CHICAGO—In a speech at the Democratic National Convention here Monday night, UAW president Shawn Fain accused Stellantis of reneging on promises to restart a shuttered assembly plant in Belvidere, IL, northwest of Chicago.

PROMONTORY, UT—Northrop Grumman Corp. is using innovative modular tooling to manufacture large composite cases for solid rocket motors.

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI—FANUC America has established the FANUC Automation Endowed Scholarship Fund in collaboration with the SME Education Foundation. 

TORRINGTON, CT—Dymax Corp. has introduced a new series of light-curable adhesives and coatings for assembling gas turbines, batteries and fuel cells and electrolyzers, including solid oxide (SOFC) and proton exchange membrane (PEMFC) systems.

LOS ALAMITOS, CA—Epson Robots has introduced a new series of high-precision six-axis robots. 

KINGSBORO, NC—Natron Energy Inc., a manufacturer of sodium-ion batteries, is investing $1.4 billion to build a new “gigafactory” here.

The innovation has practical applications in a variety of industries, including aerospace and automotive manufacturing.

Some 93 percent of manufacturers recently surveyed have added new AI initiatives within the last 12 months, while another 6 percent are preparing to launch such initiatives.

The enhanced expressiveness and agility of the machine may pave the way for improving human-robot interaction on assembly lines, enabling humanoids to safely operate alongside operators.

According to a recent study conducted by the XR Association, 81 percent of manufacturers believe that immersive technology is important, and more than one-third of respondents claim that XR technology can help address workforce skill gaps.