Screws aren’t the only fasteners that can be fed to fully or semiautomatic installation tools. Nuts, setscrews and other fasteners—both threaded and unthreaded—can be fed automatically, too.
Although a global leader in mechanical and plant engineering, Dürr AG isn’t one to rest on its laurels. So in 2010 it acquired two adhesive technology companies (Rickert and Kleinmichel) to increase Dürr’s expertise in automotive body-in-white gluing technology.
The auto industry has a long history of borrowing ideas from the aerospace sector, ranging from aerodynamic styling to lightweight materials. The latest adoption is head-up display (HUD) technology, which was originally developed for fighter jets.
DETROIT—The Open Automotive Alliance, a consortium of automotive OEMs and technology providers like Google, has launched a new, automotive-specific operating system—Android Auto.
BUFFALO, WV—A former employee at the Toyota assembly plant here is accusing the company of wrongly firing her for seeking medical leave to address her methamphetamine problem.
DETROIT—It’s a basic tenet of mass production: Making things in batches is the most efficient way to manufacture anything. So why, then, is lean manufacturing evangelist Ted Duclos arguing that America can revitalize its manufacturing base by making things one at a time?