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.
Also developing:
By the numbers: BlackRock acquires 5% stake in Samsung Heavy Industries
Dürr introduced EcoNextJet, a robotic drop‑on‑demand printing system that applies custom graphics directly onto vehicle bodies during the paint process. The system uses a 2,000‑nozzle printhead capable of two‑color, 720 dpi resolution and five‑micron paint thickness, replacing traditional film decals. Developed with paint maker Axalta and printhead supplier XAAR, EcoNextJet is now available for testing in Germany and the United States. The technology promises higher design freedom, reduced waste, and labor savings for automotive manufacturers.
Weir has secured a contract to deliver a 150 t/h crushing and screening plant for Bezant’s Hope and Gorob copper‑gold project in Namibia. The package includes two ENDURON jaw crushers (ET905, ET906), Trio feeders, a scalping screen, conveyors and a steel...
ASRock Industrial unveiled a new line of industrial motherboards that support AMD EPYC 4005/4004 and Ryzen 9000/8000/7000 series processors. The portfolio spans ATX (IMB‑A1700), Micro‑ATX (IMB‑A1302) and Mini‑ITX (IMB‑A1002/ A1003) platforms, each featuring DDR5 memory, PCIe Gen5 expansion, and multi‑display...
3D‑knitting, driven by Wholegarment machines, creates fully seamless garments from a digital model, using up to 99% of yarn and eliminating waste. Originating from Shima Seiki’s 1995 invention, the technology offers superior durability, comfort, and on‑demand customization while reducing labor...
Researchers have demonstrated laser powder‑bed fused nickel‑titanium (NiTi) triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) sheet lattices that deliver high specific stiffness and energy absorption while retaining superelastic behavior. By pushing wall thicknesses to the limits of LPBF resolution, the continuous‑sheet architecture...
The United States faces renewed munitions shortfalls after intensive use in Iran, Ukraine and other theaters, prompting officials to stress that stockpile depth alone will not ensure resilience. Recent Pentagon initiatives, including the 2025 Munitions Acceleration Council and $25 billion FY‑2026...
The United Kingdom and Australia are assessing how their steel sectors can jointly support the AUKUS submarine programme, following the first UK‑Australia Defence Industry Dialogue since 2018. Defence Minister Luke Pollard highlighted that British firms, notably Sheffield Forgemasters, are already...
Aerowash has been awarded a multi‑year leasing contract by International Airlines Group to provide aircraft‑washing robots for British Airways at London Heathrow. The deal follows a competitive tender and will see several automated washers deployed across BA’s Heathrow operations. CEO...
The UK government will waive import duties on 33 wind‑farm components from 1 April, using an “authorised use” customs measure that eliminates tariffs on items such as cables, blades and rotors. Officials say the relief will save manufacturers millions of pounds...
MP weighs Northlake, Texas, for a second magnet plant as it builds a 10X facility targeting 10,000 t/yr by 2028. https://www.metalnomist.com/2026/03/mp-materials-second-magnet-plant-could.html
German equipment maker Volkmann GmbH has partnered with HP Additive Manufacturing Solutions to launch the vPort powder handling system for HP’s Metal Jet S100 binder‑jet printers. The semi‑automated solution combines Volkmann’s PowTReX technology with a glove‑box interface, offering sieving, recovery...
London‑based Aibuild has released Aibuild OS, an AI‑driven platform that automates the entire engineering workflow from design to production. The system introduces autonomous "Digital Engineers" that handle data conversion, text‑to‑3D modeling, and toolpath generation without manual hand‑offs. Currently in Public...
Foodpro 2026 will partner with the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology (AIFST) for a dual‑track event in Melbourne from 26‑29 July 2026. The four‑day expo will host more than 400 exhibitors alongside the AIFST26 conference, which runs 27‑28...
Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc said ten of the carrier’s vessels are trapped in the Persian Gulf after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz. The ships have been grouped offshore for safety, with one under a U.S. Military Sealift Command contract....
Nigeria has unveiled the National Industrial Policy 2025‑2035 to revive manufacturing and capture its youthful labour force. The plan targets a rise in manufacturing’s share of GDP to 15% by 2030 and 25% by 2035, backed by up to 5%...
Australian manufacturers ended 2025 with solid performance, posting 5.1% annualised sales growth and maintaining a 38.47% profit margin. Companies reduced average stock on hand to A$233,763 while purchase order values rose 22%, indicating a shift toward just‑in‑time replenishment. Lead times...
The Australian Government announced a $66 million Cooperative Research Centres Projects (CRC‑P) grant round, funding 27 projects across manufacturing, artificial intelligence and other sectors. WV Technologies secured a $2.2 million grant for its Aboriginal‑led Global Cyber Innovation project, leveraging CSIRO AI to...
As a member of the UAE’s Financial Advisory Council (2008–2014), I made many friends. Here's what an old friend just texted me from Dubai: "Our paper recycling plant is still running because 95% of the raw material is collected locally. But...
#Technology #Thread #Semiconductor #Manufacturing #Lithography The Semiconductor Lithography Equipment Landscape: 1/ - Every Semiconductor Breakthrough Starts With Lithography. -- Smaller Transistors -- Higher Density -- Better Performance - All Depend On How Precisely Patterns Can Be Transferred Onto Silicon.
The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 Economic Census shows chemical manufacturing expanded while the broader manufacturing sector contracted. Establishments in the chemical subsector rose 10.2% to 14,961 and shipment values jumped 22.4% to $901 billion between 2017 and 2022. Growth was anchored...
Lunar Vegetable Factory Powered Entirely by #Robot Workers by @Fabriziobustama #AgriTech #Robotics #Innovation #Technology #TechForGood https://t.co/XF1FATDxtI
Robotics is entering a new era as artificial intelligence, especially large neural networks, merges with physical machines to create embodied AI capable of handling novelty. Traditional robots excel at repetitive, well‑defined tasks, but recent breakthroughs allow them to perceive, decide,...
The United States has opened a Section 301 investigation into alleged manufacturing overcapacity across 16 trading partners, including China, the EU, Japan, and Mexico. The probe gives the administration authority to impose new tariffs if state‑backed excess production is deemed...
eFactor3 announced a partnership with Broadview Group International to bring BGI’s Rotary Impact Separator (RIS) technology to North America. A commercial‑scale RIS unit will be installed at eFactor3’s test center, allowing customers to evaluate the dry, mechanical separation process on...
IDS Imaging Development Systems and Prophesee have signed a Letter of Intent at Embedded World to deepen their partnership and create next‑generation industrial vision systems that fuse conventional imaging with Prophesee’s Metavision® event‑based technology. The expanded collaboration builds on the...
Ukrainian drone and defense firms are rapidly localizing component production, now achieving 80‑90% domestic content for first‑level parts and aiming for 100% on‑shoring of critical systems. Companies such as The Fourth Law and Unwave are building a semiconductor fab to...
Xanadu Quantum Technologies has entered negotiations with the Canadian and Ontario governments for up to CAD 390 million to fund Project OPTIMISM, a plan to build domestic photonic and semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure. The initiative targets heterogeneous integration, PIC packaging, wafer‑level testing and quantum...
Manufacturers relying on legacy ERP platforms such as QAD Standard or SAP R/3 face costly, manual procure‑to‑pay (P2P) processes that waste millions annually. By deploying ETL pipelines to extract, validate, and load supplier, PO, receipt, invoice, and payment data, firms can...
SK keyfoundry has completed a silicon‑carbide (SiC) planar MOSFET process platform covering 450‑2300 V, achieving over 90 % yield and high reliability. The firm demonstrated the technology with a 1200 V MOSFET order from a new SiC design customer, targeting industrial equipment thermal‑efficiency...
The less‑than‑truckload (LTL) market is showing a clear rebound in Q1 2026, highlighted by ArcBest’s tonnage per day rising 9.9% YoY in January and a 6% quarterly increase. ArcBest’s operating ratio is projected to improve by 100‑200 basis points, reflecting better...
Novelis Inc. earned the 2026 Münchner Management Kolloquium Award of Excellence for an aluminum sheet produced entirely from end‑of‑life vehicle scrap, targeting exterior car‑body applications. The award highlights the technical feasibility of car‑to‑car recycling and the company’s push toward a...
Filtronic has moved into a 44,000 sq ft facility in Sedgefield, expanding its industrial capacity six‑fold. The new space enables the tier‑two defence supplier to meet growing demand from the AUKUS partnership, particularly for electronic‑warfare and radar RF components. Filtronic already supplies...
Torc Robotics has joined Virginia Tech Transportation Institute’s Dock to Door Coalition under a one‑year Go Virginia Region 2 grant to shape training for autonomous Class 8 truck technicians and inspectors. The initiative will map workforce needs, identify curriculum gaps, and develop...
Spanish textile manufacturer Nextil Group has entered a framework partnership with El Salvador’s clothing producer Varsity to scale sustainable textile production across Central America. The collaboration falls under Nextil’s NextGreen platform, which emphasizes circular manufacturing processes. By targeting the U.S. market,...
HyperLight, UMC and its subsidiary Wavetek have formed a strategic partnership to launch high‑volume foundry production of the TFLN Chiplet™ Platform on both 6‑inch and 8‑inch wafers. The collaboration leverages UMC’s extensive wafer capacity to move thin‑film lithium niobate photonics...
The Iran conflict and the Strait of Hormuz could have major supply chain implications. Lisa Anderson explains why this global shipping chokepoint matters—and what manufacturers should be thinking about now. Watch the Supply Chain Byte. #SupplyChain #Geopolitics #Manufacturing https://t.co/hLUT5Rpp0T
ASGCO introduced a new Belt Lifter model designed for 48‑72‑inch (1,200‑1,800 mm) conveyor belts. The unit accommodates stringer widths from 56.5 to 86.5 inches, weighs 47.2 kg, and offers a closed height of 216 mm with a maximum lift of 482 mm. Built with rugged...
A European consortium has launched the three‑year ENFORCERS initiative to secure software supply chains, coordinate incident response, and enhance lifecycle resilience for industrial automation. Backed by EU funding, the project brings together manufacturers, cybersecurity vendors, and research institutes to build...
The GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index shows global manufacturing activity rose in February, driven by a surge in Asian factories that reached the busiest level since October 2022. North America’s index slipped into negative territory, indicating under‑utilized supplier capacity,...
Diesel prices for U.S. truckers rose a record 96 cents a gallon this past week, a sign of the financial strains hitting supply chains following the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran. https://t.co/C9K90LaXGX
The Pentagon is set to purchase 30,000 one‑way attack drones this month and aims for 300,000 by 2027, while simultaneously banning Chinese components to build a domestic supply chain. Firestorm has introduced a containerized, climate‑controlled 3D‑printing lab that can produce...
Biomanufacturing is being positioned as a catalyst for domestic demand of row crops, according to Beth Conerty of the iFAB tech hub. By converting corn dextrose and soy‑based glycerol into value‑added chemicals, fuels, and ingredients, the sector creates new revenue...
Mind Robotics, a Rivian spin‑out, closed a $500 million Series A round co‑led by Accel and Andreessen Horowitz, lifting its valuation to roughly $2 billion. The funding follows a $115 million seed round, bringing total capital raised to $615 million since its November 2025 launch. The...
Nexperia China says it has begun producing its own chips This was clear from the beginning of this crisis... https://t.co/Sf9e2kXIYp
ICON has announced the commercial launch of Titan, its new 3D concrete printer built to construct two‑storey residential structures. The system uses ICON’s low‑carbon CarbonX material and fits inside a standard shipping container for easy site deployment. Customers can place...
Daher announced the launch of Factory II to scale up its up‑cycling of thermoplastic composite (TPC) materials. The new line will convert 100 % of pure carbon polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) scrap into semi‑finished pellets containing 56 % carbon fiber, achieving a capacity of...
Southern Spars has installed a five‑axis CNC machining center at its Auckland plant, complemented by a custom mast feeding system that can handle components up to 50 meters long. The new equipment cuts machining cycles from weeks to days, enabling faster...
Bharat Forge Limited inaugurated a state‑of‑the‑art landing‑gear machining facility in Pune, developed jointly with Liebherr‑Aerospace. The plant is among the first in India and few worldwide to offer OEM‑approved machining for landing‑gear components, expanding the company’s aerospace portfolio that already...
Maersk has begun sourcing marine fuel from the United States and Europe to supply its Asian fleet, after recent disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz left key Middle‑East and Asian bunkering hubs unable to meet demand. Chief commercial officer Karsten...
Oshkosh Defense has signed a public‑private agreement with the U.S. Marine Corps’ Marine Depot Maintenance Command to enable advanced, digital manufacturing of vehicle parts. The deal creates a digital manufacturing exchange (DMX) where technical data is transmitted and additively manufactured...
