ROCK HILL, SC–The FDA has provided 510(k) clearance for a patient-specific, 3D-printed instrument set used during ankle replacement surgery with Exactech’s Vantage Total Ankle System.

MT. PLEASANT, WI–Foxconn is reportedly planning to assemble Google server components at its beleaguered factory here.

MANKATO, MN—Rolls-Royce has announced a $13.9 million investment in its Power Systems business unit for a multi-phase expansion of its power generation manufacturing facility here.

BOSTON—Desktop Metal has been awarded  a three-year, multimillion dollar grant from the Department of Defense to develop a high-volume 3D printing process that makes complex parts from a new cobalt-free hard metal without the use of tooling.

MONTGOMERY, AL—Denmark-based Mountain Top Industries, a manufacturer of aluminum roll covers for pickup trucks, recently announced its expansion into the U.S. market with the opening of a 73,000 square-foot manufacturing facility here.

HAMBURG, Germany—Engineers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation are working with Airbus to learn how to detect and predict disruptions in aircraft production.

LEXINGTON, KY—Schneider Electric’s factory here recently achieved a complete end-to-end transformation of its operations from supplier to customer.

FRANKFURT, Germany—The World Robotics 2020 Industrial Robots report presented by the International Federation of Robotics shows a record of 2.7 million industrial robots operating in factories around the world. This total represents an increase of 12 percent from 2019.

TROY, MI—NAI, a manufacturer of custom interconnects, recently announced the opening of a new manufacturing plant in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico. The facility will produce interconnect devices, including cable assemblies, harnesses and box builds.

COLLEGE STATION, TX—Three-dimensional printing material supplier EOS has partnered with the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station to provide a professional development program in industrial 3D printing.