Manufacturers that want to improve their product development process must be market readers, need seekers or technology drivers.

People are good at some things, and machines are better at others. It's important to distinguish between them when considering an automation project.

Lean manufacturing uses many different words and terms. Click here to learn the difference between "kaizen" and "jidoka."

Innovation is one of the hottest buzzwords in the business world today. It can be applied many different ways in many different industries. But, no matter which way it's harnessed, innovation plays a key role in the product design and development process.

Once upon a time, manufacturers attempted to automate everything and remove the human element with lights-out factories. But, people are still found on many assembly lines today because humans are still the most programmable, efficient "machines" for most assembly tasks.

Many people believe that lean manufacturing principles only apply to manual assembly applications. But, lean initiatives work equally well with automated assembly systems.

General Motors has offered to buy out all of its 74,000 hourly workers. Up to 56,000 workers could retire by 2011. That would help GM slash costs and catch up with its foreign rivals, but it would also create a huge knowledge gap on the plant floor.

Digital controls are basically similar for different types of welding equipment.

Lithium-ion batteries require extra assembly steps than other types of rechargeable batteries. Some manufacturers use ultrasonic welding to assemble their batteries.

Researchers at Stanford University have developed a way to use silicon nanowires to improve the rechargeable battery technology used in cordless tools and other devices. The new technology produces 10 times the amount of electricity of existing lithium-ion batteries.