#dental office in detroit michigan
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mykidstoothdocs · 3 days ago
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Why Megan E. Stowers is Your Top Choice for Children’s Dental Specialties Near You
Looking for trusted children’s dental specialties near you? Megan E. Stowers Pediatric Dentist provides expert, compassionate care tailored to kids’ unique dental needs. Conveniently located in Detroit, Dr. Stowers specializes in creating a welcoming, child-friendly environment where children feel comfortable and confident during every visit. As a leading pediatric dentist, she offers comprehensive dental care, from preventive treatments to advanced procedures, ensuring your child receives the highest quality care for a healthy, happy smile.
Dr. Stowers focuses on preventive care, including regular check-ups, cleanings, fluoride treatments, and sealants to protect developing teeth. For restorative needs, she provides gentle, effective solutions, such as fillings and crowns, in a way that minimizes stress for young patients. Her expertise also includes handling dental emergencies and addressing dental anxiety, making her practice the go-to choice for parents searching for specialized care.
Megan E. Stowers Pediatric Dentist is dedicated to educating both children and parents about the importance of good oral health habits. She takes the time to explain treatments, answer questions, and ensure families feel informed and supported. By creating a positive dental experience, Dr. Stowers helps children build a foundation for lifelong oral health while ensuring parents feel confident in their choice of dental care.
Families looking for children’s dental specialties near them trust Megan E. Stowers Pediatric Dentist for her gentle approach, expertise, and commitment to exceptional pediatric dental care. Her office is designed with kids in mind, featuring a fun, friendly atmosphere that helps children feel at ease from the moment they walk through the door.
Discover why Megan E. Stowers Pediatric Dentist is a top choice for children’s dental specialties near you. Schedule an appointment today to give your child the personalized, professional care they deserve in a dental home focused on their unique needs and long-term oral health.
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ddsmatchmi · 10 months ago
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If you are in the market for a pediatric dental practice, Michigan DDsmatch has an exciting opportunity for you. A pediatric dental practice for sale through Michigan DDsmatch signifies not only a strategic business move but also a commitment to providing top-notch oral care to children. These practices are meticulously evaluated, ensuring that they align with the highest standards of pediatric dentistry. Acquiring a pediatric practice through Michigan DDsmatch means stepping into a well-established and reputable clinic, equipped with the latest technology and a dedicated team focused on pediatric oral health. This presents a rare chance to take the reins of a thriving pediatric dental practice, making a positive impact on the community while securing a promising future in pediatric dentistry.
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retropopcult · 5 years ago
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Panoramic view of the corner of Woodward & Jefferson Avenues in Detroit, 1904.  Featuring the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad office, a vintage newsie, the "painless dental parlor," a kid on a bicycle, ectoplasmic pedestrians and a cameo by Goebel's beer.  Part of the Detroit Publishing Co. collection.
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glowfamilydental · 4 years ago
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Meet Dr. Carlos M. Martinez
Dr. Martinez believes that truly great dentistry isn’t just built upon world-class clinical skills, but a deep and trusting relationship between dentist and patient. When that relationship is solid, a patient feels more comfortable, is more likely to express any issues, and will attend appointments more regularly. This approach also enables Dr. Martinez to specially tailor his care to each unique individual to ensure a fantastic outcome and smooth experience. Of course, all relationships must begin with an introduction, so below, you can start getting to know Dr. Martinez.
WHY DID YOU WANT TO BECOME A DENTIST?
Dr. Martinez was always drawn to the medical field and helping people, but he wanted to choose a career that would also allow him to enjoy his life outside of work. Dentistry seemed to be a perfect fit. He likes how he’s able to work a regular five-day week just like everyone else, plus he’s able to make a real difference in people’s lives by improving their health and confidence at the same time.
WHERE DID YOU STUDY DENTISTRY?
Dr. Martinez attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he received his bachelors of science in Biology. It was here where he started to develop an interest in dentistry. After many hours of observation in dental offices, he realized it was the career he wanted to pursue.
He eventually graduated from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry in 2010 and practiced in Michigan for almost two years. After spending most of his life in the north, it was time for a change, and a move to Texas would bring him to his new home.
Practicing dentistry for 8 years has not changed Dr. Martinez’s dedication to continuing education. He knows that in order to provide the best care possible, one has to stay up to date on the newest technologies, techniques, and materials. He’s also able to expand his knowledge and network of other dentists as a proud member of the Hispanic Dental Association. He has many interests in the dental field, and he is always excited to learn more year after year so he can provide an even higher level of care.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO OUTSIDE OF DENTISTRY?
Dr. Martinez is fluent in English, Spanish, and he is currently studying Italian. His biggest interest outside of dentistry and learning new languages, however, involves staying healthy. He works out and practices yoga most days of the week, and he has recently started running and doing archery. He’s always happy to pick up new hobbies so he can learn different skills and meet a more diverse group of people. He also enjoys traveling and visiting family in Mexico and Chicago whenever he can.
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wyandottedental-blog · 4 years ago
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Meet Dr. Susan J. Cleereman
Susan J. Cleereman, DDS
Dr. Cleereman graduated from the University of Michigan School of Dentistry in 1986. For 23 years, she served in the Michigan Air National Guard. In December 2009, she retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. While she was in the Guard, she went on several humanitarian medical missions to Honduras (three times), Panama, Ghana, Guyana, Latvia, and the Hoopa Indian Reservation in Northern California. 
In 2009, she was awarded the Michigan Dental Association Dentist Citizen of the Year award, as a result of her military humanitarian missions. Dr. Cleereman purchased Wyandotte Family Dental from Dr. Wojewodzic in June 2008. What impressed her most about the office was that the patients were like family. The entire team believes in building relationships with one another and with the patients. This makes dentistry a pleasant and rewarding experience. 
Dr. Cleereman is a member of the American Dental Association, the Michigan Dental Association, the Detroit District Dental Society, Kiwanis Intertnational, and the Packard Club. She lives in Dearborn, Michigan, with her husband, Joel, and “Smokey,” the cat. She lives in a Ford home that was built in 1919. She has four children and 10 grandchildren. In her spare time, she reads, sews, paints, and works on the historic home.
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brightpointedds · 5 years ago
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Meet Dr. Michelle Vredenburg
Dr. Vredenburg graduated from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry with a Doctorate of Dental Surgery in 1989. She completed a general practice residency at Siani Hospital the following year. Dr. Vredenburg is a member of the American and Michigan Dental Associations, Academy of General Dentistry, and the Port Huron Study Club. She is also a member of the dental advisory board at Baker College. Dr. Vredenburg’s four sons, Kyle, Brad, Mitch, and Sean keep her quite busy outside of the office with all of them involved in sports. She enjoys snow skiing, golf, traveling, scuba diving and raising her children.
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deniscollins · 5 years ago
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G.M. Workers Say They Sacrificed, and Now They Want Their Due
The United Auto Workers agreed to substantial wage concessions when General Motors was on the verge of bankruptcy 10 years ago. Over the last three years, GM has earned solid profits — it made $35 billion in North America — while closing plants in the United States. Under the contract just ended, workers have gotten a share of G.M.’s profits averaging $11,000 a year over the last three years, and now want an even “fairer” share of profits. If you were a GM executive, how would you determine what are the union workers fair share of profits?
A decade ago, when General Motors was on the brink of collapse and was ushered into bankruptcy by the federal government, the company’s unionized workers bore a significant portion of the pain to bring the automaker back to financial health.
The United Auto Workers agreed to allow General Motors to hire significant numbers of new workers at roughly half the hourly wage of those already on the payroll and with reduced retirement benefits. In the following years, G.M. was also able to bring in temporary workers with even slimmer wage-and-benefit packages and little job security.
The bitter medicine helped reinvigorate the automaker, and for the last several years it has been reaping record profits. Along the way, it has pared its United States payrolls, closed several plants and moved more work to Mexico.
Now nearly 50,000 workers have walked off the job at more than 50 G.M. plants and other locations across the Midwest and South, striking to get what they see as their fair share of the company’s hefty returns and block further erosion of their ranks.
“We have given away so many concessions over the last eight-plus years, and this company has been ridiculously profitable over that time,” said Chaz Akers, 24, an assembler at G.M.’s Detroit-Hamtramck plant, which is set to close in January unless the labor talks can win a reprieve. “That’s why we’re here. We’re fighting to get everything that we lost back.”
The across-the-board strike, the first by the U.A.W. since 2007, began at midnight Sunday, a day after the G.M. contract expired. Industry analysts said the walkout could cost the company tens of millions of dollars a day.
The company had no comment on the talks on Monday but said on Sunday: “We presented a strong offer that improves wages, benefits and grows U.S. jobs in substantive ways, and it is disappointing that the U.A.W. leadership has chosen to strike.”
In negotiations that resumed Monday morning and continued into the evening, the company has offered to invest $7 billion in United States plants and add 5,400 jobs. It also said it was willing to increase pay and benefits, without offering details.
That’s not enough for Wiley Turnage, president of U.A.W. Local 22, who represents the 700 workers at the Hamtramck plant. “I don’t like where we’re at,” he said at the plant’s main gate Monday, a picket sign reading “U.A.W. on Strike” propped on his shoulder. “We need job security. Our plant doesn’t have production beyond January. We have a lot of young, growing families and we need work for them.”
Focusing on a single company is standard practice in the talks between the U.A.W. and the Detroit automakers every four years. And although G.M. has a smaller domestic work force than its American rivals, Ford Motor and Fiat Chrysler, it presented an inviting target.
The automaker has earned solid profits — it made $35 billion in North America over the last three years — while closing plants in the United States. Ford, in contrast, canceled plans to build a plant in Mexico, and Fiat Chrysler has announced plans for a new factory in Detroit.
“The U.A.W. is making a significant move here and sending a strong signal that what G.M. has been offering is not acceptable,” said Peter Berg, a labor-relations professor at Michigan State University.
Among autoworkers, there is a strong sense that G.M. is not only making enough profit to increase wages but should be obligated to do so because the federal government rescued the company in 2009.
“We literally gave up a lot during the bankruptcy and the American taxpayer gave up a lot,” said Ashley Scales, 32, a G.M. worker walking the picket line outside the Hamtramck plant’s main gate. “We gave up twice because we pay taxes and we gave up in the contractual agreement. And now the corporation is making more profit than ever and they still want to play games.”
It also does not sit well with workers that G.M. has chosen to make certain vehicles in Mexico rather than in American plants. For example, the new Chevrolet Blazer, a sport utility vehicle that years ago was made in the United States, was assigned to a Mexican plant when it was reintroduced last year.
President Trump, who even before taking office castigated G.M. for shifting production to Mexico, returned to the theme on Monday in comments at the White House. While he said he was “sad to see the strike” and hoped it would be short, he emphasized his relationship with autoworkers, and added: “I don’t want General Motors to be building plants outside of this country. You know they built many plants in China and Mexico, and I don’t like that at all.”
Under the contract just ended, workers have gotten a share of G.M.’s profits averaging $11,000 a year over the last three years. But some contend that the U.A.W. failed to push hard enough as G.M. and the other automakers bounced back over the last decade, including the union’s efforts in the last contract talks four years ago.
“The leadership is feeling some pressure from below to deliver something better than what we got in 2015,” Martha Grevatt, a U.A.W. member who retired from a Fiat Chrysler plant in Michigan earlier this year, said in an interview in August.
After making G.M. its target, the U.A.W. extended its contracts with Ford and Fiat Chrysler. The G.M. outcome is meant to set a pattern for the other companies.
But G.M. is looking to cut costs, or at least avoid cost increases, in a difficult business environment. Auto sales are slowing in the United States and China, the world’s largest and most lucrative markets, and the company is spending billions of dollars to develop electric vehicles and self-driving cars.
It still has room to get leaner. At the end of last year, G.M. had the capacity to make one million more vehicles that it was selling, said Kristin Dziczek, vice president for industry, labor and economics at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich.
To trim capacity, it has closed a small-car plant in Lordstown, Ohio, and components plants in Baltimore and Warren, Mich. The Hamtramck plant makes the Chevrolet Impala and Cadillac CT6, two slow-selling sedans that would need to be retained or replaced to keep the factory running.
Aside from keeping the Hamtramck plant open, the biggest issue for strikers is the tiered wage system, which leaves some workers making significantly less than others for comparable work.
Workers hired before 2007 make about $31 an hour, and can retire with a lifelong pension. Those hired after them (now more than a third of the work force) start at about $17 an hour and can work their way up to about $29 an hour over eight years. They also have to rely on 401(k) retirement accounts instead of pensions.
In addition, G.M. uses temporary workers (about 7 percent of the staff) who earn about $15 an hour, and do not have vision or dental benefits. The system has helped G.M. compete with Toyota, Honda and other foreign automakers operating nonunion plants in Southern states where hourly wages tend to range from $15 to $18 an hour.
But Hamtramck workers said the disparity in compensation under one roof created tension and resentment on the assembly line. “It’s a matter of fairness if someone next to you is making double for the same work,” said Stephanie Brown, 35, a Head Start teacher for 10 years until she took a temp position at G.M. three months ago.
Mr. Akers said he was paid $18 an hour for installing passenger-side headlights, while the driver’s-side headlights were installed by a temporary worker making $3 less.
“That guy has been a temp for two-and-a-half years,” Mr. Akers said. “Is that temporary to you?”
Depending on its length, the strike could have far-reaching effects, potentially hurting some of the thousands of companies that supply G.M. with parts like seats, motors and brake systems, as well as the components that go into those parts.
Other parts of the labor movement may be an asset to the U.A.W. Bret Caldwell, a Teamsters spokesman, said that his union represented about 1,000 drivers who transport G.M. vehicles to dealerships and that their contracts allowed them to avoid crossing a picket line.
Mr. Caldwell said he expected almost all of the car haulers to be idle throughout the strike. “That’ll be a big impact holding up any remaining inventory G.M. has, anything they try to bring in from out of the country,” he said. “It’s the main area of support we’re able to show.”
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bountyofbeads · 5 years ago
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Transgender Woman Found Burned Beyond Recognition in Florida, Officials Say https://nyti.ms/2LWvjcW
Eighteen trans Black women have been murdered this year. Most were under 30.
SAY THEIR NAMES:
Dana. Jazzaline. Ashanti. Claire
Muhlaysia. Michelle. Paris.
Chynal. Chanel. Zoe. Brooklyn.
Denali. Kiki. Jordan. Pebbles.
Tracy. Bailey. Bee.
The Senate must pass The Equality Act and reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.
We have to find ways to end the bigotry that leads to this violence.
Read more below:
https://t.co/iBFhXk8eg6
Transgender Woman Found Burned Beyond Recognition in Florida, Officials Say
Bee Love Slater was the 18th transgender person known to have been killed in the United States this year, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
By Mariel Padilla and Neil Vigdor | Published Sept. 14, 2019 | New York Times | Posted September 16, 2019 |
The body of a black transgender woman, said by the authorities to have been burned beyond recognition, was found inside an abandoned car in Florida.
The victim, Bee Love Slater, 23, was the 18th transgender person known to have been killed in the United States this year, according to Human Rights Campaign, a civil rights organization that tracks anti-transgender violence.
The authorities had to use dental records to identify her after she was found on Sept. 4 just outside of Clewiston, Fla., a city on the southwest side of Lake Okeechobee, Steve Whidden, the Hendry County sheriff, said Saturday night in an interview.
Sheriff Whidden said investigators were treating the case as a homicide, but had not uncovered any evidence to suggest that the killing was a hate crime.
“We don’t have anything that would show that it’s a hate crime right now,” he said. “We possibly have a motive, but I can’t say what that is at this time.”
The authorities are examining a series of social media posts directed at Ms. Slater before her death, according to Sheriff Whidden, who said that while they were not direct threats, they wished harm on Ms. Slater.
“There were some Facebook posts made — that this person needs to die,” said Sheriff Whidden, who would not elaborate on whether posts were made by an individual or more than one person because of the ongoing investigation.
“There are more questions than we have answers,” said Jackson Jackson, a friend of Ms. Slater’s.
Advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender crime victims said Ms. Slater’s death was part of what they described as an alarming spate of violence against transgender people.
The Human Rights Campaign said she was the 18th transgender person to have died by violent means so far this year. In 2018, advocates tracked at least 26 such deaths, the majority of whom were black transgender women.
“These victims are not numbers — they were people with hopes and dreams, loved ones and communities who will miss them every day,” the group said on Twitter after Ms. Slater’s death.
Another friend, Shaq Bailey, said he was heartbroken at the news of Ms. Slater’s death. “She did nothing but smile and have a positive vibe,” he said. “Nobody who knew her would say bad things about her.”
Janet Taylor, a former longtime Hendry County commissioner, said on Saturday that the death jolted the tight-knit city of Clewiston, which is about 65 miles west of West Palm Beach.
“That’s the feel of the community, that this is really a hate crime,” Ms. Taylor said. “Sexual preferences — we can’t be judgmental about that. Our community just wants justice done for her family.”
Ms. Taylor, who is the founder of Glades Lives Matter, a community action group, said Ms. Slater was not from the immediate area and was believed to be from Pahokee, Fla., which is about 30 miles from Clewiston.
“She didn’t deserve what she got,” Ms. Taylor said.
The American Medical Association called violence against transgender people an “epidemic” and voted at a conference in June to adopt new policies to help prevent this violence.
“According to available tracking, fatal anti-transgender violence in the U.S. is on the rise and most victims were black transgender women,” Bobby Mukkamala, an association board member, said in a statement.
The new policies include educating people on the disproportionate number of fatal attacks on black transgender women and supporting a standardized database of hate crimes.
“The number of victims could be even higher due to underreporting, and better data collection by law enforcement is needed to create strategies that will prevent anti-transgender violence,” Dr. Mukkamala said.
Another friend of Ms. Slater’s, Dezmond Bass, said: “She lived in a small town where everyone knew everyone, and it made it easier for her to be targeted. You should be able to be who you want to be without being discriminated against, and we are doing all that we can to make sure she gets justice.”
Violence Against the Transgender Community in 2019
Published by Human Rights Campaign | Posted September 16, 2019 |
In 2018, advocates tracked at least 26 deaths of transgender people in the U.S. due to fatal violence, the majority of whom were Black transgender women. These victims were killed by acquaintances, partners and strangers, some of whom have been arrested and charged, while others have yet to be identified. Some of these cases involve clear anti-transgender bias. In others, the victim’s transgender status may have put them at risk in other ways, such as forcing them into unemployment, poverty, homelessness and/or survival sex work.
While the details of these cases differ, it is clear that fatal violence disproportionately affects transgender women of color, and that the intersections of racism, sexism, homophobia, biphobia and transphobia conspire to deprive them of employment, housing, healthcare and other necessities, barriers that make them vulnerable. HRC Foundation’s “Dismantling a Culture of Violence” report demonstrates how anti-transgender stigma, denial of opportunity and increased risk factors compound to create a culture of violence -- and provides clear ways that each of us can directly make an impact to make our society a safer place for transgender people.
As is too often the case in the reporting of anti-transgender violence, many of these victims are misgendered in local police statements and media reports, which can delay our awareness of deadly incidents. In the pursuit of greater accuracy and respect for transgender and gender expansive people in both life and death, HRC offers guidelines for journalists and others who report on transgender people.
Sadly, 2019 has already seen at least 18 transgender people fatally shot or killed by other violent means. As HRC continues to work toward justice and equality for transgender people, we mourn those we have lost:
Dana Martin, 31, a Black transgender woman, was fatally shot in Montgomery, Alabama, on January 6. Reports stated that she was found in a roadside ditch in her vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. Daroneshia Duncan-Boyd, an Alabama-based trans advocate, said that “she was a person that was loved by many.”
Jazzaline Ware, a Black transgender woman, was found dead in her Memphis apartment in March. Her death is being investigated as a homicide, according to The Advocate.  “Our community in Memphis is mourning the death of Jazzaline Ware, a Black trans woman and beloved friend,” said the Transgender Law Center in a press release. Further details are unknown as of May 31, 2019.
Ashanti Carmon, 27, a Black transgender woman, was fatally shot in Prince George's County, Maryland, on March 30. “Until I leave this Earth, I’m going to continue on loving her in my heart, body, and soul,” said Philip Williams, Carmon’s fiancé. “She did not deserve to leave this Earth so early, especially in the way that she went out.
Claire Legato, 21, a Black transgender woman, was fatally shot in Cleveland on April 15. Local media reports that Legato was shot in the head after an argument broke out between her mother and the suspect. She was taken to a nearby hospital and died from her injuries on May 14. Friends and family took to social media to mourn Legato’s death, remembering her as someone who was “full of life.”
Muhlaysia Booker, 23, a Black transgender woman, was fatally shot in Dallas on May 18. Local media reported that Booker was found dead, lying face down with a gunshot wound near a golf course in east Dallas. In April, Booker was viciously attacked in what Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings described as “mob violence.” Officers say that there is no indication as of May 20, 2019, that the April attack is linked to Booker’s killing.
Michelle 'Tamika' Washington, 40, a Black transgender woman, was fatally shot in Philadelphia on May 19. Police responded to reports of shots fired in North Philadelphia’s Franklinville neighborhood, according to the Philadelphia Gay News. Washington, who was also known by the name Tameka, was found with several gunshot wounds and transported to Temple University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. She is remembered by friends and loved ones as a beloved sister and “gay mother.”
Paris Cameron, 20, a Black transgender woman, was among three people killed in a horrific anti-LGBTQ shooting in a home in Detroit on May 25, according to local reports. Alunte Davis, 21, and Timothy Blancher, 20, two gay men, were found dead at the scene and Cameron was taken to the hospital, where she died from her injuries. Two other victims were also shot but survived. “This case illustrates the mortal danger faced by members of Detroit’s LGBTQ community, including transgender women of color," Fair Michigan President Alanna Maguire said.
Chynal Lindsey, 26, a Black transgender woman, was found dead in White Rock Lake, Dallas, with signs of “homicidal violence” on June 1, according to police. The Dallas Police Department has reached out to federal law enforcement to aid in the investigation. As of June 4, no further details were are available
Chanel Scurlock, 23, a Black transgender woman, was found fatally shot in Lumberton, North Carolina, on June 6. Few details are yet public about the crime, but police told a local news outlet they have “great leads” in their investigation. “RIP baby,” wrote a friend on Facebook. “You [lived] your life as you wanted. I’m proud of you for being unapologetically correct about your feelings and expectations of YOU.”
Zoe Spears, 23, a Black transgender woman, was found lying in the street with signs of trauma near Eastern Avenue in Fairmount Heights, Maryland, and later pronounced dead on June 13, according to local reports. “She was my daughter -- very bright and very full of life,” transgender advocate Ruby Corado, the founder and executive director of Casa Ruby, told HRC. “Casa Ruby was her home. Right now, we just want her and her friends and the people who knew her to know that she’s loved.”
Brooklyn Lindsey, 32, a Black transgender woman, was found dead on the front porch of an abandoned home in Kansas City, Missouri, on June 25, according to local news reports. “I love you, Brooklyn Lindsey,” wrote a friend on Twitter. “I shall live on for you. Rest in power, sista.”
Denali Berries Stuckey, 29, a Black transgender woman, was found fatally shot in North Charleston, South Carolina, on July 20. “I lost my best friend, first cousin,” wrote a family member on Facebook. “We were more than cousin. We were like brother and sisters. I love you so much, Pooh.”
Kiki Fantroy, 21, a Black transgender woman, was fatally shot in Miami on July 31. Fantroy’s mother remembered her as having “a heart of gold” and being “a very loving person.” She also pleaded for justice for her daughter, saying, “My baby, my baby. Please help bring justice to my baby.”
Jordan Cofer, 22, was among the nine victims killed in a mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, on August 4. While Cofer was only out to a handful of close friends and used the pronouns he/him/his on his social media profiles, he is remembered by friends as “extremely bright” and “well-liked.” A friend told Splinter News that “Jordan was probably one of the sweetest people you would ever meet, a true saint, but he was also very scared constantly. He tried to give the best to everyone.”
Pebbles LaDime “Dime” Doe, 24, a Black transgender woman, was killed in Allendale County, South Carolina, on August 4. She was found dead in a car parked in a driveway, according to reports. Doe’s friends and family remembered her as having a “bright personality,” and being someone who “showed love” and who was “the best to be around.” 
Tracy Single, 22, a Black transgender woman, was killed in Houston on July 30. “Rest in power and peace Tracy,” wrote Monica Roberts, Houston-based transgender advocate. “You were taken away from us way too soon.”
Bailey Reeves, 17, a Black transgender teen, was fatally shot in Baltimore, Maryland, on September 2. As of September 6, little is known about the circumstances surrounding her death. Reeves is the 17th known trans person killed this year. 
Bee Love Slater, 23, was brutally murdered in Clewiston, Florida, on September 4. Slater is remembered by loved ones as someone "with a really, really sweet heart" who "never harmed anyone." 
Additionally, HRC is deeply concerned about the deaths of Johana ‘Joa’ Medina and Layleen Polanco, whose stories we are following closely. Medina, 25, died at a hospital in El Paso, Texas just hours after being released from ICE custody. She suffered severe health complications that went untreated while she was in detention, according to Diversidad Sin Fronteras. Her exact cause of death is not yet known. Polanco was found dead in a cell at Riker's Island on June 7. 
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cramerchu87-blog · 5 years ago
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Why Should the Government Assist United States Automobile Producers
As a long-lasting homeowner of Michigan, I was elevated with the belief that we must buy just those vehicles created by an American auto business (yes, even if some parts were made in international nations). To today, I still hold that belief because of the fact that I find it incomprehensible to enable my very own self-seeking desires to impact the work overview of my relative, friends, next-door neighbors, colleagues and also my neighborhood overall. Yes, Detroit developed its share of lemons in the 70's, 80's and also 90's, but high quality has much enhanced ever since. Here's an example; I am a self-described vehicle nut, as well as my enthusiasm occurs to get the very best of me when that outstanding, most recent and also biggest "wow" automobile style is introduced. Therefore, I do not wait for discounts or motivations; I simply go all out as quickly as my desire cars and truck hits the showroom. The very first time I could afford to do so was over 10 years ago, when the '97 Ford F150 was introduced. I loved it, leased it and also never ever had a solitary problem with it. Then came the '99 Chrysler 300M. Once more, I leased this appeal as well as liked driving it. Regrettably, it was not as hassle-free as my Ford, but it was okay. I figured it still looked great, was enjoyable to drive and the lease would be up quickly. So, the following ideal thing came out, and also again it was a Chrysler product, albeit the Dodge line - the 2004 Dodge Durango. I rented this vehicle for four years and really did not wish to chance a potential lemon, so I bought the prolonged bumper-to-bumper warranty. Naturally, I never ever needed to use it; this automobile was abused by my household, pushing the towing ability to the restrictions, as well as throughout our four-year lease we never when required service. Also at its lease end, this vehicle drove perfectly. So, it is my viewpoint that Detroit's car manufacturers made a 100% improvement in quality in the brief span of just 5 years, from the late '90's to the year 2004.
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Some might wonder why I would certainly have selected an American vehicle, after just recently experiencing issues with a previously leased American car. Well, the answer is basic, my pal. If even more people had my attitude, Michigan would certainly not be where it is today. You see, Michigan has been in an economic downturn for 5 years, and it harms to understand that my choice, combined with every one of the others who may choose foreign automobiles, will deeply impact others. While I concur that business model of U.S. car business needs extreme modification, I additionally have a clear understanding of what's in advance for the whole country if the government does not lend these suppliers the essential funds to see them with this really challenging period; we're living it currently right here in Michigan, and also the rest of the nation will certainly experience what we have actually undergone for a number of years. Michigan shed 330,000 factory work considering that 1999, and as a result many others have actually been impacted: My other half is an energy center driver for a producer straight connected to the auto sector. He's been given up a minimum of 5 times in as years, and also the hazard is constantly lurking. My dental expert has lost 27% of his business due to the fact that individuals that do not have insurance policy simply do not most likely to the dental professional. My OB/GYN found it necessary to get rid of 20% of her staff - once more, due to the fact that women's "female problems" are positioned on the back burner when they do not have insurance coverage and can't pay for an office visit.A buddy has actually taken a 10% pay cut in order to maintain his job. As a result, his house has remained in a near-foreclosure status twice within the previous year. My sibling, a medical biller, shed 2 tasks in the last 5 years as a result of our economic situation. She now functions two part-time jobs, simply trying to make the mortgage settlement. My buddy, a vice-president of the mortgage division for a neighborhood bank, lost her task when the bank was taken in by a larger national bank. Stunning communities are entrusted to abandoned homes since individuals have actually had to relocate simply to find work. Certainly, there are couple of people who can pay for to get residences, so these houses rest vacant. Communities are eliminating cops and fireman jobs since they're not accumulating the tax obligations required to pay the employees' wages. School systems are getting rid of educators, causing higher class sizes. My nephew, a packaging engineer, relocated to Pennsylvania due to the fact that there are no such tasks below in Michigan. The affect of our economic climate is likewise starting to hit Pennsylvania, as well as he's not exactly sure if he'll work in six months. The listing continues, as well as the loss of an additional 2.5 million jobs in this country will be definitely devastating; entire cities will declare bankruptcy and healing will certainly take years. The federal government didn't throw away a moment making a decision the destiny of AIG, that employs 100,000 people worldwide. Why are they so hesitant to save 2.5 million tasks right here in the USA? Most likely since they believe car employees are paid too much - and they are. The UAW requires to voluntarily take a 20% pay cut, as well as the company executives require to do the very same. Perks need to be eliminated, as well as survival needs to be priority number one. Each cars and truck firm need to be required to produce little, fuel effective automobiles within 18 months of acquiring entitlement program, as well as do whatever in their power to develop alternative energy for their automobiles - also if it means joint ventures. Exec greed requires to be a distant memory; the automobile business leaders can learn a thing or 2 from talking with Lee Iacocca, who kindly offered to bring Chrysler back from the brink of personal bankruptcy for an annual income of just $1.00 back in very early 1980's. Currently, that's a true leader, as well as a man devoted to seeing results. Possibly Steven Feinberg, owner of Cerberus, which acquired Chrysler in 2007, must do a something to assist with the U.S. production market, as opposed to just wanting to make a quick earnings. If the auto market in this country is mosting likely to make it through, and ultimately keep the USA from getting in an anxiety, everyone needs to offer. Customers require to take a review at American cars, the UAW participants need to take a 20% wage cut, along with beginning paying for a part of their medical insurance, as well as CEOs and also execs require to put an end to their greed. And also most notably - the key to the car companies' survival - the USA federal government requires to provide the money these firms need so that production and also its work continue to be an essential and also stable variable of this country's economic climate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPODSNAbkOU
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mykidstoothdocs · 21 days ago
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Dental Office in Detroit Michigan | Megan E. Stowers Pediatric Dentist
Looking for a trusted dental office in Detroit, Michigan? Megan E. Stowers Pediatric Dentist provides gentle, specialized care for children in a warm, welcoming environment. Dr. Stowers and her team focus on prevention and comfort, making every child’s dental visit a positive experience. Book your appointment today!
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ddsmatchmi · 1 year ago
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Dr. Smith had poured her heart and soul into the business and wanted to ensure it would continue thriving under new ownership. She knew the process would be complex and overwhelming, but she was determined to make the transition smooth. Her local DDSmatch Professional helped her organize the steps for a manageable approach to this monumental change in her life.
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todaysdetroitdental-blog · 6 years ago
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Meet Dr. Gabriel Williams
What excites me most professionally, and what I am most passionate about, is making a dramatic change in people’s lives through cosmetic and restorative treatments. It is amazing to receive such appreciation from my patients after they see the results of all our hard work! Now more than ever, I realize the importance of the work my team and I do in the lives of those in and around Detroit.
EDUCATION AND CONTINUING EDUCATION
A native of Detroit, I graduated from Cass Technical High School and continued on to Howard University in Washington, D.C. I transferred to Wayne State University, where I graduated in 1966. I taught French and German for four years before entering the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, earning my Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in 1975.
After completing a two-year course in straight-wire orthodontics in 1983 and incorporating orthodontics in my practice for over 20 years, I completed training in advanced Damon® System self-ligating braces. I was also the first general dentist in the city to perform implant surgery after interning with Dr. Niznich, the founder of Core-Vent Implants, the first implants used in the United States. In addition to these specialty training courses, I also participate in local seminars in all aspects of dentistry and attend the national convention of the American Dental Association each year.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
American Dental Association
Michigan Dental Association
Detroit Dental Association
American Endodontic Society
The Pankey Institute
OUTSIDE THE OFFICE
I have been proud to live in Detroit for my entire life, and enjoyed raising my three children here. They’re all grown up now, and I have been blessed with four grandchildren, with whom I love to spend time. A pilot for more than 30 years, I enjoy reading, traveling, and playing tennis when I’m not flying the friendly skies. Additionally, I am passionate about foreign languages, politics, and the state of our great country.
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smartwebhostingblog · 6 years ago
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GM's Use of 3-D Printing Predicts Cheaper, Better Cars
New Post has been published on http://croopdiseno.com/gms-use-of-3-d-printing-predicts-cheaper-better-cars/
GM's Use of 3-D Printing Predicts Cheaper, Better Cars
Tumblr media Tumblr media
The first thing that hits you, the signal that this drab Michigan office building is a bit cooler than the average, is the smell. The acrid, metallic, plasticky, burning smell, the sort of odor that prompts the question: Is something that is really not supposed to be on fire on fire in here?
No, no, says Dave Bolognino, who heads up General Motors’ design fabrication division. That’s just the byproduct of 3-D printing. In a changing auto industry, this is what innovation (“rapid iteration” in business speak) smells like. And that smell might be wafting to other parts of the company.
About 30,000 prototype parts get printed each year here at the Warren Tech Center, the sprawling, suburban home to many of the carmaker’s research and development efforts, which hosts over 20,000 GM employees. These parts are fabricated out of at least nine sorts of materials—combinations of plastics and metal and powders—and are used, mostly, for rapid prototyping, for those who want to quickly visualize or understand what a new sort of auto part or configuration would look like. That’s nothing new: GM has been 3D printing prototypes for three decades, starting under the eye of Bolognino’s father John, now retired in his late 70s.
Today, specially trained workers run the printing machines six days a week, three shifts a day, a constant churn of popping parts out of molds and watching conglomerates emerge from powders and liquid resins. There’s no real limit to what employees can dream up and print out, says Bolognino, standing in front of a series of shelves filled with grayish mini-bumpers, wheels, and unidentifiable plastic squares cooling just off the printing machines. Though there is a limit on what they will print. A design team once asked for plastic Coke bottle, to use in a model cup holder. “Here’s a dollar fifty,” Bolognino told them. “Go buy one.”
3-D printing, aka additive manufacturing, ain’t new at all, but you’ll see it now in more consumer products than ever before. Folks making shoes, dental implants, hearing aids, and even jet engine use printed parts. The Obama administration helped launch the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute back in 2012, a $70 million consortium of businesses and universities dedicated to coming up with new ways to use additive manufacturing to boost American business. The process allows these industries to craft oddly-shaped parts more quickly and with more flexibility than they did in the past.
And outside GM’s malodorous workshop, 3-D printing is poised to become an even more vital part of the automotive manufacturing process. Carmakers like the Detroit giant are thinking about ways they can fold the process into actual production vehicles, the kind real people drive around every day.
“The auto industry has been leading in the use of additive manufacturing for 30 years in the prototyping space,” says Mark Cotteleer, who heads up the consulting firm Deloitte’s Center for Integrated Research and has studied additive manufacturing for last five years. “We’re seeing them start to move into part production in limited ways, primarily at lower volumes.”
In May, GM unveiled its a bid to shoehorn more printing into carmaking. The result is—wait for it—a stainless steel seat bracket. A very, very weird looking seat bracket. Not that any car owners will ever see it.
Generally, building this sort of bracket, which provides a steely, firm base for a car’s seats and seat belt buckles, requires about eight separate parts, purchased from several different automotive suppliers. This new, bizarre one is one continuous component, with each curving tendril serving a specific stabilizing purpose. As a result, it’s 40 percent lighter and 20 percent stronger than the standard, GM says. For automakers who like to entice consumers with promises of faster vehicles with higher gas mileage, this kind of incremental lightweighting is a path to market domination.
A worker completes a 3-D printed prototype at General Motors’ Warren Tech Center, the automakers’ Detroit-area research and development campus.
General Motors
GM created the seat bracket as a demo project in partnership with Autodesk, the San Francisco design and engineering software firm, which has an engineer constantly embedded with the carmaker’s design team in Michigan. Autodesk’s tech helps the GM designers input parameters—materials, need-to-have elements like holes for screws, cost, object stiffness, mass—to come up with inventive new ways to put parts together. The result is something Salvador Dalí might have dreamed up. Print it off in steel, et voila: a new approach to keeping everybody buckled in.
Now, these sorts of seat brackets won’t make it into production cars just yet. The cost of additive manufacturing has come way down in the past few decades, but it’s not yet cheap enough for mass manufacturing. Printing is still too slow for a company that makes more than 8,000 vehicles a day. And integrating the process into the production line is no easy thing. “It’s not about just buying a 3-D printer, says Cotteleer. “For industrial-scale printing, there needs to be a whole digital backbone to send files to where they need to be. And what’s that model going to be?”
Stil, GM sees great promise in things like wacky seat brackets. “There are 30,000 parts and pieces on each of our vehicles,” says Kevin Quinn, the automaker’s director of additive design and manufacturing. “A realistic change is maybe 100 or 1,000 pieces have a chance to be printed. Five years from now, could that number raise to 5,000? Ten years from now, to 10,000?” The result might be a prettier, more material-efficient, lighter, faster car.
In the meantime, GM says it will also use additive manufacturing to create unique tools used during automotive production, or to customize slick decorative elements for one-off buyers. (Monogrammed grilles, anyone?)
Of course, don’t expect entire cars to be printed anytime soon. “This is not a panacea,” says Cotteleer, explaining that a completely 3-D printed car would make no financial sense. But it’s nothing for carmakers to turn their nose up at, either.
More Great WIRED Stories
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hostingnewsfeed · 6 years ago
Text
GM's Use of 3-D Printing Predicts Cheaper, Better Cars
New Post has been published on http://businesswebhostingproviders.com/gms-use-of-3-d-printing-predicts-cheaper-better-cars/
GM's Use of 3-D Printing Predicts Cheaper, Better Cars
Tumblr media Tumblr media
The first thing that hits you, the signal that this drab Michigan office building is a bit cooler than the average, is the smell. The acrid, metallic, plasticky, burning smell, the sort of odor that prompts the question: Is something that is really not supposed to be on fire on fire in here?
No, no, says Dave Bolognino, who heads up General Motors’ design fabrication division. That’s just the byproduct of 3-D printing. In a changing auto industry, this is what innovation (“rapid iteration” in business speak) smells like. And that smell might be wafting to other parts of the company.
About 30,000 prototype parts get printed each year here at the Warren Tech Center, the sprawling, suburban home to many of the carmaker’s research and development efforts, which hosts over 20,000 GM employees. These parts are fabricated out of at least nine sorts of materials—combinations of plastics and metal and powders—and are used, mostly, for rapid prototyping, for those who want to quickly visualize or understand what a new sort of auto part or configuration would look like. That’s nothing new: GM has been 3D printing prototypes for three decades, starting under the eye of Bolognino’s father John, now retired in his late 70s.
Today, specially trained workers run the printing machines six days a week, three shifts a day, a constant churn of popping parts out of molds and watching conglomerates emerge from powders and liquid resins. There’s no real limit to what employees can dream up and print out, says Bolognino, standing in front of a series of shelves filled with grayish mini-bumpers, wheels, and unidentifiable plastic squares cooling just off the printing machines. Though there is a limit on what they will print. A design team once asked for plastic Coke bottle, to use in a model cup holder. “Here’s a dollar fifty,” Bolognino told them. “Go buy one.”
3-D printing, aka additive manufacturing, ain’t new at all, but you’ll see it now in more consumer products than ever before. Folks making shoes, dental implants, hearing aids, and even jet engine use printed parts. The Obama administration helped launch the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute back in 2012, a $70 million consortium of businesses and universities dedicated to coming up with new ways to use additive manufacturing to boost American business. The process allows these industries to craft oddly-shaped parts more quickly and with more flexibility than they did in the past.
And outside GM’s malodorous workshop, 3-D printing is poised to become an even more vital part of the automotive manufacturing process. Carmakers like the Detroit giant are thinking about ways they can fold the process into actual production vehicles, the kind real people drive around every day.
“The auto industry has been leading in the use of additive manufacturing for 30 years in the prototyping space,” says Mark Cotteleer, who heads up the consulting firm Deloitte’s Center for Integrated Research and has studied additive manufacturing for last five years. “We’re seeing them start to move into part production in limited ways, primarily at lower volumes.”
In May, GM unveiled its a bid to shoehorn more printing into carmaking. The result is—wait for it—a stainless steel seat bracket. A very, very weird looking seat bracket. Not that any car owners will ever see it.
Generally, building this sort of bracket, which provides a steely, firm base for a car’s seats and seat belt buckles, requires about eight separate parts, purchased from several different automotive suppliers. This new, bizarre one is one continuous component, with each curving tendril serving a specific stabilizing purpose. As a result, it’s 40 percent lighter and 20 percent stronger than the standard, GM says. For automakers who like to entice consumers with promises of faster vehicles with higher gas mileage, this kind of incremental lightweighting is a path to market domination.
A worker completes a 3-D printed prototype at General Motors’ Warren Tech Center, the automakers’ Detroit-area research and development campus.
General Motors
GM created the seat bracket as a demo project in partnership with Autodesk, the San Francisco design and engineering software firm, which has an engineer constantly embedded with the carmaker’s design team in Michigan. Autodesk’s tech helps the GM designers input parameters—materials, need-to-have elements like holes for screws, cost, object stiffness, mass—to come up with inventive new ways to put parts together. The result is something Salvador Dalí might have dreamed up. Print it off in steel, et voila: a new approach to keeping everybody buckled in.
Now, these sorts of seat brackets won’t make it into production cars just yet. The cost of additive manufacturing has come way down in the past few decades, but it’s not yet cheap enough for mass manufacturing. Printing is still too slow for a company that makes more than 8,000 vehicles a day. And integrating the process into the production line is no easy thing. “It’s not about just buying a 3-D printer, says Cotteleer. “For industrial-scale printing, there needs to be a whole digital backbone to send files to where they need to be. And what’s that model going to be?”
Stil, GM sees great promise in things like wacky seat brackets. “There are 30,000 parts and pieces on each of our vehicles,” says Kevin Quinn, the automaker’s director of additive design and manufacturing. “A realistic change is maybe 100 or 1,000 pieces have a chance to be printed. Five years from now, could that number raise to 5,000? Ten years from now, to 10,000?” The result might be a prettier, more material-efficient, lighter, faster car.
In the meantime, GM says it will also use additive manufacturing to create unique tools used during automotive production, or to customize slick decorative elements for one-off buyers. (Monogrammed grilles, anyone?)
Of course, don’t expect entire cars to be printed anytime soon. “This is not a panacea,” says Cotteleer, explaining that a completely 3-D printed car would make no financial sense. But it’s nothing for carmakers to turn their nose up at, either.
More Great WIRED Stories
0 notes
lazilysillyprince · 6 years ago
Text
GM's Use of 3-D Printing Predicts Cheaper, Better Cars
New Post has been published on http://businesswebhostingproviders.com/gms-use-of-3-d-printing-predicts-cheaper-better-cars/
GM's Use of 3-D Printing Predicts Cheaper, Better Cars
Tumblr media Tumblr media
The first thing that hits you, the signal that this drab Michigan office building is a bit cooler than the average, is the smell. The acrid, metallic, plasticky, burning smell, the sort of odor that prompts the question: Is something that is really not supposed to be on fire on fire in here?
No, no, says Dave Bolognino, who heads up General Motors’ design fabrication division. That’s just the byproduct of 3-D printing. In a changing auto industry, this is what innovation (“rapid iteration” in business speak) smells like. And that smell might be wafting to other parts of the company.
About 30,000 prototype parts get printed each year here at the Warren Tech Center, the sprawling, suburban home to many of the carmaker’s research and development efforts, which hosts over 20,000 GM employees. These parts are fabricated out of at least nine sorts of materials—combinations of plastics and metal and powders—and are used, mostly, for rapid prototyping, for those who want to quickly visualize or understand what a new sort of auto part or configuration would look like. That’s nothing new: GM has been 3D printing prototypes for three decades, starting under the eye of Bolognino’s father John, now retired in his late 70s.
Today, specially trained workers run the printing machines six days a week, three shifts a day, a constant churn of popping parts out of molds and watching conglomerates emerge from powders and liquid resins. There’s no real limit to what employees can dream up and print out, says Bolognino, standing in front of a series of shelves filled with grayish mini-bumpers, wheels, and unidentifiable plastic squares cooling just off the printing machines. Though there is a limit on what they will print. A design team once asked for plastic Coke bottle, to use in a model cup holder. “Here’s a dollar fifty,” Bolognino told them. “Go buy one.”
3-D printing, aka additive manufacturing, ain’t new at all, but you’ll see it now in more consumer products than ever before. Folks making shoes, dental implants, hearing aids, and even jet engine use printed parts. The Obama administration helped launch the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute back in 2012, a $70 million consortium of businesses and universities dedicated to coming up with new ways to use additive manufacturing to boost American business. The process allows these industries to craft oddly-shaped parts more quickly and with more flexibility than they did in the past.
And outside GM’s malodorous workshop, 3-D printing is poised to become an even more vital part of the automotive manufacturing process. Carmakers like the Detroit giant are thinking about ways they can fold the process into actual production vehicles, the kind real people drive around every day.
“The auto industry has been leading in the use of additive manufacturing for 30 years in the prototyping space,” says Mark Cotteleer, who heads up the consulting firm Deloitte’s Center for Integrated Research and has studied additive manufacturing for last five years. “We’re seeing them start to move into part production in limited ways, primarily at lower volumes.”
In May, GM unveiled its a bid to shoehorn more printing into carmaking. The result is—wait for it—a stainless steel seat bracket. A very, very weird looking seat bracket. Not that any car owners will ever see it.
Generally, building this sort of bracket, which provides a steely, firm base for a car’s seats and seat belt buckles, requires about eight separate parts, purchased from several different automotive suppliers. This new, bizarre one is one continuous component, with each curving tendril serving a specific stabilizing purpose. As a result, it’s 40 percent lighter and 20 percent stronger than the standard, GM says. For automakers who like to entice consumers with promises of faster vehicles with higher gas mileage, this kind of incremental lightweighting is a path to market domination.
A worker completes a 3-D printed prototype at General Motors’ Warren Tech Center, the automakers’ Detroit-area research and development campus.
General Motors
GM created the seat bracket as a demo project in partnership with Autodesk, the San Francisco design and engineering software firm, which has an engineer constantly embedded with the carmaker’s design team in Michigan. Autodesk’s tech helps the GM designers input parameters—materials, need-to-have elements like holes for screws, cost, object stiffness, mass—to come up with inventive new ways to put parts together. The result is something Salvador Dalí might have dreamed up. Print it off in steel, et voila: a new approach to keeping everybody buckled in.
Now, these sorts of seat brackets won’t make it into production cars just yet. The cost of additive manufacturing has come way down in the past few decades, but it’s not yet cheap enough for mass manufacturing. Printing is still too slow for a company that makes more than 8,000 vehicles a day. And integrating the process into the production line is no easy thing. “It’s not about just buying a 3-D printer, says Cotteleer. “For industrial-scale printing, there needs to be a whole digital backbone to send files to where they need to be. And what’s that model going to be?”
Stil, GM sees great promise in things like wacky seat brackets. “There are 30,000 parts and pieces on each of our vehicles,” says Kevin Quinn, the automaker’s director of additive design and manufacturing. “A realistic change is maybe 100 or 1,000 pieces have a chance to be printed. Five years from now, could that number raise to 5,000? Ten years from now, to 10,000?” The result might be a prettier, more material-efficient, lighter, faster car.
In the meantime, GM says it will also use additive manufacturing to create unique tools used during automotive production, or to customize slick decorative elements for one-off buyers. (Monogrammed grilles, anyone?)
Of course, don’t expect entire cars to be printed anytime soon. “This is not a panacea,” says Cotteleer, explaining that a completely 3-D printed car would make no financial sense. But it’s nothing for carmakers to turn their nose up at, either.
More Great WIRED Stories
0 notes
Text
GM's Use of 3-D Printing Predicts Cheaper, Better Cars
New Post has been published on http://businesswebhostingproviders.com/gms-use-of-3-d-printing-predicts-cheaper-better-cars/
GM's Use of 3-D Printing Predicts Cheaper, Better Cars
Tumblr media Tumblr media
The first thing that hits you, the signal that this drab Michigan office building is a bit cooler than the average, is the smell. The acrid, metallic, plasticky, burning smell, the sort of odor that prompts the question: Is something that is really not supposed to be on fire on fire in here?
No, no, says Dave Bolognino, who heads up General Motors’ design fabrication division. That’s just the byproduct of 3-D printing. In a changing auto industry, this is what innovation (“rapid iteration” in business speak) smells like. And that smell might be wafting to other parts of the company.
About 30,000 prototype parts get printed each year here at the Warren Tech Center, the sprawling, suburban home to many of the carmaker’s research and development efforts, which hosts over 20,000 GM employees. These parts are fabricated out of at least nine sorts of materials—combinations of plastics and metal and powders—and are used, mostly, for rapid prototyping, for those who want to quickly visualize or understand what a new sort of auto part or configuration would look like. That’s nothing new: GM has been 3D printing prototypes for three decades, starting under the eye of Bolognino’s father John, now retired in his late 70s.
Today, specially trained workers run the printing machines six days a week, three shifts a day, a constant churn of popping parts out of molds and watching conglomerates emerge from powders and liquid resins. There’s no real limit to what employees can dream up and print out, says Bolognino, standing in front of a series of shelves filled with grayish mini-bumpers, wheels, and unidentifiable plastic squares cooling just off the printing machines. Though there is a limit on what they will print. A design team once asked for plastic Coke bottle, to use in a model cup holder. “Here’s a dollar fifty,” Bolognino told them. “Go buy one.”
3-D printing, aka additive manufacturing, ain’t new at all, but you’ll see it now in more consumer products than ever before. Folks making shoes, dental implants, hearing aids, and even jet engine use printed parts. The Obama administration helped launch the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute back in 2012, a $70 million consortium of businesses and universities dedicated to coming up with new ways to use additive manufacturing to boost American business. The process allows these industries to craft oddly-shaped parts more quickly and with more flexibility than they did in the past.
And outside GM’s malodorous workshop, 3-D printing is poised to become an even more vital part of the automotive manufacturing process. Carmakers like the Detroit giant are thinking about ways they can fold the process into actual production vehicles, the kind real people drive around every day.
“The auto industry has been leading in the use of additive manufacturing for 30 years in the prototyping space,” says Mark Cotteleer, who heads up the consulting firm Deloitte’s Center for Integrated Research and has studied additive manufacturing for last five years. “We’re seeing them start to move into part production in limited ways, primarily at lower volumes.”
In May, GM unveiled its a bid to shoehorn more printing into carmaking. The result is—wait for it—a stainless steel seat bracket. A very, very weird looking seat bracket. Not that any car owners will ever see it.
Generally, building this sort of bracket, which provides a steely, firm base for a car’s seats and seat belt buckles, requires about eight separate parts, purchased from several different automotive suppliers. This new, bizarre one is one continuous component, with each curving tendril serving a specific stabilizing purpose. As a result, it’s 40 percent lighter and 20 percent stronger than the standard, GM says. For automakers who like to entice consumers with promises of faster vehicles with higher gas mileage, this kind of incremental lightweighting is a path to market domination.
A worker completes a 3-D printed prototype at General Motors’ Warren Tech Center, the automakers’ Detroit-area research and development campus.
General Motors
GM created the seat bracket as a demo project in partnership with Autodesk, the San Francisco design and engineering software firm, which has an engineer constantly embedded with the carmaker’s design team in Michigan. Autodesk’s tech helps the GM designers input parameters—materials, need-to-have elements like holes for screws, cost, object stiffness, mass—to come up with inventive new ways to put parts together. The result is something Salvador Dalí might have dreamed up. Print it off in steel, et voila: a new approach to keeping everybody buckled in.
Now, these sorts of seat brackets won’t make it into production cars just yet. The cost of additive manufacturing has come way down in the past few decades, but it’s not yet cheap enough for mass manufacturing. Printing is still too slow for a company that makes more than 8,000 vehicles a day. And integrating the process into the production line is no easy thing. “It’s not about just buying a 3-D printer, says Cotteleer. “For industrial-scale printing, there needs to be a whole digital backbone to send files to where they need to be. And what’s that model going to be?”
Stil, GM sees great promise in things like wacky seat brackets. “There are 30,000 parts and pieces on each of our vehicles,” says Kevin Quinn, the automaker’s director of additive design and manufacturing. “A realistic change is maybe 100 or 1,000 pieces have a chance to be printed. Five years from now, could that number raise to 5,000? Ten years from now, to 10,000?” The result might be a prettier, more material-efficient, lighter, faster car.
In the meantime, GM says it will also use additive manufacturing to create unique tools used during automotive production, or to customize slick decorative elements for one-off buyers. (Monogrammed grilles, anyone?)
Of course, don’t expect entire cars to be printed anytime soon. “This is not a panacea,” says Cotteleer, explaining that a completely 3-D printed car would make no financial sense. But it’s nothing for carmakers to turn their nose up at, either.
More Great WIRED Stories
0 notes