Among the factors that limit the growth of electric vehicle (EV) adoption are the relatively long times required to recharge batteries. In most cases, it takes hours to fully recharge an EV, whereas it takes only minutes to refill a gas tank.

Nearly every assembly process can be performed in several ways. Which option a manufacturer or integrator chooses for the best result is usually the one that matches a proven technology with a specific application.

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic wanes, manufacturers of medical devices, monitoring systems and personal protection equipment continue their quest to make products that enhance the lives of all patients.

Manufacturing large, monolithic composite parts, such as a car body or an aircraft fuselage, requires a large and complex mold. As a result, the process can be quite costly. Alternatively, such complex parts can be manufactured less expensively by assembling a series of smaller parts using various joining techniques.

From forest fire prevention and border patrol to tax inspection and counterterrorism, the applications for aerial drones are multiplying daily. Now, there is a new use for them: transporting car parts.

The bicycle industry has emerged as one of the few beneficiaries of the coronavirus pandemic, as people search for ways to stay active, entertain children and commute to work. By some estimates, bicycle sales nationwide surged by 50 percent last year.

To join two aluminum parts, you could, in theory, place one atop the other and wait 100 years. The two will eventually form a solid-state bond. Metals naturally want to join with each other.

Kaizen, or continuous improvement, is a basic tenet of lean manufacturing. It says, in effect, that less-than-optimal is never acceptable. The concept can be applied to every major assembly process, including resistance spot welding.