There are many ways to perform destructive testing. The most helpful, and preferred by manufacturers, is to intentionally destroy an assembly in a controlled environment to determine the performance capability of one or more of its components. Another way, done unintentionally and all too often by consumers, is to simply misuse a product.

Electric vehicles may be all the rage now among automotive manufacturers, but golf car makers have been using the technology since the early 1950s.

Fixtures are essential to most assembly and machining processes. Their design is vital, as they have a direct effect on productivity, cost and quality. It is estimated that 40 percent of rejected parts stem from inappropriate fixturing.

On some assembly lines, today's MVP is a robotic tool that was originally developed for use on the battlefield. It's called an exoskeleton. The wearable device enables operators to perform a variety of overhead tasks. It minimizes physical strain and boosts efficiency.

The notion of making products close to where you sell them may be coming back into vogue among manufacturers worldwide, but it’s nothing new to Japanese tractor manufacturer Kubota. The company started manufacturing here in 1988, and it has continued to invest heavily in its U.S. presence ever since.

Some manufacturers make cool products, figuratively speaking. But, Imbera literally makes them. Founded in 1941 as Industrias Montiel, Imbera is the world's largest manufacturer of commercial refrigeration units for liquid, food and dairy products.

Sooner or later, most manufacturers need to consider investing in automatic screwdriving equipment. If an assembly calls for multiple screws of the same size, an autofeed screwdriver is an easy way to boost accuracy, productivity and quality.

In January 2017, students from Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands unveiled the world’s first car made almost entirely from bio-based materials.

Little things not only mean a lot, they can also explain a lot. Consider a spent blind-rivet mandrel, which is only 1 to 2 inches in length, but has tiny markings that provide a wealth of information to veteran rivet-tool-supplier salespeople like Michelle Donath at Yamazen Inc.