In this op-ed, manufacturing veteran and host James Anderton expresses his compelling and unique opinions about the state of the manufacturing sector. He shares...
3D printing, or additive manufacturing as it’s known in the industry, have revolutionized warfare, as seen in the current Ukraine Russia conflict. The ability to mass-produce first-person view drones in the thousands has created a new battlefield, where traditional doctrines about armor and logistics have been changed forever. Not only do the drones make attacking armies more vulnerable, additive manufacturing allows production to be extensively decentralized, making it much harder for adversaries to degrade production capability. * * *Want to watch this podcast as a video? End of the Line is available on engineering.com TV along with all of our other shows such as This Week in Engineering, Designing the Future, and, Manufacturing the Future.
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5:09
Scaled Composites’ Vanguard may be the 21st Century equivalent to the Cold War F-5
Northrup Grumman subsidiary Scaled Composites have created a small single-pilot fighter jet, the Vanguard. It could be the 21st century version of the the 1960's F-5 Freedom Fighter: low cost, but high-performance.* * *Want to watch this podcast as a video? End of the Line is available on engineering.com TV along with all of our other shows such as This Week in Engineering, Designing the Future, and, Manufacturing the Future.
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3:34
Are there too many space launch providers?
The market for orbital launch services is considerable, but limited. Is the room for all the players? * * *Want to watch this podcast as a video? End of the Line is available on engineering.com TV along with all of our other shows such as This Week in Engineering, Designing the Future, and, Manufacturing the Future.
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4:19
Can AI fix Aviation, and Boeing?
As software controlling everything from video games to jet airliners has become too complex to make completely error proof, the move to increasing flight automation continues to carry risk. No one knows this more than Boeing, but the fundamental problem of systems that are too complex for humans to check means that safety may ultimately be handed over to artificial intelligence. First, for checking human generated code, then permitting the code itself, and finally, the piloting of the airplanes themselves. * * *Want to watch this podcast as a video? End of the Line is available on engineering.com TV along with all of our other shows such as This Week in Engineering, Designing the Future, and, Manufacturing the Future.
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4:23
Boeing’s, and NASA’s Dilemma With Starliner
There is plenty of talk in the mainstream media about the technical issues with the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, but the real engineering issue is not rooted in pressure vessels, valves or lines. It’s management. Starliner has launched previously to the international Space Station uncrewed, so the capability for fully autonomous flight exists at Boeing. The current flight was configured for human piloting, so the obvious option for Williams and Wilmore, which is to bring them back with a SpaceX capsule, may become necessary if NASA and Boeing can’t reconfigure Starliner to work around the thruster issues. The zero risk option? Fly the astronauts back by SpaceX, then fly Starliner back empty, fix the issues, and launch it again. If Starliner returns unharmed, the decision will look like an abundance of caution, but all concerned will come out looking good.* * *Want to watch this podcast as a video? End of the Line is available on engineering.com TV along with all of our other shows such as This Week in Engineering, Designing the Future, and, Manufacturing the Future.
In this op-ed, manufacturing veteran and host James Anderton expresses his compelling and unique opinions about the state of the manufacturing sector. He shares his thoughts and insights to help engineering and manufacturing professionals navigate through the challenges of world events, supply chain issues, the blending old with new technologies, evolving processes, gaps in skilled labour, in an effort to help maximize engineering productivity of their daily operations.
James is a former editor of trade publications in the automotive, metalworking and plastics industries with contributions to a wide range of print and on-line publications. He also brings prior industry experience in quality and manufacturing for a Tier One automotive supplier.
New episodes uploaded weekly.
You can also watch these podcasts as videos on engineering.com TV: https://www.engineering.com/viewAll?category=end-of-the-line
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