Many people believe that the golden age of American manufacturing is long past. They claim the good old days vanished some time in the late 20th century. However, I believe we are entering a new golden era.

Kaizen teian encourages operators to continuously seek improvement.

More manufacturers are taking links out of the supply chain.

Seats, instrument panels, floor consoles, trim and other automotive interior components are attached with a wide variety of fasteners. ASSEMBLY magazine recently asked Bob Gordon, central regional manager at PennEngineering (Danboro, PA), a leading supplier of fasteners, to share his thoughts and observations on the subject.

Traditionally, consumers have limited choices available when it comes to specifying interiors. For instance, most vehicles are equipped with either leather or cloth fabric seats. Instrument panels, floor consoles, headliners, door panels and trim typically come in beige, black, gray or white.

More and more blood glucose monitors, inhalers, IV bags, orthopedic implants, pacemakers, stents, syringes and other products are produced with robots. Adept Technology Inc. (Livermore, CA) is a leading supplier of assembly robots for medical device applications. ASSEMBLY magazine recently asked Craig Tomita, director of the company’s medical products business, to share his thoughts on the challenges and opportunities currently affecting the market.

ASSEMBLY magazine is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, we are publishing a series of articles examining the past, present and future of various assembly technologies.

Believe it or not, cup holders were unheard of in automobiles 25 years ago. But not anymore. Americans are spending more and more time inside their cars, and the market is responding accordingly. Today, interiors are ground zero for automakers and suppliers.

While electronic work instructions are not ideal for every application, new technology has made going paperless easier and more affordable.