In the early days of commercial aviation, thousands of inventors and tinkerers developed multiple schemes for flying machines. A few ideas worked, but many others never got off the ground.

How well an assembled plastic part performs depends a great deal upon how its component pieces are joined. Those made of strong, hard plastic may be fastened together or bonded. Thermoplastic pieces allow for even more options, including screws and rivets, various types of adhesives or welding, staking and being snap-fit.

With nearly a century of experience manufacturing trucks, it's no surprise that Kenworth is one of PACCAR's most successful arms. Kenworth, along with fellow PACCAR brand Peterbilt, achieved a record 30.7 percent of retail market share for Class 8 trucks in the U.S. and Canada in 2017, up from 28.5 percent in 2016.

Collaborative robots are an important element of Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing initiatives. Many engineers are intrigued by these next-generation machines that can control force and work safely next to people on assembly lines without traditional safety guarding.

My wife and I are mad birders. Our passion has taken us to remote corners of the globe in search of rare and beautiful birds. But, birding trips often come with strict limits on the size and weight of luggage, so we've learned to pack judiciously. Do we really need X? Can we do without Y?

Safe-T-Cable successfully completed all tests demonstrating enhanced weight savings and decreased labor hours during installation.

AUBURN HILLS, MI—Engineers at FCA and Oak Ridge National Laboratory recently developed a new aluminum alloy that stays strong up to 572 F. The new alloy can also be cast and machined using existing technologies.

Toyota Motor Corp.'s Cambridge North plant in Ontario, Canada, which produces the Toyota Corolla, and Georgetown 3 plant in Kentucky, which produces the Lexus ES, are the joint recipients of the 2018 J.D. Power Gold Plant Quality Award.

BAE Systems is in the process of building an aerospace "factory of the future" at its plant here that assembles the Typhoon fighter jet.

Based in Furtwangen, Germany, Ketterer manufactures electromechanical drive systems. The company's products are used to adjust the height of desks and workstations and are also deployed widely in entry systems, warehouses and the machinery industry.