West Manufacturing News • December, 2025

M ANUFACTURING N EWS WEST Vol. 14 No. 12 December 2025 Serving Since 2012 Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington & Wyoming Feature Editorial Automation/Robotics See Online DIGITAL EDITIONS at www.mfgnewsweb.com Hybrid Manufacturing Technologies Global Contributes to Advanced Military Exercise Nikon Advanced Manufacturing Partners with U.S. Navy Nikon Advanced Manufacturing Inc. (Nikon AM) is partnering with the U.S. Navy Maritime Industrial Base (MIB) Program to advance additive manufac-turing (AM) solutions for the U.S. Navy. Through this initiative, the MIB Pro-gram will fund placement of its first ultra-large format Nikon SLM Solutions’ NXG 600E laser-powder bed fusion (L-PBF) metal AM machine in the state-of-the-art, secure Nikon AM Technology Continued on Page 46 Robots Act on the Fly Automate precision tasks on a moving line. See Page 6 Metalforming Tube Bending Difficult Material All-electric line handles right-and left-hand bending. See Page 16 Applying Technology Automating EDM (l-r): CAMRE team members Forest Shaner and Ethan Brown were trained by Dr. Jason Jones on the hybrid CNC enhanced with polymer extrusion capability. The AMBIT XTRUDE head, which was used with the Haas CNC at CAMRE for this application, can be instlled in most floor-standing CNC machines. (inset) Drone boat hull printed using the AMBIT XTRUDE in a CNC machine. Hybrid Manufacturing Technologies Global (HMT) was recently part of a col-laboration at the Consortium for Advanc-ed Manufacturing Research and Educa-tion (CAMRE) Advanced Manufactur-ing Facility at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS). HMT’s AMBIT XTRUDE Continued on Page 46 Alliance Enables Data Exchange for AI Applications in Manufacturing Siemens and several leading machine tool manufacturers–including Renishaw, Grob, Trumpf, Chiron, and Heller, along with the Machine Tool Laboratory (WZL) of RWTH Aachen and the Voith Group– have formed a groundbreaking alliance that provides for a systematic exchange of engineering, manufacturing, and ma-chine data that will be used to develop new generative AI applications for in-dustrial environments. This collabora-tion marks a decisive step toward the realization of an industry-specific AI Continued on Page 45 Solution improved efficiency and accuracy in high-mix, low-volume applications. See Page 24 Northrop Grumman Opens Access to U.S. Semiconductor Facilities Northrop Grumman’s Microelectron-ics Centers are now open for external aerospace and defense companies to access the company’s three U.S. gov-ernment-accredited semiconductor man-ufacturing facilities. This decision ex-pands the secure production of defense microelectronics on U.S. soil. The open-access business model al-lows: • External entities, including commer-cial businesses, aerospace and defense companies, the U.S. Government, aca-demia, federally funded research and development centers, and others, to de-sign, manufacture, package, and test microelectronics domestically for com-mercial and defense applications. Literature & Web Tutorials Live Tools, Angle Heads Catalog showcases live and static tools in all sizes. See Page 28 2025 PRI Show to Debut Groundbreaking Racing Technology Northrop Grumman’s microchips serve dual-use purposes, supporting the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) and commercial applications at scale. Continued on Page 46 The 2025 PRI Show will take place December 11-13 at the Indiana Con-vention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN. “Attendees can see at a glance what products are defining the next era of motorsports and identify what matters most to their business,” said PRI Presi-dent Michael Good. Machinery Row at the 2025 PRI Show will feature more than 100 exhibitors displaying the latest shop machinery, parts cleaning equipment, tools, and Continued on Page 46 Controls Smarter Control Solutions Boost shop floor productivity with motion control products that are designed and supported in the U.S. See Page 36 Subscription Changes: To make name, address subscription changes contact: • Phone: 800-375-8488 • Fax: 817-488-7813 • E-mail: info@mfgnewsweb.com • www.mfgnewsweb.com CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED Gross Publications, Inc. WEST MANUFACTURING NEWS P.O. Box 847 Grapevine, Texas 76099-0847 U.S.A. PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE DALLAS, TX PERMIT 4245 People in the News Page 34 Advertiser Index Page 33 PAID