Companies achieve manufacturing excellence when people have the tools they need to produce high-quality work. On the shop floor, this comes about through the marriage of workers and machinery and the refining of processes through constant care and iteration. 

The assembly line in Hall M13 at the ŠKODA plant in Mladá Boleslav is one of the Czech carmaker’s busiest. The best-selling ŠKODA Octavia is assembled here, as is the ŠKODA Enyaq iV electric SUV. Every minute of downtime on this line means losses in the form of unproduced cars.

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.

Exhaust from diesel engines is a major source of air pollution. Nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter (PM) and other pollutants from diesel exhaust are known to impair human health, causing cancer, heart and lung damage, and impaired mental functioning.

Every day in more than 45 countries, photovoltaic modules designed and manufactured by First Solar go to work converting sunlight into clean, reliable electricity. First Solar is the only American company ranked among the world’s top 10 solar manufacturers. The company’s headquarters is in Tempe, AZ, but its roots are in Ohio, where it operates the largest solar manufacturing footprint in the Western Hemisphere. More than half of First Solar’s 2,700 U.S. employees are located in Ohio.

Acommon process for welding thick metal parts is submerged arc welding (SAW). Typically, SAW and other processes require beveling the workpieces to give the torch access to the joint root. The multi-pass process requires high heat input to the weldment and can generate a large heat affected zone (HAZ) along with distortion.

Contrary to widespread public concern about robots taking away jobs, people still play a key role on assembly lines. In fact, people still perform 72 percent of manufacturing tasks.

STIHL is a German manufacturer of chainsaws, trimmers, blowers and other handheld power equipment. Founded in 1926, the family-owned company is only chain saw manufacturer to make its own saw chains and guide bars. The company’s factory in Virginia Beach, VA, is ASSEMBLY magazine’s 2014 Assembly Plant of the Year.

Under the laws of cricket, it is illegal for players to rub any substance other than saliva and sweat onto the ball, let alone scuffing it with their fingernails. Similarly, strict rules apply to the manufacturing of cricket balls.

Nearly 3,900 manufacturing professionals saw the latest robots, fastening tools, software and automation at the 10th annual ASSEMBLY Show, which was held Oct. 25-27 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL.