With specialty tack fasteners, manufacturers can quickly attach nameplates, install microelectronic components, and join thin and thick sheets of different metals.
MBX Systems has had a clearly defined relationship with its independent software vendor (ISV) customers since the day the company opened for business in 1995. For more than 20 years, MBX has focused on designing and manufacturing custom hardware—so the ISVs can focus on developing and selling their software for mass or niche markets. The setup has benefitted both parties.
Traditionally, it has taken months or even years to get equipment to astronauts up in space, depending on the launch re-supply schedule. Zero-gravity 3D printing, however, may soon completely eliminate the need to send parts or equipment to spacecraft.
Times were tough for the Timken Co. at the start of the 21st century. In March 2000, the Canton, OH-based manufacturer of antifriction roller bearings and related components announced plans to cut 600 jobs worldwide—after having trimmed 1,700 jobs in the previous two years. It also closed plants in Australia and England, and was relying more heavily on sources of steel outside the United States.
While designing the A350 XWB (extra wide body) airplane in early 2010, Airbus’ engineers proposed a revolutionary way to build the plane’s wings at the company’s plant in Broughton, UK. Specifically, they wanted the wings built horizontally rather than the traditional vertical method.
Tier 2 suppliers may be less well-known than Tier 1 suppliers and OEMs, but that doesn’t mean their role in the manufacturing chain is any less important.
With an eye to the future, the U.S. Army held its Joint Multi-Role (JMR) competition in June 2014 to select the next generation of high-speed-rotorcraft helicopters.
