabilities, can sustain four astronauts for up to 30 days as they embark on, and return from, expeditions to the lunar surface.

“The success of our Cygnus spacecraft and its active production line helps enable Northrop Grumman to deliver the HALO module,” said Steve Krein, vice president, civil and commercial satellites, Northrop Grumman.

By leveraging the active Cygnus production line, Northrop Grumman can provide a HALO module in the timeframe needed to support NASA’s Artemis program goal to return humans to the moon within the next four years.

“This contract award is another significant milestone in our plan to build robust and sustainable lunar operations,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. “The Gateway is a key component of NASA’s long-term Artemis architecture and the HALO capability furthers our plans for human exploration at the moon in preparation for future human missions to Mars.”