JACKSON, MN--Farmers never take a day off. Nor do their tractors. Growers rely on their machines to plow, plant, till, spray, bale and harvest a wide variety of crops in all sorts of conditions.

Connecting a sensor, such as a thermocouple, to a data acquisition system to obtain accurate measurements involves some forethought.

Robots are increasingly being made to mirror humans. The best example of this is the dual-armed robot—such as ABB’s YuMi and Rethink Robotics’ Baxter—designed specifically to work closely with people on the assembly line.

World-class manufacturers maintain high standards in every facet of their business, from materials and design, to assembly, performance and customer service. Quite often, these same companies are equally committed to meeting the highest industry standards in one or more of these areas.

Since 2008, 28 million cars have been recalled in the United States because they contained air bags that could explode and hurl shrapnel into drivers during even minor fender benders. Ten deaths and more than 100 injuries have been linked to the faulty air bags.

Pharmaceutical OEMs and their suppliers know all about the concept of ‘Japan quality’ products. This phrase refers to packaged pharmaceuticals that are flawless in appearance.

Although mobile electronic devices are assembled in highly automated processes, their touch screens and keys are generally still tested manually.

Monitoring and meeting regulations is an ongoing challenge for every business, regardless of the products they make or the services they provide.

The notion that a truly special moment comes along just once in a decade is not popular among members of the Academic Motorsports Club Zurich (AMCZ). Founded by students at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich) in 2006, the club has a long list of achievements in its brief 10-year history.

For more than 30 years, manufacturers have used infrared welding (IW) to assemble plastic components that are large, made of challenging materials or have high strength and hermetic requirements.