Manufacturing And Warehousing IT News For VARs — November 25, 2014
By Trisha Leon, contributing writer
Advice on integrating 3D printing is in the news this week, as well as disruptive forces affecting manufacturing — including 3D printing and cloud computing.
Advice On Design And The Use Of 3D Printing
The R&D article, “Unleashing the Power of 3D Printing: Designing for Additive Manufacturability,” Bill Camuel, project engineering manager at RedEye, offers helpful advice on design and use of 3D manufacturing. According to Camuel, design is key; he says, “When preparing to export CAD data, it’s important to strike a balance between creating a file that includes intricate design details but isn’t too large for the machine to upload and process. Also important is how a machine builds a product. The height of a layer, also known as slice thickness, can be adjusted and has a bearing on the time it takes to build and the detail of a final product. The size, amount of support material needed and, and material structure are areas where additive manufactured products can be adapted to optimize the process, cutting down on built time and cost. VARs can offer valuable skills in 3D design in order to help their clients harness the power of this emerging technology.
What Is Disrupting Manufacturing?
Brent Balinski writes for Manufacturers’ Monthly, sharing highlights from this year’s AUx event in Sydney. Autodesk’s Pat Williams and Scott Reese discuss current disruptive forces affecting manufacturing and where they might lead us in the article, “What will “the future of making things” deliver?” According to the article, “Increased connectivity between people and machines and refinements in 3D printing are often mentioned as ‘game changers,’ with both cited as examples of where another industrial revolution might come from.” Williams says, “Hardware and software are tightly integrated and linked.” He also stresses the importance of cloud computing in boosting connectivity.
What Your Clients Need To Know About iOS And Security
IDG Connect presents a white paper by MobileIron titled, “iOS 8: Top Three Things Every Enterprise Should Know.” This whitepaper explains why enterprises need a mobile strategy for iOS 8, especially in the realm of security. Because many of the new features are designed to embed deeply in the consumer’s personal life, enterprises need to take measures to protect company and consumer data. Many practical measures that will protect data are detailed in this new whitepaper, which can be downloaded here.
Manufacturing And Warehousing IT Talking Points
Industry Week features the article, “Hackers Turning Smartphones Into Slave Armies,” which explains that Android-powered smartphones and tablets are being hijacked by hackers using malware. Lookout security researcher, Jeremy Linden, says that malware named “NotCompatible” “is another sign that cyber criminals are hitting smartphones and tablets with tactics and tenacity once reserved for desktop computers.” Though it appears that the goal of NotCompatible is control of the smartphones, and not accessing the data contained in them, according to Lookout, “Armies of enslaved mobile devices are used for sending spam hawking goods such as diet pills or snatching up hot concert tickets when they go on sale so they can be scalped later at higher prices.”
In the ZDNet article, “Handy travel tech: Batteries, wireless charging and USBs,” Mary Branscombe, tech journalist, highlights some portable tech products which can be useful for field techs. Ranging from USB on the go to wireless charging on the go, Branscombe weighs the negatives and positives regarding portability, price, and performance of various field products. Since many enterprises send techs into the field to meet customer need, field connectivity is an important part of any business model. Being aware of the advantages and disadvantages of new field products is a key way VARs can assist clients.
For more news and insights, visit BSMinfo’s Manufacturing And Warehousing Tech Center.