The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a massive surge in demand for a variety of medical devices, not the least of which are N95 respirators and other personal protective equipment. To meet that need, manufacturers worldwide are building new factories and installing new automated assembly lines. Two of those companies are Breathe Medical Manufacturing in Kelowna, BC, Canada, and Husco International Inc. in Waukesha, WI.

In July, gasoline cost, on average, $3.23 per gallon in the U.S. That compares with $2.27 per gallon in July 2020, and it's the highest price since October 2014. Electricity prices are rising, too.

Industry 4.0 isn't anything new for the manufacturing engineers at Glidewell. The Newport, CA-based manufacturer of crowns, bridges and other dental products has been applying the concept since before it had a name.

From forest fire prevention and border patrol to tax inspection and counterterrorism, the applications for aerial drones are multiplying daily. Now, there is a new use for them: transporting car parts.

Industry 4.0 is here. It's not a buzzword or marketing lingo. It's reality, and it's making assembly lines smarter and more efficient.

Preparing existing automotive factories to assemble electric cars requires comprehensive modernization. Certainly, this was the case at Volkswagen's assembly plant in Zwickau, Germany.

Based in Torrington, CT, systems integrator Plastimation has been designing and building robotic automation systems for more than a decade. The company's portfolio ranges from simple projects, such as a machine-tending application in which a cobot unloads stacks of plastic lids from a molding machine, to complex ones, such as an automated line in which four robots assemble and test a medical device.

If both the AFL-CIO and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) support a bill, it should be a lock to pass. Alas, that is not the case with the Biden administration's infrastructure bill.

Bus bars are an essential component of electric vehicles. This metallic strip or bar efficiently distributes electrical power from high-energy battery packs to electric motors and other devices.

At the beginning of 2020, Hervé de Malliard, CEO of systems integrator MGA Technologies in Civrieux d’Azergues, France, observed the first signs of the COVID-19 crisis.