SCADA Data Showing Wrong Values While PLC Is Correct
Industrial engineers often encounter a puzzling discrepancy where PLCs display correct process values while SCADA screens show inaccurate numbers. The root causes typically lie in scaling mismatches, data‑type inconsistencies, byte/word order errors, address offset mistakes, or stale data due to communication glitches. These issues arise during commissioning, tag configuration, or network interruptions, leading operators to chase false alarms or miss real process changes. Understanding and correcting the data handling chain restores reliable visualization and prevents unnecessary downtime.
MoistureMax Unveils Climate Adaptive Filament System
MoistureMax launched the ONE Climate Adaptive Filament, a PLA‑based material that embeds microscopic hygroscopic capsules to buffer moisture during storage. The system operates between 20%‑55% relative humidity, releasing water to keep the filament pliable and reduce edge fractures. Pricing is...
AWG to Deploy Symbotic Automation in Louisiana Support Center
Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) has signed a strategic partnership with robotics firm Symbotic to install an AI‑enabled, high‑density automation system at its Gulf Coast Division Support Center in Pearl River, Louisiana. The 114,000‑square‑foot facility, which currently processes over 22 million dry‑grocery...
Caught Between Airbus and Airlines, Pratt Prioritizes the Grounded Fleet
Pratt & Whitney is wrestling with a powder‑metal contamination problem that has grounded more than 2,000 Airbus A320neo family aircraft. The issue affects the PW1100G engine, which powers roughly 46% of the 4,400 Neo deliveries since 2016. While Airbus pushes for...
Podcast–Why AI?
The Manufacturing Connection released podcast episode 275, titled “Why AI in Manufacturing? Why not?” The host explores how emerging AI tools can augment knowledge work and manufacturing, while stressing the need for hands‑on experimentation to discover effective use cases. The discussion...
ClassNK Approves Corrosion-Resistant Cable for Offshore Wind Use
ClassNK has granted both a Manufacturing Procedure Approval and a Type Approval for KOBELCO Wire Company's new semi‑parallel wire cable (SPWC), marking the society’s first endorsement of this corrosion‑resistant product. The cable features 7 mm galvanized steel wires coated in polyethylene,...
Vertiv Expands Ohio Manufacturing to Support AI Data Center Cooling Demand
Vertiv announced a roughly $50 million investment to expand its Ironton and Westerville, Ohio facilities, boosting manufacturing capacity for advanced liquid‑cooling and chilled‑water systems. The Ironton plant’s output is slated to increase about 45 % by Q2 2027, enabling faster response to AI‑driven,...
Bambu Lab Discontinues Flagship X1 Series
Bambu Lab announced the retirement of its flagship X1 series, ending production effective immediately. The company will maintain feature updates through June 2027, security patches until June 2029, and spare‑part support until April 2031. Existing owners can still find X1, X1C, or X1E...
Argonne Advances AI-Enabled Rare Earth Separation with Aclara Partnership
Argonne National Laboratory and Aclara Resources have signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement to create an AI‑enabled digital twin for heavy rare earth separation. The partnership will feed data from Aclara’s pilot plant into Argonne’s advanced computing platform, aiming...
Why Multiple Sources of Truth in Manufacturing Means Zero Accountability
Manufacturers often run several systems—MIS, accounting, paper tickets—each claiming to be the definitive source of truth. The lack of a designated master data source forces employees to reconcile conflicting information, leading to costly invoice errors, uncollected revenue, and wasted labor...
From Green Dreams to War Metals: A Critical Minerals Wake-Up Call for Europe
A new Hallgarten note warns that Europe’s critical‑minerals strategy is misaligned, focusing on lithium and ESG while overlooking the war‑driven metals tungsten, antimony, tin, rare earths and helium. The report highlights substantial domestic resources in Spain, Portugal, Scandinavia, Cornwall and...
Vecna Robotics Integrates CaseFlow Voice with Robot-Assisted Picking
Vecna Robotics announced CaseFlow Voice, embedding Lucas Systems’ Jennifer voice platform into its CaseFlow case‑picking automation. The hands‑free solution promises up to a 2× boost in throughput and cuts training time by as much as 50%. Designed for high‑mix, high‑volume...
Dose by Design: Pharmaceutical 3D Printing and the Future of Pediatric Compounding
The article charts the transition of pharmaceutical 3D printing from research pilots to routine pharmacy practice, focusing on pediatric compounding. Companies such as FabRx and CurifyLabs have built platforms that let pharmacists print chewable tablets, gels, and mini‑tablets tailored to...
Industrial Papermaking Process Yields a Sorbent that Pulls Drinking Water Even From Dry Air
Researchers have leveraged conventional papermaking lines to produce a hygroscopic sheet infused with lithium chloride and polypyrrole‑chloride, creating a sorbent that captures water from air and releases it using solar heat. The material powers a lightweight, continuously rotating crawler that...
Thin-Film DLP Achieves Sealed Voids, Multi-Material Parts
Researchers at CUHK, MIT and Manchester introduced a vat‑free thin‑film DLP printer that creates a uniform resin film on a PET release sheet, enabling the production of sealed internal cavities and clean multi‑material parts. The approach reduces entrapped resin to...
Cost of Cultured Meat: Workshop, Modeling, Resources, Feedback
The Unjournal is hosting an online workshop in late April/early May 2026 to refine cost projections for cultivated meat, especially cultured chicken, using an interactive Monte Carlo model. Participants—including bioprocess engineers, cell biologists, animal‑welfare funders, and industry practitioners—will shape belief‑elicitation surveys...
What Happens When Desktop 3D Printer Companies Get Much Larger?
Desktop 3D printer firms are entering a rapid scaling phase, especially in Asia, where user bases have reached a "hockey stick" growth point. As platforms like Bambu Lab's MakerWorld become commercially significant, right‑sholders are suing over copyrighted models, prompting formal...
GM Increasing Heavy Truck Production Despite Rising Fuel Prices
General Motors is expanding heavy‑duty truck production at its Flint, Michigan plant, moving from three shifts to up to six days a week to meet soaring demand for Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra HD models. The plant already builds about...
InvestorTalk Alert: Brent Willis From Voyageur Pharmaceuticals Ltd. To Host on Tuesday, March 31, 2026
InvestorNews announced an InvestorTalk on March 31, 2026 at 9 AM EST featuring Brent Willis, President and CEO of Voyageur Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (TSXV:VM). Voyageur is advancing a vertically integrated strategy to produce barium and iodine contrast agents, highlighted by a 132,000‑tonne, 98.8% pure barium...
Fluke Reliability Tackles Industry’s Silent Crises
Fluke Reliability highlighted the scale of unplanned downtime at its Xcelerate 26 conference, citing a Censuswide survey where 55% of U.S. manufacturers experienced outages costing up to $207 million weekly. The study revealed an average loss of $400 k per hour and as...
Tesla Will Soon Unleash Scaled Robotaxi
Tesla announced that it will begin production of its Cybercab robotaxi within weeks, expanding supervised robotaxi deployments and hiring additional drivers and testers. The company aims to scale the service to serve the 100 million U.S. commuters who drive alone and...
Springfield Facility Expansion Marks Key Growth Milestone for Alltrista
Alltrista Plastics, a Jadex Inc. subsidiary, announced a 25,000‑square‑foot expansion of its Springfield, Missouri plant, slated for completion in September 2026. The multimillion‑dollar project will add new jobs and increase output for its medical and consumer packaging lines. The upgraded...
Boeing 777-9: Phase 4A Makes 2027 Look Real
Boeing’s 777‑9 program, delayed six years and burdened with roughly $15 billion in charges, finally cleared a critical Phase 4A milestone on March 17, making a 2027 entry into service appear realistic. More than two dozen unfinished airframes sit at Paine Field, underscoring...
Design of the Week: AI Chair
Ross Lovegrove partnered with Google DeepMind to create an AI‑human designed metal chair using 3D printing. The process began with feeding the AI a library of Lovegrove’s sketch concepts, fine‑tuning a text‑to‑image model to learn his aesthetic language. Lovegrove then...
EVs Were Meant to Bypass Oil. Now They’re Stuck at the Strait of Hormuz
Electric vehicles rely heavily on Gulf‑sourced aluminum, but the U.S.–Iran conflict has blocked the Strait of Hormuz, forcing major smelters in Bahrain and Qatar to cut or halt output. Toyota and Nissan have already trimmed production by roughly 40,000 units,...
Boeing’s Starliner History Shows Safety, Quality Concerns Exist Systemically Across the Company
NASA’s February 19 investigative report blames both Boeing and NASA for the 2024 Starliner failure that left its crew stranded on the International Space Station for nine months before a SpaceX capsule returned them. The 311‑page document details software glitches,...
Foundryecosystem Report: Capacity Shortages, Fabs, ASE, ATE
The latest Foundryecosystem Report highlights a severe shortage of leading‑edge foundry capacity for AI chips, as AMD, Nvidia and others scramble for wafers. Rising costs are also pressuring mature‑node display driver IC (DDIC) suppliers, prompting potential price hikes. Meanwhile, major...
Why Vertical Aerospace (EVTL) Is Expanding Its Valo Supplier Network Ahead of Certification
Vertical Aerospace announced on March 27 that Italy‑based Isoclima S.p.A. will become a strategic supplier for the transparency suite on its Valo eVTOL, providing canopies and glazing systems. The partnership is designed to support the aircraft through certification, production ramp‑up,...
Strathclyde Partners with Japan Marine United on Offshore Renewables
The University of Strathclyde and Japan Marine United (JMU) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to accelerate the development of floating offshore wind turbines. The partnership will combine Strathclyde’s leading research in wind energy with JMU’s shipbuilding and floating‑platform expertise...
NATSEC Roundtable No. 10: The Forges Went Dark
The recent NATSEC roundtable highlighted how U.S. defense acquisition has moved from a broad commercial industrial base to a narrow set of specialist contractors, eroding innovation. Authors of *Mobilize* argue that reviving dual‑use manufacturers—companies that serve both consumer and military...
Imabari Shipbuilding Delivers 40,000-DWT Bulk Carrier KITA
Imabari Shipbuilding delivered the 40,000‑DWT bulk carrier KITA on March 24, completing construction at its head‑office yard. The vessel combines a double‑hull, box‑shaped hold with four deck cranes and wide hatch openings, enabling rapid handling of grain, coal, ore and steel...
Beretta and Sturm Ruger’s Shotgun Wedding and 3D Printing
Beretta Holding announced a near‑9% equity stake in Sturm, Ruger & Co., sparking a board‑approved poison‑pill defense to deter hostile moves. While Beretta says it does not seek control, it plans to discuss operational and strategic collaborations with Ruger’s management....
PLCnext ROS Bridge: Enabling Hardware Interoperability Between Industrial PLCs and ROS
The PLCnext ROS Bridge introduces a Docker‑based ROS node that directly links the PLCnext Global Data Space with ROS topics and services, enabling bidirectional data exchange between industrial PLCs and robotic software. It leverages an Interface Description File to auto‑generate...
SEMI Europe Applauds European Commission’s Implementation Dialogue on Chips Act 2.0
SEMI Europe participated in the European Commission’s Implementation Dialogue on the Chips Act, supporting the upcoming revision known as Chips Act 2.0. The association highlighted its Chips Act Report, which contains 30 recommendations covering regulatory simplification, faster permitting, targeted investment,...
Heckler & Koch Expands UK Manufacturing Footprint
Heckler & Koch UK has purchased Globe Engineering, a Braintree‑based precision CNC machining firm, to bring weapon‑system component production in‑house. The deal, finalized on 23 March, expands H&K's role from upgrades and sustainment to full‑scale manufacturing in the UK. Globe Engineering...
Safety Concerns Grow Over Consumer Resin 3D Printing, Raising Risk of Future Liability
Consumer resin 3D printers expose users to toxic photopolymer chemicals. A new Ameralabs 23‑point guide highlights widespread unsafe practices, such as handling resin without gloves or respirators. Experts warn that sensitization can develop silently, leading to irreversible health issues and...
Hyperion Patent Splits Extrusion From Motion System
Australian firm Hyperion Systems has filed a patent for a large‑format extrusion architecture that decouples the hot end from the moving print head. The design places a centralized extruder that melts and pressurizes material, delivering it through heated conduits to...
Homerun’s R&D Initiatives with Dr. Subash Risbud – Fused Silica Glass, Silicon Carbide, and More…
At the inaugural International Online Conference on Optics (IOCO 2026), materials scientist Dr. Subhash Risbud showcased a rapid fused‑silica glass production method that uses high‑purity quartz sand sourced from Homerun Resources. The presentation highlighted how precise control of impurities, grain...
Damen Shipyards Posts Revenue and Profit Growth in 2025
Damen Shipyards Group closed 2025 with revenue climbing to $3.58 billion, up from $3.32 billion, and EBITDA rising roughly 10% to $204 million. Net profit reached $67 million, a modest increase from $64 million the prior year, while the order book now tops $11 billion, underpinning...
Nordic Cold Chain Solutions Launches Lab to Meet GLP-1 Demand
Nordic Cold Chain Solutions (NCCS) has opened a GLP‑1 & Small‑Format Packaging Innovation Lab to help pharmaceutical manufacturers, specialty pharmacies and e‑commerce players manage temperature‑sensitive drugs. The lab provides end‑to‑end services from early‑stage design and pilot testing to high‑volume production,...
Predictive Low Power DED Nails 316L Repeatability
Researchers at Tecnológico de Monterrey and Mexico’s MADIT lab demonstrated a data‑driven, low‑power Directed Energy Deposition (DED) process for 316L stainless steel that consistently achieves sub‑5 % porosity and forged‑level microhardness. By fixing specific energy (E = 21–27) and mass‑per‑unit‑length (MUL = 0.019–0.022 g/mm), they identified...
Version 3 of VDA 5050 Is a Toolkit for Automation Projects
VDMA Materials Handling has launched VDA 5050 version 3.0, an open communication interface that lets a single controller manage mixed fleets of mobile robots. The update adds a zone‑based navigation model, path‑sharing capabilities, localized error reporting and a standardized power‑saving...
Javelin Production Ramp Drives Supply Chain Expansion
Lockheed Martin and Raytheon are accelerating Javelin missile production by expanding a network of nearly 100 part‑level suppliers and 25 major subcontractors. Over the past year each supplier invested eight to ten months in new tooling, test equipment and additional...
Data-Driven AI Framework Speeds Discovery of Metals Built for Extreme Conditions
Researchers from Virginia Tech and Johns Hopkins have created a new multiple principal element alloy (MPEA) with superior mechanical properties using a data‑driven framework that combines explainable AI, evolutionary algorithms, and supercomputing. The approach leverages SHAP analysis to reveal why...
Prusa Firmware Update Speeds MMU3 Filament Swaps
Prusa Research released firmware version 3.0.4 for the Original MMU3, trimming the average filament‑swap cycle from 52 seconds to roughly 42 seconds – a 20% speed gain. The update can shave up to nine seconds off each swap, translating into hours...
TwinThread Launches Perfect Batch
TwinThread unveiled Perfect Batch, an AI‑driven analytics suite for batch‑process manufacturers. The platform automatically creates digital twins from historical data, learns optimal control limits, and recommends actions to replicate "golden" batches within hours. Integrated with the Thread Builder workflow engine,...
THE ROBOT REVOLUTION IS HERE: Why the Robotics and A.I. Booms and Ensuing Historic Metals Demand Will Trigger the Greatest...
Humanoid robot maker Unipath is already deploying kitchen‑grade robots in Chinese homes, marking the first large‑scale consumer rollout of AI‑driven robotics. The article warns that within the next two to three years billions of such machines will be built, creating...
Formlabs’ Form Now In-House 3D Printing Service
Formlabs has launched Form Now, an in‑house 3D printing service that handles model upload, material selection and shipping for customers. The service promises professional‑grade, low‑cost resin parts delivered in three to five days, with turnaround as fast as three days...
Tesla Optimus Delayed as China Holds the Magnets
Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot is encountering production delays after China reclassified its actuator components as dual‑use technology, requiring export licenses and giving priority to domestic suppliers. The reclassification jeopardizes Tesla's access to rare‑earth magnets, which China supplies 90% of, and...
AI Keynote Speaker for Manufacturing: Driving Smart Factories and Industry 4.0 Transformation
Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping manufacturing, turning legacy factories into smart, data‑driven operations. Ian Khan’s keynote highlights how predictive maintenance can slash downtime by up to 50%, while AI‑powered vision systems boost product quality and consistency. The talk also covers...