Manufacturing high-quality products on a consistent basis is never easy. This is especially true for complex products used in consumer, business and industrial electronics.

Like all manufacturers, fabricators know that they must change when the marketplace requires it. Some of them even welcome the chance to do different things, or at least do them differently.

More than 18 years after NASA commissioned it to be built by TRW Inc., the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was launched into orbit by Ariane rocket flight VA256 on Dec. 25, 2021. The launch took place at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana.

Electric vehicles have been a vital element of the green-energy revolution for the past several years. Nonetheless, producing key EV components continues to present great technical challensges for many large and established manufacturers.

Above all else, electronic products for aerospace and defense equipment must be durable and reliable. Based in Gloucestershire, England, Ultra Electronics Precision Control Systems (UPCS) has been making such products for both industries since 1925.

Gentherm Inc. has been assembling a wide range of thermal management products for the automotive industry since 1991, when it was known as Amerigon. In 1996, the company created the industry's first thermoelectrically heated and cooled seat system (called Climate Control Seat).

It is safe to say that the debate about the environmental impact of plastic will continue. But, it is also a fact that many manufacturers of plastic products are quietly becoming greener.

Manufacturers looking to take their operations to the next level often look to automation and robotics to make it happen. This is understandable, for such technology can cost-effectively increase throughput, optimize assembly and testing processes, improve product quality and decrease labor costs.

When it comes to automotive assembly, sometimes a one-solution-fits-all approach is the best one. Just ask the designers and assemblers at Local Motors, an American motor vehicle company located in Phoenix.

A manufacturer never achieves success completely on its own. Every company, to some extent, needs help from equipment suppliers, machine builders and integrators.