Know What's Happening in Manufacturing
Know What's Happening in Manufacturing
Japan launches $6.3B push to capture 30% of global physical AI robotics market
Japan is committing roughly $6.3 billion to accelerate AI‑powered robotics, targeting a 30% share of the global physical AI market by 2040. The initiative responds to a 14‑year population decline and a shrinking workforce, positioning robots as essential for factories, warehouses and critical infrastructure.
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By the numbers: BlackRock acquires 5% stake in Samsung Heavy Industries
China’s BAIC Group announced a prototype sodium‑ion EV battery that delivers over 170 Wh/kg energy density and can be recharged at 4C rates, reaching a full charge in roughly 11 minutes. The prismatic pack operates across a –40 °C to 60 °C temperature window and retains more than 92% capacity at –20 °C. BAIC joins CATL and other Chinese firms in scaling sodium‑ion technology, which promises lower material costs and comparable range to lithium‑iron‑phosphate cells. The move follows a surge in global sodium‑ion shipments, now projected to exceed 1,000 GWh within four years.
A MAGNET survey of nearly 300 Ohio manufacturers reveals six emerging signals shaping U.S. production. Revenue growth has cooled—only 48% reported gains—yet 70% still plan to increase headcount, reflecting a desire to avoid past lean‑cycle pitfalls. Economic uncertainty now tops...
Royal3D has introduced the Interlayer Control System (ICS), a thermal monitoring solution that tracks nozzle temperature across XYZ coordinates in real time for industrial 3D printers. Using a 160 × 140 pixel infrared camera, the system logs interlayer temperatures, allowing operators to spot...
SBM Offshore’s COO Alex Glenn detailed the Fast4Ward program, which shifts the company from bespoke FPSO designs to a standardized, modular, data‑driven model. The initiative introduces pre‑engineered hulls and topside modules, cutting delivery schedules by up to a year and...
Tesla is negotiating a $2.9 billion purchase of solar‑manufacturing equipment from Chinese suppliers to support its goal of building 100 GW of solar capacity in the United States. The deal centers on Suzhou Maxwell Technologies, with shipments expected to arrive in Texas...
Indian Oil Corporation raised the price of industrial diesel to Rs 109.59 per litre, a 25% increase effective 20 March 2026. The hike targets bulk consumers such as factories, where diesel fuels captive power plants and heat‑intensive processes. The textile sector, which relies...
Mercedes‑Benz Trucks will begin customer trials of megawatt‑charging‑system (MCS) enabled eActros 600 trucks in the second half of 2024, deploying them in its own inbound‑logistics operations. The eActros 600, produced since November 2024, is the sole model in the lineup with an...
Container lines are scrambling to move 40,000‑50,000 TEUs that have been temporarily stored at Indian ports toward the Middle East. Nhava Sheva alone has discharged roughly 25,000 TEUs, creating a bottleneck as carriers seek shuttle capacity at Gulf gateways. Alternative...
IFGL Refractories Ltd. has temporarily halted LPG‑dependent operations at its Kandla plant in Gujarat after the Indian government ordered oil‑marketing companies to prioritize domestic LPG supplies amid a Middle‑East conflict‑driven shortage. The stoppage affects high‑temperature kiln and heat‑treatment processes, but...
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is in early talks to raise as much as $100 billion for a manufacturing‑transformation vehicle that would acquire and modernize legacy industrial firms with artificial intelligence. The fund is tied to his AI startup Project Prometheus, which already...
EX3D Prints has launched a distributed 3D printing marketplace that connects print buyers, desktop printer operators, and model designers. Buyers pay for prints, operators execute jobs, and designers earn a 10% royalty on each sale. The platform faces quality consistency...
Lockheed Martin has signed off on all eleven industrial cooperation projects tied to the Czech Republic’s F‑35 Lightning II programme, including a partnership with Ray Service to manufacture wire harnesses domestically. The Czech government plans to purchase 24 F‑35A fighters,...
Elon Musk turned a dead GM‑Toyota plant into the highest‑volume auto factory in North America, proving that cultural overhaul can revive failing manufacturing assets. The U.S. semiconductor sector now faces a similar crisis: Intel, Samsung and other fabs suffer from...
Bosch Engineering unveiled an 800‑volt electric powertrain at LogiMAT 2026, targeting heavy‑duty intralogistics equipment such as forklifts, truck tractors and port transporters. The SMG230 motor delivers 188 kW continuous power and up to 550 Nm peak torque, while a silicon‑carbide inverter pushes...
Lyten announced plans to evaluate a new industrial hub in Gdańsk, Poland, with a feasibility study scheduled for 2026. The hub would combine the company’s advanced battery‑energy‑storage manufacturing with AI‑powered data centre capacity, mirroring its recently launched Swedish site. Lyten’s...
At Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania, the tenth Island Class ferry for BC Ferries was launched, completing a four‑vessel order and bringing the total to ten vessels in the class. The new ship, Island K ‘asa, adds roughly 200 vehicle...
Ryanair has inaugurated its biggest in‑house maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) centre at Madrid‑Barajas Airport, marking the airline’s largest dedicated facility to date. The new hub consolidates maintenance for its Boeing 737‑800 fleet, allowing Ryanair to perform more work internally...
Air cargo backlogs are mounting as Middle East airspace closures have stripped roughly 20% of global air‑freight capacity, equivalent to over 500,000 tonnes. Qatar Airways Cargo has resumed limited freighter services under a temporary authorisation, while other regional carriers operate...
Indonesia’s sovereign investment agency Danantara has secured US$1.4 billion to build a domestic PV‑module assembly plant, slated for completion by the end of 2026. The funding underpins the government’s goal of adding 50 GW of renewable capacity by 2035 and ultimately 100 GW...
Revopoint has launched a Spring Sale offering 15% off its entire 3D scanner lineup, with additional codes for up to 2% extra on its website or 5% on Amazon. Prices now start at $467 for the Inspire 2, $1,028 for the...
Researchers introduced a modular digital‑twin framework that mirrors the entire additive‑manufacturing workflow for automotive parts, from CAD through in‑situ monitoring to post‑build inspection. The architecture separates a product twin, process twin, and equipment twin, allowing live data from cameras, thermography...
Bant Dental, a UK family‑run lab, installed a Stratasys J5 DentaJet multi‑material 3D printer at its new Macclesfield facility, making its workflow 95 % digital. The printer can handle up to five materials in a single run, enabling colour‑accurate, translucent dentures,...
Is China going to be dominant in Physical AI? 🤔 In 2025, Chinese companies shipped nearly 90% of the world’s humanoid robots.
BorgWarner announced it has secured its first 48‑volt electric cross‑differential (eXD) program with a Chinese OEM, marking the debut of the technology in its global portfolio. The eXD integrates with the vehicle’s 48 V electrical architecture to dynamically manage torque between...
Textile manufacturers in Perambalur, Tamil Nadu are grappling with sharply higher raw‑material costs as the West Asia conflict disrupts oil supplies and shipping routes. Polyester fibre prices have risen about Rs 40 per kilogram, while freight rates have jumped 20‑30 %, squeezing profit...
Cyngn announced that its high‑fidelity autonomous forklift models are now integrated into NVIDIA’s Isaac Sim, an open‑source simulation platform for autonomous systems. The models, exported as Functional Mock‑up Units, exchange two‑way data with Isaac Sim’s virtual surfaces, mirroring real‑world dynamics....
The Surface Transportation Board has issued a proposal to repeal Federal Rule 49 CFR Part 1144, which currently restricts reciprocal switching for shippers seeking alternative rail service. The change is backed by major shipper groups, the American Chemistry Council, and...
Chinese 3D‑printing firm Hanin introduced two new systems at TCT Asia 2026. The LCD‑L298 is a commercial‑grade elastomer printer that uses a COB light source and Fresnel lens to deliver uniform exposure across a 294 × 160 × 400 mm build volume. The industrial‑grade SJF‑P380 employs...
Anduril Industries is set to start manufacturing its Fury “loyal wingman” combat drones at a new Ohio facility, part of a $1 billion Arsenal‑1 campus that will eventually employ 4,000 workers. The move expands U.S. unmanned aircraft capacity as the Pentagon...
China has begun commercial production of Shoucell, a next‑generation regenerated cellulose fiber aimed at reducing textile pollution. The fiber employs a closed‑loop process that lowers water consumption and chemical waste compared with traditional viscose. Shoucell’s launch dovetails with Beijing’s green...
The humanoid robotics race is already uneven. In 2025, Chinese companies accounted for nearly 90% of global shipments. Unitree and AgiBot alone delivered over 10,000 robots combined, while U.S. players like Tesla, Figure, and Agility Robotics each shipped only around 150 units. That gap tells a...
Posco Future M and U.S. start‑up Molten Industries have signed an agreement to produce high‑purity graphite for battery anodes using methane‑derived pyrolysis. Molten’s process splits methane into hydrogen and graphite via resistive heating, and a pilot plant already operates in...
Manufacturers are shifting from pure production to extending product lifecycles through automated remanufacturing. Rising e‑waste, raw‑material costs and supply‑chain volatility are driving this change, with remanufactured components offering 40%‑80% cost savings while matching performance. Advances in AI, machine vision, force‑sensitive...
The University of Warwick has secured funding to acquire a wide‑bandgap (WBG) dynamic reliability tester from ipTEST Ltd, bolstering the UK’s capacity to evaluate SiC and GaN power semiconductors. The equipment will feed the nation’s first comprehensive reliability database, supporting...
A new portfolio‑based scheduler called Portfolio‑CEGAR‑SEQ leverages multi‑core CPUs to solve the combined placement and ordering problem of sequential FFF printing. The approach runs several CEGAR‑SEQ instances in parallel, each seeded with a different heuristic, and selects the first feasible...
In this episode Kevin Lawton interviews Bill Woppler, CEO and founder of SurgeAir, about the evolution of data capture in supply chains. SurgeAir now processes about 15 billion transactions a month and has introduced Sophia, an agentic AI that makes sense...
Crayola has partnered with Indian stationery leader Luxor Writing Instruments to invest roughly Rs 400 crore over the next five years, establishing India as a key manufacturing and sourcing hub for its global art‑supply portfolio. The move follows a strategic shift to...
Nebius, an AI‑focused cloud provider, has teamed up with Nvidia to launch a managed platform that spans the entire physical‑AI lifecycle—from large‑scale GPU training and physics‑accurate simulation to edge inference. The solution leverages Nvidia’s Physical AI Data Factory Blueprint, OSMO...
The Ministry of Heavy Industries has issued a request for proposal to select beneficiaries for integrated sintered NdFeB rare‑earth permanent magnet plants, targeting a total capacity of 6,000 MTPA. Each awardee will receive between 600 MTPA and 1,200 MTPA, a capital subsidy of...
Boston Micro Fabrication unveiled the microArch S150 Series, a compact line of Projection Micro Stereolithography (PµSL) 3D printers aimed at labs and production environments. The standard S150 delivers 25 µm optical resolution with ±3 µm positional accuracy, while the S150 Ultra prints layers...
Your own tiny backyard laser warfare. It sounds like a joke, until you realize how quickly laser-based systems are moving from labs into real-world applications. From LiDAR in autonomous vehicles to precision tools in agriculture and manufacturing, lasers are becoming a core...
Above the Fold: Supply Chain Logistics News (March 20, 2026) - https://t.co/6N5W6UvR9N @FedEx @amazon @DescartesSG #AI #supplychain #logistics #transportation #IranWar #Trumptariffs #trucking
Lumafield unveiled three new industrial CT systems—Neptune Performance, Saturn and Mars—expanding its platform across metrology, large‑part inspection and inline production screening. Neptune Performance claims 15× faster scans with fourfold data quality, targeting high‑precision dimensional analysis. Saturn offers the largest door‑compatible...
Tiny but Mighty: A Pocket-Sized Quadruped #Robot via @ZappyZappy7 #Robotics #Engineering #ArtificialIntelligence #Innovation #Technology https://t.co/Lc8Ncpqx7B
Unlocking Innovation and Sustainability: How Generative AI is Redrawing the Industrial Blueprint - The challenge for today’s industrial leaders is that sustainability is often a “black box” problem. https://t.co/p34ci6RbAV
IFS reported a 23% year‑on‑year rise in annual recurring revenue and a 30% jump in cloud revenue for FY2025, underscoring rapid adoption of its Industrial AI platform. The technology has moved from pilot projects to core operational systems across manufacturing,...
Handheld #3D Scanners Bring Fast, Accurate Inspection to the Shop Floor via @WevolverApp #Innovation #TechForGood #EmergingTech #Technology https://t.co/U8of8RqgW7
Old school GEO satellites were assembled in a facility that housed the product in a "high bay" as if it was a giant religious icon. PhDs in bunny suits assembled the satellite piece by piece. The legacy manufacturers didn't believe...
Joseph Alonso founded Novo Modo Machining in 2023, introducing standardized cells for complex five‑axis work. By the end of 2025 he projects $4 million in annual revenue, leveraging his early‑stage real‑estate investments for capital. The company plans to scale through a...
InnovMetric and Faro Creaform have integrated Faro’s auto‑referencing multi‑line 3D scanners directly into PolyWorks|Inspector, allowing real‑time data capture, visualization, and dimensional analysis without switching software. The workflow streamlines training, accelerates onboarding, and ensures consistent inspection templates across global OEM plants. Meanwhile,...
