The fourth industrial revolution has begun and with it, comes changes to the way manufacturing work is done. New technology, such as collaborative robots, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and machine learning, aims to make manufacturing safer, more efficient and faster than ever before.

This article is not as good as it could be. I spent many days researching the topic, finding sources, conducting interviews, and finally writing and organizing what I learned. I could have included extra information or contacted additional sources. I could have polished one section or an-other. But, at some point, the article needed to be done.

Factories of the future will feature advanced technology, such as additive manufacturing, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, data analytics and digital twins. While many manufacturers are still ramping up their Industry 4.0 initiatives, several assembly plants are already at the forefront. They are embracing the Fourth Industrial Revolution and reaping the benefits.

When General Motors opened the Detroit Transmission plant in Livonia, MI, in 1949, the 1.5-million-square-foot facility sym-bolized the resounding success of the most popular component in American automobiles—the Hydra-Matic Drive transmis-sion.

At the Components and Logistics facility in Gastonia, NC, Daimler Trucks fulfills orders and sub-assembly of thousands of parts. The plant provides parts for North American truck and school bus manufacturers, as well as auto parts stores.

With wearable devices increasingly being used on the assembly line, it's definitely time to update the old expression that 'What you wear says a lot about you.' A more appropriate thing for manufacturers to now say about their assembly line workers is, 'What you wear tells us a lot about your productivity.'

When I first started my engineering career, I did not know much about configuration management. In fact, my introduction to configuration management was more about what happens when it is missing.

Traditionally, it's not unusual to see people wear goggles and other types of safety glasses in factories. But, a new class of wearable devices is becoming increasingly popular on assembly lines.

Some assembly technologies evolve too fast or too slow, while others change at a pace that's just right. Hydraulic presses belong in the latter category, according to some suppliers, and that's a good thing.

As the miniaturization trend in electronics continues, rigid-flex PCBs grow in popularity. This is because they require up to 60 percent less space than standard PCBs.