In 2014, Local Motors printed the first 3D printed car from an ABS carbon-fiber blend. They call it The Strati. John Fleming, Former EVP, Manufacturing and Labor Affairs at Ford Motor Co., showed this video of The Strati during his presentation at the American Automotive Summit. He explained, “I showed this video not because I think Ford or anybody else is soon going to be 3D printing whole cars, I don’t see that. But I do see additive manufacturing as one of the technologies that is going to be one of the most critical in the future because it has the opportunity to do things that we’ve never been able to do before – to design components and manufacture them like we’ve never been able to before – and I do think it will disrupt the business, and this is happening already.”
Read More →Industry 4.0 Realized: How BMW is approaching digital transformation
The promise of Industry 4.0 is being realized in the automotive industry, and BMW is at the forefront of the evolution of automated production. At last year’s American Manufacturing Summit, Dirk Hilgenberg, VP, Assembly at BMW shared with us how BMW is incorporating Industry 4.0 concepts to innovate at each stage of the production process, from design to post-market.
Read More →3 Technologies that are Rapidly Changing the Supply Chain Landscape
At Generis’ 2017 American Supply Chain Summit, Dave Malenfant, Director of the Center for Supply Chain Innovation at Texas Christian University, shared with us the three most disruptive technologies that are changing the supply chain industry today: 3D printing, drones, and driverless trucks.
Read More →Siemen’s White paper: Accelerating Aircraft Systems Development with Model-based Engineering
Technology has revolutionized the commercial and military aviation industry rapidly. Though drastic development has been made, major challenges still exist. Current development concepts have nearly reached their limit, and in order to keep up with tomorrow’s air traffic demand, new technologies and concepts will be needed. Challenges include the limited availability of energy resources while reducing carbon footprint, managing climate change and congestion, which will require an increase in safety and security requirements. In order to achieve success and security, the aviation industry as a whole must work together to implement a major shift and reinvent itself. Accelerating aircraft systems development with model-based engineering is the first place to start in the process of creating a paradigm shift in the industry. To read more on using model-based engineering to envision new design concepts and technologies in the aviation industry, read Siemen’s white paper, here.
Read More →Ahead of the Curve: Disruptive Technologies in the Medical Device Market
Technia Transcat believes the medical device industry is continually evolving. Disruptive technologies are causing a paradigm shift in the development of new devices, influencing which businesses will enter this segment of Life Sciences, and who they will market their innovative devices to. In addition, what is also critical to the medical device industry is addressing the “Soft Business” disruptive modernizations. Organizations must implement internal processes and organizational behavioral changes in order to sustain a competitive advantage and continue to grow through organic means in an industry challenged with reducing costs associated with risks of regulatory compliance and certification of supply chain solidity. Technia Transcat and Generis have teamed up to create an ebook that explores how technology is changing the medical device industry and how to harness and embrace this technological change. To access the ebook, click here.
Read More →Common Obstacles to Receiving Product Approvals for Global Markets – An Ebook by CSA Group
As social, economic, technological and environmental factors changes at a rapid rate, so are medical devices and healthcare equipment. The consistent changes are bringing complex challenges that require manufacturers to keep up with the rapid pace of innovations, while still maintaining safety for both professionals and inexperienced home users. Many companies only have experience with single-country access and therefore may lack understanding and expertise of regulatory or technical requirements in other countries. With such a wide array of regulations from country to country, companies can struggle with how to begin the process of meeting the required conformity for their target markets. This issue can be compounded by a lack of internal resources dedicated to compliance issues. In this constantly changing environment of safety, conformity, and market access requirements, it is even more important to not only respond to the regulatory needs of today but anticipate those of tomorrow. CSA Group’s Ebook, Common Obstacles to Receiving Product Approvals for Global Markets, explores the common challenges and misconceptions in product approvals, the key stakeholders involved in the approval process, the geographical differences in the approval process, the role of a third-party testing agency, and clearing common hurdles to product approvals. To access the ebook, click here.
Read More →Recent Developments in the Use of Flexible Printed Circuit Boards in Implantable Devices – An Ebook
Over the past 50 years, life expectancy has been steadily increasing. The aging population, therefore, has steadily increased both in number and mean age. There are many neurological and cardiovascular diseases that can be best managed using implantable devices, reducing the need for medications. The key challenges for implantable medical devices are how to support low energy consumption, stable performance, and continued miniaturization. Implantable devices are not new. The pacemaker, as an example, has been around for more than 50 years. The early devices were cumbersome, with short battery life, so when the battery was low, the device had to be removed and replaced, putting a burden not only on the patient but also on medical services and the managed care system. Today these same devices are less than 3% of the size and weigh only a fraction of the former weight. The real revolution in the technology is not the size reduction, but the fact that today’s tiny implantable devices can be wirelessly monitored reducing check-up frequencies. Eltek has teamed up with Generis to create an ebook that looks at the history of implantable devices, the miniaturization of the devices, their wireless communications capabilities and their future. For more information on Eltek and to access the ebook, click here.
Read More →Life Cycle and Durability Testing for Medical Devices
Wineman Technology are specialists in military/aerospace and provide custom systems integration, automated test systems, machinery and controls modernization, and software development. As experts in this field, Wineman Technology has decided to enter the medical device industry and transfer their skills and knowledge into this field. Wineman Technology is uniquely positioned to help life science domain experts with medical device testing, as well as building cutting-edge biomedical system test architectures and database solutions. With their strong background in systems integration, software development, and turn-key test system design, they can deliver advanced equipment more effectively and on a tighter schedule than in-house design resources, or work with your team to augment your current capabilities. Wineman Technologies’ latest ebook explores the most common challenges and mistakes in medical device testing, how to implement device testing with manufacturers while saving time and costs, and how software infrastructure influences the efficacy of medical device testing. Lastly, the ebook shares a case study that shares the results of a universal test system that Wineman Technologies created for Stryker. To access the full ebook, click here.
Read More →Temptime Ebook: Key Issues in t he Storage & Transportation of Temperature-Sensitive Medical Product s
Temptime innovates cost effective monitoring solutions for environmentally sensitive products to ensure supply chain integrity, protect patients and benefit communities globally. The emergence of the storage and transportation of temperature-sensitive medical products has given Temptime the expertise and knowledge to resolve prevalent issues in this field. Temptime has narrowed down the key issues to the following: – Evolving Regulatory Oversight – Customer Complaints & Patient Safety – Impact on Financial Performance Temptime has identified that organizations have a challenge balancing the requirements of regulators and the needs of patients when adhering the temperature monitoring regulations. Another challenge is reducing costs and positively impacting the financial performance of a company. Temptime has unique solutions that can significantly reduce product returns and gain a competitive advantage in the market by enhancing the customer experience. For more information on key issues and solutions in the storage and transportation of temperature-sensitive medical products and solutions, read Temptime’s ebook here. To visit their website, click here.
Read More →Averna’s Q&A Ebook: How the Internet of Things is Transforming the Medical Device Industry
The ‘Internet of Things’ is transforming the medical world, allowing more patients to be looked after using real time data. Combining Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities with current technology is allowing for a faster, more resourceful and satisfying experience for both patients and employees. With the Internet of Things(IoT) reinventing the technological landscape so rapidly, companies are struggling to keep up with the latest innovations. Companies must now test the wireless capabilities of all their medical devices to ensure their products feature seamless connectivity. With more tests being conducted and the rise of IoT, competing companies have introduced robots to automate processes in order to reduce costs. Robotic-driven production has become more economical, as robots can perform routine tasks without fatigue at a faster pace. So, how can OEMs in the medical world stay ahead of their competition with all this technological development? One way is to work with a company that excels at Design for Test (DFT) and design for manufacturing (DFM). Companies can also capture and analyze up-to-date test data. For more ways to stay ahead of the competition despite the constant changes in technology and for a deeper understanding of IoT and its impact on the medical device industry, read Averna’s Q&A Ebook here. Averna is a worldwide Test & Quality leader. Their talented team includes hundreds of engineers, system architects, developers, project managers and other professionals, as well as a network of partners such as National Instruments, Keysight Technologies …
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