The placing heads then close horizontally, simultaneously inserting the rivets and brackets into the holes of the harp. Afterward, they extract the stems and return to a home position.

Hockey stick behavior is such a serious manipulation of the numbers that manufacturers should have to report it in the footnotes of their public financials.

Industrial research and development programs are the seed corn of product innovation. Unfortunately, one of the first cost-cutting measures some companies take when faced with the challenge of a recessionary economy is slashing their R&D programs.

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI, Troy, NY) have developed a new type of light emitting diode (LED) that features significantly improved lighting performance and energy efficiency. The polarization-matched LED exhibits an 18 percent increase in light output and a 22 percent increase in wall-plug efficiency.

A new type of solar cell is so thin and flexible that it can be mass-produced like paper currency. The printable cells offer a number of advantages over traditional solar panel technology. For instance, they are lightweight and easily transportable, making them attractive to a domestic market and also flexible like a banknote.

A new software program that simulates assembly paths has been developed by engineers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics (ITWM, Kaiserslautern, Germany). By using the software, components that only exist in the form of CAD data can be virtually installed in a new car model.

Nanotechnology may help aircraft manufacturers produce airframes that are lighter and stronger than ever. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, Cambridge, MA) are reinforcing the plies used in advanced composites by stitching them with nanotubes.

Resistance and other solid-state welding processes are ideal for joining metal wire or rod to form rigid structures.

Error-proofing is not high tech, but integrating the various parts can be challenging.