NEWS • PROFILES • EDITORIALS

Whether you’ve had a subscription to The Economist since college or know nothing about the taxing of imported goods, you’ve probably been thinking a lot more about tariffs than usual. The subject has overtaken the airwaves and the watercooler alike since mid-January, and when it will subside is anybody’s guess. The Trump Administration’s “on-again, off-again”…

Demonstrating its dedication to innovation and sustainability, igus will present environmentally friendly technologies at Hannover Messe 2025. The motion plastics specialist will showcase its new PTFE-free materials, cable carriers made from recycled materials, and newly developed dry cleanroom certification for its e-chain® cable carriers developed in collaboration with Fraunhofer IPA. “Our mission remains to provide…

ABB has upgraded a variable speed drive to extend the life of NASA’s National Transonic Facility (NTF) wind tunnel by at least 10 years. This service project has boosted the reliability and availability of the world’s largest medium voltage (MV) drive system. To pull it off, drive experts engineered a solution to match the electrical…

At the recent National Fluid Power Association’s Annual Conference in Tucson, brothers Alex and Eugene Chausovsky of the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy spoke about geopolitical disruption and what it can mean for manufacturers. They highlighted how today we have a multipolarity in the world, with global powers (the U.S. and China), global players…

When I caught up with Festo Corp. at the recent Hannover Press Preview, I learned from Sabine Lückfeldt of the company’s Corporate Communications department about a very special machine that will be featured in the company’s booth at Hannover Messe 2025, “We’re looking forward to Festo’s 100th anniversary, and as part of that, we designed…

Metra and Caltrans trainsets to use ABB’s innovative traction technology Key components to be assembled at ABB’s Traction factory in Mechanicsville, Virginia Partnership highlights commitment to local-for-local manufacturing and environmental stewardship ABB has announced its collaboration with Stadler US to advance sustainable rail transport in the United States (US). The collaboration will see ABB supply…

DigiKey announces a collaboration with SparkFun to bring Experiential Robotics Platform (XRP) kits to engineers, developers and innovators. The XRP open-source platform is an educational robotics program that helps learners develop STEM skills. Educators can use the XRP curriculum, designed to introduce robotics, engineering, software development, and automation to beginners. Making the XRP robotics kit accessible supports DigiKey’s commitment to…

By Mark Jones The experiment is brilliant. Researchers came up with a way to compare the intelligence of ants to humans. It didn’t go so well for us. Some of us perform worse at a cognitive test than an ant. Disturbing as that is, the study also shows that when we cooperate in a group,…

Investment by ABB Drive Products to develop next-generation products for circularity and resource-efficient future. Companies will develop design architecture for drive manufacturing by optimizing testing and assembly processes in Molg’s robotic Microfactories. Collaboration started in 2024, with ABB Robotics participation in Molg’s seed round of funding. ABB Motion’s Drive Products division has invested in Virginia-based…

CCTY, a design-to-application motion control manufacturer, is expanding its operations by acquiring additional warehouse and office space, doubling its current footprint. This expansion will allow the company to better serve its growing customer base by increasing inventory capacity. With 30,000 sq. ft. of space, CCTY is enhancing its ability to store and manage inventory, ensuring…

· Total emissions must fall by at least 50% by 2050, according to the IEA[1] to meet climate goals · Five heavy industry sectors contribute nearly one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, but provide over 25% of global GDP[2] · The report highlights readily available solutions for energy efficiency and electrification besides providing an overview…

By Mark Jones 2024 was the year of spatulageddon. Plastic spatulas were trashed due to reports of dangers lurking within. The journal article that raised concern contained an error, an obvious error. A correction was made, but there’s more to the story. The study causing spatulageddon was published in the journal Chemosphere. The corresponding author…

SMW Autoblok is pleased to announce that John Andrick has been promoted to sales lead for the company’s automation and electronics division, SMW Electronics. In his new role, Andrick will be responsible for technical sales and will collaborate with the sales team to identify and develop strategic business opportunities while driving the U.S. market launch of…

At this year’s Hannover Messe trade fair, igus will be showcasing its latest product developments, including PTFE-free materials, a complete energy chain series made from recycled materials, and the new dry cleanroom certificate for igus e-chains, which was developed with Fraunhofer IPA. Design World caught up with the company at the recent Hannover Messe press…

ABB Robotics’ third Automotive Manufacturing Outlook Survey, in partnership with the leading global industry publication Automotive Manufacturing Solutions, has provided key insights into how automotive manufacturing leaders and key suppliers view EV production objectives. “This year’s survey found that overall, automotive manufacturing professionals are optimistic about EV production growth in 2025 but unsure about reaching…

ABB Robotics and construction technology company AUAR are working together to build “ConstrucThor,” a research facility in Belgium showcasing the future of sustainable construction. The project will harness AUAR’s micro-factories technology and is assembled using an automated construction process powered by ABB robots. Once completed, the state-of-the-art facility will serve as a living laboratory dedicated…

Siemens Digital Industries Software announced today that it is collaborating with the University of Michigan (U-M) Center for Academic Innovation to increase industrial adoption of additive manufacturing and prepare the next-generation workforce by creating ‘Introduction to 3D Printing with Metals,’ a new Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) that provides an open, accessible resource to professionals,…

More than 100 international journalists assembled in Hannover, Germany today to learn about Hannover Messe 2025, which is roughly six weeks away. More than 130,000 attendees and 4,000 exhibitors are expected at the 2025 event. Dr. Jochen Köckler, the Chairperson of the Managing Board, Deutsche Messe AG, Hannover, explained that Hannover Messe is looking ahead…

By Mark Jones I was bored as I waited for my “torch” — something that this food truck called its sandwiches — and so random thoughts came and went. This torch name seemed to be an unnecessary gimmick. Fumes directed my next thoughts: fumes from portable generators. Each food truck in the line of food…

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) predicts that 114,800 new jobs will be created in the U.S. semiconductor industry by 2030. However, it expects more than half of those jobs to go unfilled. Of the 67,000 vacancies, nearly 27,300 are pegged for engineers at the bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. levels — and that’s just for one…

Motion Industries, Inc., a distributor of maintenance, repair, and operation replacement parts, and a provider of industrial technology solutions, signed a definitive purchase agreement to acquire the net operating assets of Thompson Industrial Supply, Inc. The transaction is expected to close at the end of February 2025, subject to customary closing conditions. Family-owned and operated…

If you’ve been paying attention to the news lately (and even if you don’t pay that much attention at all), you’ve probably noticed that there sure seem to be a lot of stories about food recalls and alerts in the United States. I’ve certainly noticed. Every day that I visit a major news website, there…

IDS Imaging focuses on simplifying technology for users. The company adopts consumer innovations early and adapts them for industrial use. IDS plans to launch several new products this year. The machine vision industry faced challenges in 2024, with a forecasted 10% decline in sales in Germany. This trend is expected to continue in 2025 due…

The 2025 training schedule from Fastener Training Institute (FTI) is now available. Additional classes will be announced throughout the year. “We’ve put together a very comprehensive training schedule for 2025 with more in the works,” said Jo Morris, Managing Director for FTI. “We truly have something for everyone.” 2025 in-person training classes are planned coast-to-coast,…

The industrial battery market is experiencing a transformational shift as more industries aim for sustainability and efficiency. With non-automotive electric vehicles demonstrating significant and continued growth, the demand for advanced battery technology is more pronounced than ever. That’s why we are looking in-depth at the most promising sectors and the trends driving their growth. Warehouse…