When manufacturing engineers are tasked with automating a process that is currently done manually, their main question for an automation supplier is, "Have you ever automated this specific process before?"

Since 2016, China has been the world's largest industrial robot market. Reports from the International Federation of Robots show that foreign robot makers sold nearly 90,000 units to Chinese manufacturers that year and more than 103,000 robots in 2017

LONDON—During the past decade, collaborative robots have taken the manufacturing world by storm. ABI Research predicts that the human friendly machines will generate $6 billion in annual revenue by 2027.

Collaborative robots are an exciting area of growth for automation and manufacturing. A potentially useful and cost-effective automated tool for manufacturing, "cobots" can work safely with people in a shared workspace, enhancing flexibility and reducing risk.

Adhesives are widely used throughout an aircraft. Jet engines contain structural adhesives, threadlockers, retaining compounds and thread sealants for hydraulic components.

Although Kuopio, Finland-based Savonia University of Applied Sciences (SUAS) is a multidisciplinary school, its common theme amongst all areas of study is developing real-world solutions based on creative experiments.

Some automotive enthusiasts get their fix by building a car themselves. Others thoroughly enjoy watching the pros do it; i.e., assemblers on the production line.

For Flex, there isn't a question of what can't they do, but what they will do next. The 50-year-old company began manufacturing electronic products, something it still does today, but has expanded to offer end-to-end production across the globe.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL—The University of Houston’s Cullen College of Engineering recently unveiled a cutting-edge laboratory donated by the Omron Foundation, the charitable arm of automation technology provider Omron in the United States.

Many technologies that we take for granted today were originally "invented" in science fiction. These include mobile phones, smart watches, tablet computers, holograms, electric submarines, antidepressants, radio, television, nuclear weapons, lasers, video conferencing, credit cards, wireless headphones, self-driving cars, unmanned aerial vehicles, escalators, radar, automatic doors, Tasers, virtual reality, space travel, individually targeted advertising, and even insect-derived foods.