Light is critical for our health and well-being. In the morning, bright light helps us wake up and feel alert and energized. At night, dimmer light cues us to go to sleep. Equally important, the right type of light enables hospitals to provide surgery and other essential medical services 24/7.

Whether a manufacturer is large or small, it’s always interested in saving money—whether it’s a large or small amount. Consider a huge company like Lockheed Martin Space Systems, and its constant need to cut costs in every aspect of a project, such as parts needed to build a satellite.

For more than 30 years, manufacturers have used infrared welding (IW) to assemble plastic components that are large, made of challenging materials or have high strength and hermetic requirements.

At some point during a philosophy 101 class, college students learn about Aristotle’s belief that the best way to understand something is to break it down to the smallest components. For an increasing number of manufacturers and integrators, however, the best way to assemble a product is to use a machine built with modular automation components that quickly and easily fit together.

When the market demands products be made better or faster, manufacturers must respond in kind. For manufacturers in many industries, robots are essential to meeting these ever-changing customer needs.

Just a few decades ago, the typical American or European driver would never have believed that China, a communist country, would one day be the world’s largest car producer (by volume).

Builders, replacement-window professionals and homeowners have relied on products from Atrium Windows and Doors (AWD) since 1946.

Traditional solar panel installations require expensive and time-consuming assembly of custom mounting systems on a roof, which can ultimately slow adoption.

Ray Berst is the founder and president of Components Express Inc. (CEI), a Woodridge, IL-based manufacturer that specializes in custom machine-vision cables.

At Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI)—the world’s largest automotive seat maker—sustainability has become just as important as innovation.