Austin has been senior editor for ASSEMBLY Magazine since September 1999. He has more than 25 years of b-to-b publishing experience and has written about a wide variety of manufacturing and engineering topics. Austin is a native of Chicago and a graduate of the University of Michigan.
The first low-beam headlights appeared on automobiles 100 years ago. Today, engineers are scrambling to develop a new generation of smart headlights that will soon make traditional products as obsolete as kerosene lanterns.
Alabama is home to state-of-the-art auto plants operated by Daimler, Honda, Hyundai and Toyota. It’s also home to a state-of-the-art assembly line that builds toy cars out of Lego blocks: Tiger Motors.
The widespread availability of modular profile systems has made it easy for engineers to get in touch with their creative side. They enable assemblers to bolt together framing components to tailor workstations and machines to specific processes or floor space requirements.