Manufacturing Industry Top Stories

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Ford engineers are studying whether AI can play a role in detecting faulty run-downs. To do that, they first had to determine what constitutes a data anomaly.

Disruptions are inevitable—but being unprepared isn’t. Eddy Azad, founder and CEO of Parsec Automation, explains how manufacturers can build resilience through continuous improvement, visibility and long-term thinking to stay competitive.

Overall, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) has been net positive for all three countries, and it has contributed to a dynamic, robust North American economy. However, the Trump Administration has indicated that without concessions from Mexico and Canada, the U.S. will not renew the agreement.

Manufacturers are moving quickly to adopt AI and automation, but the way those systems are designed may be introducing new risks. On an upcoming episode of ASSEMBLY Audible, Chris Draper, CEO and co-founder of morriganAI, explains why the placement of humans within AI systems can determine whether those systems are safe or not.

PIA's Automation's assembly system, custom-built for Bic, includes six blade-handling modules, which are connected by two parallel transport systems. The fully automated system is capable of high-volume production while maintaining high quality.

Mark Woeppel explains why many plants fall into a cycle of expediting and reactive decision-making, sharing examples of assembly operations overwhelmed by incomplete builds, conflicting priorities and systems that cannot keep pace with real-world conditions. He also introduces the Theory of Constraints as a way to restore stability.

Volvo's skilled workers were spending more time on non-value-added tasks—moving material, hooking it up to a crane, and setting it in a fixture—instead of doing what they do best: complex welds. The automated process has improved ergonomics and requires less manual intervention.

This roundup highlights the latest robotics innovations aimed at improving throughput, simplifying deployment and helping manufacturers address ongoing labor and process challenges.

From robotics to real-time analytics, connectivity is becoming a critical constraint on how far manufacturers can take automation.

One of the newest cured-in-place gasket materials on the market is Vitralit CIPG 60200 from Hoenle Adhesives Americas Inc. This UV-curing polyacrylate material is specifically engineered for high-performance electronic housings in automotive and electric vehicle applications.