"Are we there yet?" is an age-old question that back-seat passengers have been asking for decades. Automotive engineers on the lightweighting journey are faced with a similar quandary.

The automotive industry was one of the first to embrace robotics. Indeed, automakers have been benefiting from the technology since General Motors purchased the first industrial robot from Unimation way back in 1961.

Manufacturing large, monolithic composite parts, such as a car body or an aircraft fuselage, requires a large and complex mold. As a result, the process can be quite costly. Alternatively, such complex parts can be manufactured less expensively by assembling a series of smaller parts using various joining techniques.

Clearly defined processes and parameters are highly valued in assembly. But, that doesn't mean there is no room for a little flexibility now and then.