When I was a lad, the family car only had an AM radio, which was just fine with my father. All he wanted was to listen to the ballgame. FM radio? Tape player? Man, those were luxuries!

Commercial protocols in aerospace applications present designers with the challenge of balancing the standard against the special needs of the application.

Rechargeable batteries are used in everything from consumer electronics and medical devices to power tools and electric vehicles. But, the ubiquitous devices can be a pain to constantly charge.

A cell phone manufacturer had a problem: Although it was staffed by four assemblers, the screwdriving station had become a bottleneck.

Going with the flow of the marketplace not only makes sense for a manufacturer, it can also make the company lots of money. An equally beneficial strategy—implemented on an application-by-application basis—is to know the flow of each material being dispensed and equip accordingly. Electronics contract manufacturers are well aware of the benefits of both practices.

Most people associate additive manufacturing with plastics. However, a slew of new materials and processes are now available that enable engineers to print a variety of metal components.

Millions of people visit health clubs to work out on stationary bikes and treadmills every day. In contrast, only several thousand people get their daily exercise by actually assembling these pieces of equipment.

Airline passengers may not be familiar with the manufacturer SAFRAN Landing Systems (SLS). But, for the past decade, the company’s braking, landing and monitoring systems have enabled millions of passengers to arrive safely at their destinations.

Most challenges manufacturers face involve the assembly process of one or more of their products. Sometimes, though, a company struggles with where to locate its headquarters or build another plant for market expansion.

Among the most innovative features on a new car is the keyless antenna, which emits a radio frequency signal to identify the owner’s key and open the car.