Needles are one of the most basic and least glamorous types of medical devices. But, every day, doctors and nurses rely on "sharps" to administer medicine, draw blood, conduct biopsies and perform many other vital medical procedures.
The main benefits of induction cooking are faster cooking, precise programmability and ease of cleanup.
January 1, 2018
Natural gas remains the dominant heat source in regions where electricity is at a high premium and natural-gas infrastructure has been established. Italy, for example, continues to prefer gas for its reliability and lower cost.
The "father" of the programmable logic controller (PLC), Richard Morley, recently passed away at age 84. After he invented the device 50 years ago, it revolutionized plant floors around the world. The PLC eliminated the need for hard wiring and spurred the development of flexible manufacturing.
The need to mark parts or assemblies with some sort of identification code is becoming more and more important to facilitate quality control, supply chain management, brand protection, recalls and regulatory compliance.
For manufacturers, the product-miniaturization trend is kind of a Catch-22. They know that serving a large and ever-expanding marketplace ensures company growth—so long as their robots can precisely place ever-smaller parts into subassemblies, final assemblies or packaging. Specially designed small grippers and vacuum cups have enabled many manufacturers to achieve both goals.
As aerospace engineers attempt to create products that can fly faster, higher and more efficiently, new types of materials are essential. Ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) hold tremendous promise. However, they can be difficult to join.
U.S. manufacturing continued to roll in 2017. Want proof? Look no further than Toyota Motor Corp. In September, the world’s largest automaker announced that it will invest $374 million at five U.S. factories.
Robots are being used for a variety of assembly and inspection applications, which is enabling the operation of lean, efficient and automated systems where more than one product type or model can be produced on a single assembly line.