Advanced Assembly and Materials for Transportation Applications
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Parts bins have been synonymous with assembly lines ever since the mass-production process was pioneered by Ford Motor Co. engineers 100 years ago.

Vision systems can help manufacturers reduce scrap, increase yield and discover better ways to assemble products.

When David J. Zabrosky, North American sales manager for Schmidt Technology, gets a call from a customer asking for a servo-driven assembly press, the first question he asks is, “Why?”

Batteries are an environmentally friendly form of energy with fewer pollution and disposal issues than other green technologies.

LUMBERTON, NC—Ammunition manufacturer Cape Fear Arsenal Inc. will invest $15.2 million to build a new assembly plant here, creating 150 jobs over the next three years.

COMMACK, NY—Bren-Tronics Inc., a manufacturer of rechargeable batteries for the military, has moved into a new, $5-million assembly plant here.

LIBBY, MT—LiV Golf Cars is turning an old lumber mill here into a new assembly plant that could employ 45 people in three years.

WESTMINSTER, MD—Knorr Brake Corp., a manufacturer of braking systems for railcars, has installed an 865-kilowatt solar array on the roof of its assembly plant here. The system is expected to provide up to 60 percent of the plant’s energy requirements.

Color affects mood and perception. It’s amazing how a slight change in color can alter the look and feel of a room. I found this out first-hand recently after doing a little painting at home. Whenever I step into an assembly plant, I always try to take a quick look at the color of its floor, walls and equipment. Usually, it’s nothing to get too excited about.

A good partnership between customers and suppliers leads to optimal solutions and long-term prosperity all around.

A growing number of manufacturers are moving from air tools to electric tools and from corded electric tools to cordless tools.

Manufacturers often fail to recognize the ability of their employees to learn and think.

Carbon-fiber composites offer numerous benefits to automotive manufacturers, such as weight reduction. However, they pose a wide variety of joining challenges to engineers, who must choose between adhesive bonding or mechanical fastening. Each assembly process has many pros and cons.

Carbon-fiber composites offer numerous benefits to automotive manufacturers, such as weight reduction. However, they pose a wide variety of joining challenges to engineers, who must choose between mechanical fastening or adhesive bonding. Each assembly process has many pros and cons that must be evaluated.

Traditionally, it has been difficult to manufacture large quantities of carbon-fiber composites. That drawback has hindered widescale use of the lightweight material in the mainstream auto industry. However, engineers in Germany have developed a new process that makes it possible to use injection-molding technology.

A European consortium called ACOMPLICE (Affordable Composites for Lightweight Car Structures) recently embarked on a two-year program to develop low-cost materials for mainstream automotive applications.