Articles by Austin Weber

According to the 2014 ASSEMBLY State of the Profession study, a majority of assembly professionals are happy with their jobs today. Manufacturing engineers are slightly happier than design engineers and the happiest assemblers work in the transportation equipment sector. However, location, company size and other factors can also influence happiness.

3M Co. is famous for sand paper, Scotch tape and Post-it notes. But, it’s also bullish on the future of fuel cell technology. The company is a leading provider of materials that are critical to fuel cells, such as fluoropolymers, membrane materials and advanced ceramics.

The General Motors’ Orion Assembly Plant sits in the shadow of a large landfill. But, the 4-million-square foot factory, which is home to the Chevrolet Sonic and the Buick Verano, uses that to its advantage. The plant derives a significant portion of its power from landfill gas.

Kohler Co., one of America’s oldest and largest privately held companies, has a proud heritage of design and creativity that spans more than 140 years. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the company’s Arts/Industry program, which allows artists-in-residence to set up studios on the plant floor.

Depending on who you listen to, 3D printing (or, as it’s more formally known, additive manufacturing) is either the biggest thing to hit the manufacturing world since the screw or the biggest tech fad since the fax machine. It’s actually a little of each.

"Happy Days Are Here Again” was a popular song back in the 1930s. Assemblers in many industries have been singing an updated version of the tune lately, because the new golden age of American manufacturing has begun.

Oakland University is located a few minutes away from Chrysler’s corporate headquarters in Auburn Hills, MI. So, it’s appropriate that the school is home to the Fastening and Joining Research Institute (FAJRI), the only facility of its kind in the world.

The auto industry has a long history of borrowing ideas from the aerospace sector, ranging from aerodynamic styling to lightweight materials. The latest adoption is head-up display (HUD) technology, which was originally developed for fighter jets.

While World War II was fought on numerous battlefields and beaches in Europe and the South Pacific, it was won on the assembly lines of America’s factories.

Assemblers in many different industries depend on all sorts of pneumatic, DC electric and battery powered tools for a wide variety of fastening applications. Unfortunately, the devices are also the source of countless ergonomic headaches for manufacturing engineers.