All Features
Kristin Burnham
Companies that adopt industrial artificial intelligence see productivity losses before longer-term gains, according to new research.
Organizations have long viewed artificial intelligence as a way to achieve productivity gains. But recent research about AI adoption at U.S. manufacturing firms…
Adam Zewe
A new theory-guided framework could help scientists probe the properties of new semiconductors for next-generation microelectronic devices or discover materials that boost the performance of quantum computers.
Research to develop new or better materials typically involves investigating properties…
CANEA
In several articles about challenges for tomorrow’s quality leaders, we’ve addressed how to plug the knowledge drain and effectively manage your company’s know-how. Your organizational structure and processes can be your worst enemy—or best asset. Organizational silos and roadblocks can impede…
Creaform
Based in Tampa, Florida, Starr Creations, a powerhouse in fiberglass design and fabrication, is known for turning ambitious automotive visions into reality. Jesse Starr, creative director and 3D designer, founded the company with a passion for racing and innovation.
Starr Creations has been the…
Lexi Sharkov
They may seem simple, but SOPs (standard operating procedures) are surprisingly tricky. On the surface, they describe how a specific process is carried out at your organization. Pretty straightforward, right?
In reality, there are a lot of requirements for writing a good SOP, and auditors have a…
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Chemists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have designed a new way to convert abundant carbon dioxide (CO2) into formate (HCO2-), an industrial chemical used as a fuel, as an antibacterial/antifungal agent, and for making pharmaceuticals. Their reaction uses a light-…
FOBA
In medical technology, safety is paramount. Every step in the manufacturing process must meet the highest standards, from patient protection to regulatory compliance. Because direct part marking plays a key role in ensuring traceability and unique device identification (UDI) conformity, it’s…
Creaform
Since its founding in 1974, Intercontrôle has been a leader in France’s nuclear energy sector, ensuring the safety of reactor components through automated nondestructive testing (NDT).
As part of the Framatome group, the company develops its own inspection equipment, oversees logistics and…
NIST
To support the creation of software that is secure against cyber-breaches and free of malicious code, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is working with industry partners through a consortium focused on improving software security.
The Software…
Silke von Gemmingen
Precise material analysis plays a central role in many industries, from the pharmaceutical and food industries to construction materials, biotechnology, and environmental sciences. Whether for quality assurance or for predicting material behavior, the precise characterization of particles is…
Bruce Hamilton
With Labor Day coming around, here’s an article to celebrate the folks who usually get blamed for the quality problems.
Not surprisingly, when people first learn about lean’s seven wastes, the one they find most relatable is defects. They might not immediately grasp the concept of overproduction…
Mike Figliuolo
Want to build your team? Get rid of the people who are on it. I don’t mean go about firing people in a flurry. Become what I call a “net exporter of talent.”
You need to develop your people to the point that they’re ready for new challenges. Build their skills. Make them more valuable to the…
NIST
A rapidly growing category of drugs called protein-based biotherapeutics can be used to treat cancers and genetic and autoimmune disorders. These drugs, which usually take the form of large protein molecules, are manufactured by growing living cells that are genetically engineered to produce the…
Creaform
The Bott Group designs vehicle and operating equipment as well as workplace systems. From its headquarters in Gaildorf, Germany, and two production sites in Bude, England, and Tárnazsadány, Hungary, Bott Group designs and manufactures work environments for mobile and stationary manual work…
William A. Levinson
I recently needed to have a hot water expansion tank installed in my house. The first plumber who came to mind is widely advertised on local radio. The company’s online reviews suggest that they do good work, but one added that they are expensive—and it’s probably because they have radio ads…
Bruce Hamilton
I took a walk-jog this morning, something I’ve been doing pretty regularly since early June. Some days are better than others, and today started out sluggish. But as I turned the corner of my street, my neighbor drove by, rolled down his window, and gave me a friendly wave.
Almost like getting a…
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Ateam of scientists across several U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories has unraveled how light and a previously unknown form of certain nickel-based catalysts together unlock and preserve reactivity. This research, described in the journal Nature Communications, could potentially…
Nimax
Pharmaceutical serialization practices are on the rise and have progressively become a worldwide standard as a result of stringent regulations in various of markets, including the United States, European Union, China, and Argentina. Recent estimations found that by 2022 serialization practices had…
Ariana Tantillo
A new security screener that people can simply walk past may soon be coming to an airport near you. Last year, U.S. airports nationwide began adopting HEXWAVE, a commercialized system based on microwave imaging technology developed at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. HEXWAVE addresses a new Transportation…
Donald J. Wheeler
The engineer came into the statistician’s office and asked, “How can I compare a couple of averages? I have 50 values from each machine and want to compare the machines.”
The statistician answered, “That’s easy. We can use a two-sample t-test.”
“How would that work?” asked the engineer.
“We…
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and JuggerBot 3D, an industrial 3D-printer equipment manufacturer, have launched their second research and development collaboration through the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF) Technical Collaboration Program.
The two…
Robyn Coward
In life sciences, every decision carries weight—and speed to market is an ever-present consideration. Scientific innovation is moving faster than ever, yet regulatory demands are growing more complex, and supply chain fragility has become the new normal. Within this volatile landscape, the role of…
Alexander Shipps
When ChatGPT or Gemini gives you what seems to be an expert response to your burning questions, you may not realize how much information they rely on to give that reply. Like other popular generative artificial intelligence (AI) models, these chatbots rely on backbone systems called foundation…
Etienne Nichols
Good supplier management is one of the most important methods of building a safe and effective medical device. A single device may be made up of dozens of parts and components coming from several different suppliers, and many medical device companies outsource the manufacturing of their device to a…
Automated Precision Inc.
CNC machine tool calibration is essential for machining precision and process reliability. Even a well-built CNC machine will gradually drift out of alignment due to everyday wear and environmental factors, leading to deviations in accuracy.
Without regular calibration, these small errors can…