Thanks to technological advances, the lot size of one is more possible today than ever before.

The Integrated Design and Engineering Environment system analyzes the functional requirements of a product and identifies appropriate materials at an early stage of the development process.

In his recent State of the Union address, President Obama challenged Americans to be more innovative. That means developing new materials, new products and new production processes. To tackle that challenge, manufacturing engineers must harness the power of “smart assembly” tools and systems.

With the right approach, even small manufacturers can automate their assembly lines.

Despite the popularity of manual work cells and “less is more” thinking, powered conveyors can still play a role in a lean manufacturing environment.