In less than 15 years, cobots have come a long way. Not only have they gained acceptance in every major industry in manufacturing, but robot suppliers have significantly increased their cobot offerings.

Product designers at Switzerland-based Loop Medical know that many people fear being pricked with a needle. That's why they’re hard at work testing a prototype needle-free, blood-collection device that allows for diagnostic tests at a hospital, lab, doctor's office, workplace or home.

As the speed of innovation in the automotive industry quickens, assemblers at Rhenus SML in Genk, Belgium, do all they can to keep pace. Rhenus workers painfully learned the importance of this five years ago when Ford Motor Co. shut down its Genk plant, which sat adjacent to Rhenus's facility.

Automated assembly lines have been the backbone of the automotive industry for decades. Robots are widely used to rivet and weld car bodies. But, in the aerospace sector, automation is more elusive when it comes to building fuselages and wings for commercial aircraft.

In September, Toyota announced that it will invest $391 million in its truck assembly plant in San Antonio. Hyundai announced that it is investing nearly $300 million in its factory in Montgomery, AL. Brake manufacturer Bendix Spicer began construction on a $65 million expansion of its assembly plant Bowling Green, KY. And, automotive supplier Hirotec Group said it will invest $48 million to build a new assembly plant in Fayetteville, TN.

U.S. consumers are increasingly concerned about how their buying habits affect the environment. In fact, a recent Nielsen study found that 48 percent of U.S. consumers would change their buying habits to reduce environmental impacts.

Waste, in lean terms, is any activity that does not add value to the product while costing a manufacturer money and resources. From active losses to missed opportunities, these wastes are so common in manufacturing operations that they are often overlooked.

It's a safe bet that many of you will soon find shiny new electronic gadgets under your Christmas trees this month.

One of the most challenging applications for an epoxy compound is bonding a fully implantable medical device.

Many machine vision projects start with one goal: significantly improve upon the accuracy and repeatability of human inspectors.