They’re considered playthings, but they’ve launched the careers of generations of engineers. The Erector set and its English cousin, Meccano, are the ultimate assembly toys. They allow users to design and build a wide variety of machines, structures and vehicles. Many engineers trace their mechanical roots to the day when they first set eyes on an Erector or Meccano set.

If an American automaker wants a lithium-ion battery today, it often has to turn to Japan. Perhaps it's time to create a home-grown lithium-ion battery industry that can compete with the Japanese. We need a strong government-backed program to develop a new line of green car batteries.

As automakers in Asia, Europe and North America ask for billions of dollars in government handouts and ponder green alternatives to the internal combustion engine, they should call a time out. How about shutting down the entire auto industry for one month? Automakers, suppliers and dealers could use that time to reinvent the way that vehicles are mass-produced and delivered to consumers.

The towns of Elkhart and Warsaw sit less than 40 miles apart in northern Indiana. But, when it comes to the local manufacturing climate, the two communities might as well be located at the North and South poles. The two extremes help illustrate an interesting phenomenon: Today’s crazy economic climate doesn’t always follow standard geographic boundaries.

The energy for the next generation of miniature electronic devices could come from tiny microbatteries about half the size of a human cell and built with viruses. Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, Cambridge, MA) have developed a battery that could one day power a range of miniature devices, by stamping them onto a variety of surfaces.

After years of development in the research lab, thin-film batteries may finally be ready for widespread commercialization. The devices are appealing to many manufacturers because they feature customizable shapes, flexible form factors and ultra-low weight that enables new functionality to be added to a broad range of products.

Assemblers at the Honda Motor Co. (Tokyo) plant in Sayama, Japan, are using a new contraption to eliminate the risk of repetitive-stress-related injuries. The walking assist device helps support bodyweight to reduce the load on an individual's legs while walking, going up and down stairs, or working in a semicrouching position.

Engineers at Ford Motor Co. (Dearborn, MI) use digital tools and virtual manufacturing technology to simulate assembly tasks. That helps them predict and eliminate repetitive-stress and other on-the-job injuries.

Occupational ergonomics is not a new field. In fact, people have been studying the topic for more than 100 years. This brief timeline tracks some significant milestones.

The field of ergonomics is full of various terms, such as "carpal tunnel syndrome" and "cumulative trauma disorder." Here's a short guide to everything from "accommodation" to "work reach envelope."