With the U.S. military budget in a growth mode, it's understandable that shipbuilders for the U.S. Navy are optimistic about the future.

Every vehicle needs a good driver to steer it in the right direction and away from dangers on the road. For 50 years, Pailton Engineering Ltd. has been manufacturing the steering systems that give drivers of all types of vehicles this assurance as they travel from place to place.

Green manufacturing not only benefits the environment by minimizing natural resource use. It also benefits the manufacturers.

Roll-form manufacturers produce a wide range of parts for assembly, including highly contoured automotive exterior panels.

In many automotive parts, a small defect can cause big problems. This explains why Tier 1 suppliers increasingly use machine vision to inspect parts used for steering, air bags, seat belts, brakes, electronic controls and exhaust.

As a senior research scientist at Sauder Woodworking Co. in Archbold, OH, John Beck has dealt with many surface treatment challenges.

Heinrich Witzenmann's influence on manufacturing may have begun in 1885, when he invented the metal hose, but it continues to this day.

The No. 1 application for robots, be they Cartesian, SCARA, delta or six-axis models, is also the easiest: pick up a part from one location and place it in another.

Companies measure success in several ways. One of the most important measurements is their number of repeat customers. For wire harness shops, the best way to gain repeat customers is to provide them an ongoing supply of harnesses that are high quality, economical and specifically designed to meet each application challenge.

Manufacturers in many industries like to build with composites because they are lightweight and have high strength-to-weight ratios that often exceed steel and aluminum. At the same time, though, these materials can be hard to properly bond to thermoplastic, metal and other composites.