As of May 26, more than 5.6 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported in 235 countries. Worldwide, nearly 349,000 people have died from the disease, but 2.4 million have recovered.

For the past few months, countless manufacturers worldwide have retooled to make personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers and first responders in their battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some of their stories.

How do you singulate and orient a conical washer made of soft metal only 0.005 inch thick and almost 1 inch in diameter?

SAINT JOSEPH, MI—A pair of systems integrators in southwestern Michigan have come together to make sure local first responders have the personal protective equipment (PPE) they need.

WESTBROOK, ME—Systems integrator Lanco Integrated has completed an automated assembly system to produce components for coronavirus test kits. Typically, designing and building such a machine would take approximately 35 weeks, including design, engineering and manufacturing. Lanco had it ready in just eight weeks.