Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a bacterium responsible for many hard-to-treat and life-threatening infections, including pneumonia and blood poisoning. MRSA is especially troublesome in hospitals, prisons and nursing homes, where patients with open wounds, invasive devices and weakened immune systems are at greater risk of infection.

The need to reduce vehicle weight has spawned myriad new technologies for assembling aluminum, high-strength steel and other materials. These new technologies include self-piercing rivets, flow-drilling screws and friction-stir spot welding.

Later this month, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, and a raft of policy changes are sure to come. Among others, the president-elect has vowed to roll back proposed regulations covering power plant emissions, contending that they will hurt the economy and put U.S. industries at a competitive disadvantage.

Overall, 2016 has been a pretty good year for U.S. manufacturing. In every industry covered by ASSEMBLY magazine, manufacturers were investing in people, plants and equipment.

Lumps of coal go to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton for giving us a choice between Scylla and Charybdis. An extra lump goes to The Donald for running a campaign that set new lows in civil political discourse.

Power tools collect a wealth of data about the fastening process. With some simple statistical analysis, engineers can obtain valuable insight into the fastening process.

Vision systems play a vital role in automated assembly systems. They can check for the presence or absence of parts or materials. They can measure key dimensions of assemblies. They can tell robots the precise location of parts. They can even read 1D and 2D codes.