At its factory in Augsburg, Germany, automation specialist KUKA is using its own robots to make more robots.

Designing machines is very different from designing parts, yet IronCAD LLC's software is versatile enough to help companies that need to perform either task.

Like other manufacturers, machine builders do all they can to optimize the assembly processes in their plants. Industrial technology specialist Rockwell Automation understands this goal, and has developed several products to help companies achieve it.

Your company has just decided to add a new product to the lineup, and now it's up to you to purchase a new assembly line. No worries. It's just like buying something on Amazon, right? You search for a product with at least a four-star rating. You browse a couple reviews. A few clicks later, you're all set.

Whether due to a bustling economy, reshoring, better technology or a skilled-labor shortage, manufacturers are automating more than ever.

Merit Medical Systems Inc. is a leading manufacturer of disposable medical devices used in interventional, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, particularly in cardiology, radiology, oncology, critical care and endoscopy.

More than 5,500 manufacturing professionals saw the latest robots, fastening tools and automation at the sixth annual ASSEMBLY Show, which was held Oct. 23-25 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL.

The past year brought blockbuster headlines for U.S. manufacturing. Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn unveiled plans to build a $10 billion assembly plant in Wisconsin that would make liquid-crystal display panels and employ as many as 13,000 people.

The No. 1 application for robots, be they Cartesian, SCARA, delta or six-axis models, is also the easiest: pick up a part from one location and place it in another.

The first thing a visitor notices on arriving at the headquarters of Genesis Automation in St. Charles, IL, is the company's business hours. Rather than 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., there's this: "However long it takes."