Two of the biggest trends in the auto industry today are flexible production systems and electric power. 

Today, every car tire is equipped with a wireless pressure sensor that warns drivers of dangerously low pressure levels. Given that there are more than 1.5 billion motor vehicles worldwide, that equates to at least 6 billion pressure sensors.

U.S. manufacturers have faced significant headwinds this year: supply chain problems, a skilled labor shortage, inflation, and the war in Ukraine. And yet despite these issues—or perhaps, because of them—manufacturers continued to invest in people, plants and equipment.

Manufacturing in the age of Industry 4.0, digitally connected machines and smart factories require a new breed of engineers who are equipped with a fresh set of skills. That’s why Arizona State University recently launched the School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks.

There’s nothing quite like a multistation automated assembly system. Watching robots, actuators and indexers go about their carefully choreographed routines with little or no human intervention can seem nothing short of miraculous.

Brose Tuscaloosa Inc., Vance, AL, is the recipient of the the 2022 Assembly Plant of the Year Award.

The Automate Show was held June 6-9 in Detroit. More than 550 robotics and automation vendors exhibited. Here are five new products on display at the event.

The primary purpose of secondary packaging is to ensure the safety of a product during storage and transportation. The integrity of secondary packaging is particularly important with medical devices.

Like many long-established car manufacturers, the company that would become Škoda Auto started in the early 1890s by making bicycles. Today, you won’t see velocipedes rolling off of Škoda assembly lines, but you just might see plug-in electric vehicles.

Most manufacturers agree that digital transformation is necessary to remain competitive today and thrive tomorrow. Many large companies have already begun initiatives. But, when asked to quantify the impact of those initiatives on the bottom line, they often come up short.