JACKSONVILLE, FL — A West Virginia-based plastics manufacturer, Flying W Plastics, will invest $8 million in a new facility here and create 28 new jobs.

GEORGETOWN, KY — Engineers at the TILT Lab at Toyota's assembly plant here have joined in the fight against COVID-19.

With so many ways to formulate plastic to get just the right combination of color, texture, strength and durability, it’s easy to forget how the parts will be assembled. However, if the parts will be assembled with screws, overlooking such parameters as thread style, driver speed and boss design could spell disaster on the assembly line.

Laser welding of plastic parts creates precise, high-quality, particulate-free joints for medical devices, consumer products and other assemblies. However, for the process to work, the laser light must pass through the top part to be absorbed by the bottom part. Welding a clear plastic part to another clear plastic part was not possible.