John has been with ASSEMBLY magazine since February 1997. John was formerly with a national medical news magazine, and has written for Pathology Today and the Green Bay Press-Gazette. John holds a B.A. in journalism from Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism.
Aerospace manufacturing continues to soar. For example, through March 31, Boeing's commercial aircraft division had a backlog of 5,835 orders, while rival Airbus had a backlog of 7,189 jets.
All four of my grandparents were European immigrants. Two came from southern Italy; one from Poland; another from Ire-land. They were poor with no skills and little or no education. They became a shoemaker, a baker, a sewer worker, and a full-time mom.
Designing a medical device or consumer product can take a long time. Designing an automated assembly system for those products shouldn’t add any more. Starting with a standardized assembly platform can reduce engineering time and get the product to market faster.
Error proofing, quality control and flexibility are essential on today's assembly lines. As a result, manufacturers are increasingly investing in DC electric fastening tools. These tools allow engineers to adjust tool speed to match various applications and control more aspects of the fastening process, including key parameters such as torque and angle.
Last December, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law. The largest shake-up to the federal tax code in more than 30 years, the law includes myriad changes that will benefit manufacturers.
Just when you think there's nothing new under the sun with a particular technology, a company will invariably put a new spin on things. A good example is the new Torque Press 520 from Schmidt Technology.
Last summer, my nephew, the college student, landed a job driving a school bus. The company loves him, and it happily took him back during his winter and spring breaks. Though he had a spotless driving record, he had never driven a bus before. His primary qualification? He passed the company’s drug test. Dozens of more qualified drivers could not.