M W MW MIDWEST Vol. 19 No. 3 M ANUFACTURING N EWS Serving Since 2007 Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin Feature Editorial Quality Control & Measurement Dual-Method Gauging System Users can select the optimum inspection method to address a variety of needs. See Page 8 March 2026 See Online DIGITAL EDITIONS at www.mfgnewsweb.com Solar Atmospheres of Michigan Earns Nadcap 18-Month Merit Status Design-2-Part Shows 2026 Schedule Design-2-Part Trade Shows has an-nounced its upcoming schedule for the 2026 show season. The trade shows con-nect OEM engineers and buyers with American manufacturing experts. Each event offers attendees the opportunity to discover new technologies and processes, compare suppliers in person, and view thousands of sample parts. Spring 2026 show dates: • Atlanta, GA: March 10-ll • Irving, TX: April 1-2 • Secaucus, NJ: April 22-23 • Schaumburg, IL: May 6-7 • Denver, CO: May 20-21 • Novi, MI: June 17-18. Continued on Page 44 Material Handling Optimize Workflows Solar Atmospheres of Michigan Inc. announced that it has earned Nadcap 18-Month Merit Status for heat treating and brazing—an honor awarded only to or-ganizations that consistently demonstrate the highest levels of quality, process con-trol, and specification compliance. With Continued on Page 44 2025 Orders Beat 2024 in 11 Months New orders of metalworking ma-chinery, measured by the U.S. Manufac-turing Technology Orders Report pub-lished by AMT—The Association For Manufacturing Technology, totaled $437.9 million in November 2025. This represented a 19.6% decrease from Octo-ber 2025 and nearly equaled the orders in November 2024, with a difference of just over $2 million. Machinery orders tracked by USMTO through November 2025 totaled $4.92 billion, a 17.8% in-crease over the first 11 months of 2024. End-of-year manufacturing tech-nology orders tend to increase as firms Continued on Page 44 Steel distributor maximizes storage capacity. See Page 18 Surface Roughness, Texture, and Tribology 2-Day Class, May 13–14, 2026 Applying Technology New Look at Automation A new technology partnership automates small-to mid-sized shops See Page 24 Registration is open for the annual Surface Roughness, Texture, and Tribology Short Course, May 13–14, 2026. The two-day class is presented by Dr. Donald Cohen and covers the fundamentals of surface roughness and texture, wear, finish, and friction. Flexxbotics Announces Further Expansion with Offices at Newlab Flexxbotics, delivering digital solu-tions for robot-driven manufacturing at scale, has announced a strategic expan-sion with new offices in Newlab at Michi-gan Central in Detroit. Driven by growing demand for manufacturing autonomy with autonomous process control, the new facilities position Flexxbotics for even tighter collaboration with customers and partners across the Midwest. The expansion places Flexxbotics at the center of yet another advanced manufacturing cluster in the United Continued on Page 44 Additive Manufacturing Resourceful Production of Large, Complex Components Registration is now open for the an-nual Surface Roughness, Texture, and Tribology short course, Livonia, MI, May 13–14, 2026. The two-day class of-fers a unique opportunity to learn the Continued on Page 44 Reuse powder without compromising quality. See Page 36 People in the News Page 32 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 Advertiser Index Page 30 Gross Publications, Inc. MIDWEST MANUFACTURING NEWS P.O. Box 847 Grapevine, Texas 76099-0847 U.S.A. CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE DALLAS, TX PERMIT 4245 PAID
Midwest Manufacturing News March 2026: Page 1
