Automotive Assembly

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DEARBORN, MI—Ford plans to triple the production capacity of its electric F-150 Lightning vehicle after a six-week retooling and expansion project at the Michigan plant.

In 1961, the first industrial robot was installed at a GM factory in Ewing Township, NJ, to lift hot pieces of metal from a die-casting machine. Today, the automotive industry has the largest number of robots working in factories around the world.

MUNICH—Industrial robots in Europe are on the rise: Manufacturers in the European Union’s 27 member states installed almost 72,000 robots in 2022, a 6 percent increase from 2021, according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR).

FOSHAN, China—Some 100 six-axis robots weld, bond and package EV batteries at the FAW-Volkswagen Automobile Co. Ltd. assembly plant here. The factory produces 300,000 battery packs annually.

WAUKESHA, WI—Husco's in-house automation team designed a robotic assembly system that can produce more than 2 million solenoids annually. 

Zonal architectures are intriguing to automakers and suppliers, because they promise to help reduce costs, save weight, streamline supply chains and improve production processes.

AUSTIN, TX— Tesla's stock has shot up 168.62 percent since the start of the year. It closed at $290.38 Monday afternoon, riding the high of the news that the first Cybertruck was finally built over the weekend. 

The electric vehicle revolution is generating new interest in an old technology: magnetic pulse welding.

A new technique for ultrasonic welding could eliminate the need for energy directors with fiber-reinforced plastics.

AMSTERDAM—Stellantis has unveiled a new flexible EV platform dubbed STLA Medium.