Intense market pressure is forcing manufacturers to adopt faster production processes.

Several years ago, automation in the medical device industry was confined to upstream and downstream applications, such as material handling equipment and packaging lines. Most assembly was performed manually by technicians seated at long rows of workstations. But, today, it's a totally different story. Manufacturers are investing heavily in flexible assembly machines, conveyors, feeders, robots, controls, vision systems and other equipment capable of repeatable, high-volume production.