Articles by Austin Weber

When the moving assembly line debuted at Ford’s Highland Park factory 100 years ago, the world was becoming a smaller place, thanks to canals, flying machines, road maps and highways.

According to many experts, 3D printing promises to revolutionize the way numerous products are designed and mass-produced.

For decades, automotive engineers have looked to the aerospace industry for new ideas. Back in the 1930s and 1950s, Detroit was inspired by the sleek designs of innovative airplanes such as the Northrop Alpha and the Grumman F4F Wildcat.

This month marks the official celebration of the world’s first moving assembly line. On Oct. 7, 1913, 140 assemblers stationed along a 150-foot chassis line at a Ford Motor Co. plant just north of Detroit stood in place as the work came to them.

The late Eiji Toyoda was a giant in the world of lean manufacturing and quality control.

Standardization is a key concept behind lean manufacturing. It allows assemblers to reduce variation, increase consistency, cut costs and improve productivity by following a prescribed set of work instructions.

Rochester, NY, is home to several well-known companies, such as Bausch & Lomb, Eastman Kodak and Xerox. It’s also home to cutting-edge electronics manufacturing research, thanks to the Rochester Institute of Technology Center for Electronics Manufacturing and Assembly (CEMA).

Think all big trucks look the same? Don’t tell that to an engineer at Kenworth Truck Co. The legendary firm is synonymous with hard-working, well-built vehicles.

"Watch where you step so you avoid the poisonous snakes!” is not something that’s typically heard when touring an automotive assembly plant. But, Volkswagen AG’s two-year-old Chattanooga, TN, facility is out of the ordinary when it comes to being environmentally friendly.

Despite all the recent hype and hoopla, does 3D printing have a future in mainstream manufacturing?