Today, 66 percent of Americans—more than 215 million people of all ages and backgrounds—play video games regularly, according to the Entertainment Software Association. 

WICHITA, KS—Integra Technologies, the largest U.S. outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) company, plans to invest $1.8 billion to build a large-scale manufacturing facility here. 

WALTERBORO, SC—Pomega Energy Storage Technologies, a subsidiary of Kontrolmatik Technologies, will build its first U.S. assembly plant here. The $279 million project is expected to create 575 jobs.

When dispensing form-in-place gaskets—for example, on the die-cast housing of an automotive control unit—it’s important to apply the material precisely along the contour of the part. On the housing, the contour runs partly in a straight groove, partly around corners and screw locations and partly along various radiuses. In the area where the plug housing will be installed, the material often must be applied on a ramped surface. All this makes consistent, gap-free dispensing difficult.

The new DC803 Dispensing Cell from Scheugenpflug GmbH promises to make the process faster, easier and more reliable.

LEHI, UT—Texas Instruments Inc. will build its next 300-millimeter semiconductor wafer fabrication plant here. 

Initiated in 2004, the Assembly Plant of the Year award showcases world-class production facilities in America and the people, products, and processes that make them successful. 

INCHEON, South Korea—Researchers at Incheon National University have developed a cost-effective, eco-friendly technique for making high-efficiency chalcopyrite solar cells. 

Companies achieve manufacturing excellence when people have the tools they need to produce high-quality work. On the shop floor, this comes about through the marriage of workers and machinery and the refining of processes through constant care and iteration. 

Today, every car tire is equipped with a wireless pressure sensor that warns drivers of dangerously low pressure levels. Given that there are more than 1.5 billion motor vehicles worldwide, that equates to at least 6 billion pressure sensors.

Manufacturing in the age of Industry 4.0, digitally connected machines and smart factories require a new breed of engineers who are equipped with a fresh set of skills. That’s why Arizona State University recently launched the School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks.