The consumer goods industry is under growing pressure to reduce waste and adopt environmentallly friendly packaging. New paper and plastic materials offer sustainable solutions, but also create new challenges.

Manufacturing in the United States is still healthy, but it has been shaken and stirred by recent events in the auto industry. In addition, high energy prices and a slowdown in new home construction have affected the confidence of assembly professionals, who are finding themselves crunched for time and talent. ASSEMBLY's 12th annual State of the Profession survey reveals why fewer workers and more hours at work create extra stress for manufacturing engineers, design engineers and plant management.

Every year, J.D. Power and Associates (Westlake Village, CA) recognizes a handful of automotive assembly plants around the world for their outstanding quality. It honors facilities that produce vehicles with the fewest defects. The winner of the 2007 Platinum Plant Quality Award is Ford’s plant in Wixom, MI. However, the only problem is that Ford management decided to shutter the 50-year-old plant a week before the award was announced!

It’s time for U.S. manufacturers to get their act together and start building more domestic assembly lines.

I’ve been thinking a lot about lasers lately. First, I recently attended a materials joining conference sponsored by the Edison Welding Institute (EWI, Columbus, OH), where many of the presentations focused on laser technology. Then, the other day, I read an obituary in the newspaper for Theodore Maiman, the inventor of the laser.

Wire harnesses are used in everything from sports cars to washing machines and business jets to video arcade games. But, assembling them can be a daunting task. Choosing the right wire harness boards and fixtures can improve productivity.

Ultrasonic welding is a cost-effective, widely used process for assembling plastic automotive parts, consumer goods and medical devices. However, joint design and location are very important in ultrasonic welding, as is good dimensional control of the parts. Without good part design, manufacturing engineers may end up with numerous headaches.