Bath Iron Works Starts Fabrication of New Flight III Arleigh Burke Destroyer
General Dynamics Bath Iron Works began fabricating the future USS J. William Middendorf (DDG‑138), the latest Flight III Arleigh Burke‑class destroyer for the U.S. Navy. The ceremonial steel‑cutting took place on May 19 at the shipyard’s Structural Fabrication Facility, with Frances Middendorf, daughter of the namesake, activating the cutter. DDG‑138 will be the 47th Arleigh Burke destroyer built by Bath and the sixth Flight III variant, incorporating the AN/SPY‑6 radar and upgraded combat systems. Bath Iron Works President Charles F. Krugh highlighted the project’s reliance on generations of shipbuilding expertise.
Rocket Lab’s 3D Printed Engine Hits 1,000 Units
Rocket Lab announced that its Long Beach plant has produced the 1,000th Rutherford engine, the world’s first 3D‑printed, battery‑powered rocket engine. The milestone follows a decade of scaling from one unit per month to a target of roughly 200 engines annually....
K3D Adds Two MetalFab Systems as Metal AM Capacity Expands
K3D, a Dutch metal 3‑D printing service, added two Additive Industries MetalFab systems, raising its fleet to six machines across two sites and delivering nine additive‑manufacturing cores. The expanded capacity handles stainless steel 316L, aluminium AlSi10Mg and titanium Ti6Al4V, combining...
Carfulan Group Reports Nearly £1 Million In Orders At MACH
Carfulan Group secured nearly £1 million (≈$1.28 million) in new orders at the MACH exhibition, marking its strongest showing to date. The five‑day event generated 1,810 enquiries and featured UK firsts and product debuts across metrology, tooling, inspection and additive manufacturing. Managing...
Moose-Proof and Megacasting: Ars Drives the New Volvo EX60
Volvo introduced the all‑electric EX60 in January, the first model built on its new SPA3 platform and offering up to 400 miles of range. The vehicle uses megacasting to replace more than 100 rear‑floor components with a single aluminum‑alloy piece, and...
90% of Manufacturers Consider Digital Transformation as Baseline Requirement – Global Survey
Rockwell Automation’s 11th State of Smart Manufacturing survey of 1,500 manufacturers across 17 countries shows that 90% now treat digital transformation as a baseline requirement. Executives have moved from debating technology to scaling smart capabilities, with nearly 60% using them...
Quantum Diamond Microscopy – Solving the Inspection Gap in Advanced Packaging
Quantum diamond microscopy (QDM) is now being deployed in semiconductor failure‑analysis labs across the US, Europe and Asia, offering the first non‑destructive, direct measurement of electrical current inside fully assembled advanced packages. By imaging magnetic fields generated by current, QDM...
Dunia Innovations Unveils €280M Berlin GigaLab to Industrialise AI-Driven Materials Discovery
Dunia Innovations announced Berlin GigaLab, a 6,000 m², $305 million facility to industrialise AI‑driven materials discovery. The closed‑loop platform will combine autonomous experimentation, AI design, simulation and high‑throughput characterization for sectors such as energy storage, catalysis and semiconductors. Core technology comes from...
How Laser Welding Machines Improve Metal Fabrication Shops
Laser welding machines are reshaping metal‑fabrication shops by delivering faster, cleaner welds with far less heat distortion. The technology’s pinpoint precision enables thin‑sheet and complex components to be joined with minimal waste, while production speeds can double compared with conventional...
ICON 2026 - Knauf's 80% Touchless Order Management Goal - and the Blue Yonder Foundation Being Built to Reach It
Knauf, the €15 billion (≈$16.2 billion) building‑materials giant, announced at Blue Yonder’s ICON 2026 that it aims to achieve 80 % touchless order management within the next year. The initiative relies on Blue Yonder’s cognitive suite—including demand, supply and Integrated Business Planning—and a proof‑of‑concept...
Titomic Lands Lufthansa Technik Manufacturing Contract for Cold Spray Capability
Advanced manufacturing firm Titomic has secured a purchase order from Lufthansa Technik AG worth over AUD 1.2 million (≈ US$790,000). The deal adds low‑pressure Titomic Kinetic Fusion (TKF) cold‑spray systems to Lufthansa’s Hamburg facility, expanding a five‑year partnership. Delivery is slated for Q4 2026,...
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GROWTH GAMBLE: Africa Must Turn Trust and Critical Minerals Into Factories, Jobs and Lasting Growth
Standard Bank chief economist Goolam Ballim warned that a geopolitical rupture is reshaping global supply chains, putting commercial trust at the forefront. He argues Africa’s mix of demographics, critical‑mineral endowments and rising Middle‑East capital could drive 4‑5% annual growth, with East...
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Igus will showcase its RBTX Machine Planner configurator and the Fairino FR20 palletizing cobot at Automate 2026 in Chicago, June 22‑25, Booth 1410. The RBTX Planner lets users design complete automation workstations quickly, delivering instant pricing, CAD data and CE documentation without requiring...
Colbert County, Alabama Selected for 600,000 SQFT Power Transformer Plant
Virginia Transformer announced a 600,000‑square‑foot power transformer plant at Shoals Research Airpark in Colbert County, Alabama. The 90‑acre facility will employ about 1,100 workers and begin production in January 2028, manufacturing transformers ranging from 2 MVA to 500 MVA. It features a dedicated...
Robots Could Turn E-Waste Into a Source of Legacy Chips
Electronic waste is set to hit 82 million tonnes annually by 2030, prompting stricter regulations worldwide. San Francisco startup Tuurny has built a robotic system, Nantul, that can extract up to 300 intact RAM chips per hour from circuit boards before shredding....
Flexible AI Inspection: How Learning Systems Are Changing Visual Quality Control
Manufacturers are turning to AI‑driven visual inspection to handle growing product variety and fluctuating shop‑floor conditions. Unlike rule‑based systems, these learning models absorb natural variation in materials, lighting and positioning, flagging only true defects. Real‑time highlighting and edge‑deployed cameras give...
Comau and Omron Robotics to Collaborate
Comau and Omron Robotics have signed a strategic collaboration to accelerate advanced industrial automation adoption worldwide. The partnership targets high‑growth sectors such as electronics, semiconductors, medical manufacturing, and light‑industrial intralogistics. By merging Comau’s robotics hardware with Omron’s control and software...
JST Enhances Applications Lab
JST has upgraded its Applications Lab with the Ospray Single Wafer Wet Processing System, an enhanced Front Linear Automated (FLA) Bench featuring an STG Apex dryer, and a suite of new metrology tools. The new equipment supports wafer sizes up...
SMIC Founder and AMEC CEO Urge Chinese Fabs to Test Domestic Chipmaking Tools on Active Production Lines — Equipment Makers...
SMIC founder Richard Chang and AMEC CEO Gerald Yin used a CCTV interview to urge Chinese fabs to place home‑grown equipment on active production lines for real‑world testing. Chinese equipment makers posted record revenues in 2025—AMEC $1.74 bn, Naura $3.9 bn, Piotech...
Cave Holdings Expands Fleet of ROBOZE 3D Printers with Installation of ARGO 1000 HYPERMELT Machine
Cave Holdings USA is installing an ARGO 1000 HYPERMELT additive‑manufacturing system, expanding its fleet that already includes an upgraded ARGO 500 HYPERSPEED unit and six ARGO 500 printers. The new machine enhances the company’s capacity for high‑performance, large‑format polymer production. Cave’s leadership says the move...
Exclusive: Tesla (TSLA) Is Building Its Giant Solar Panel Factory in Houston
Tesla confirmed a new solar panel factory in Brookshire, Texas, adjacent to its $200 million Megapack Megafactory. The site will host a fully vertically integrated production line—from polysilicon ingot growth to finished panels—backed by more than $250 million in construction spend and...
U.S. Solar Faces Massive Gap Between Stated Capacity and Real Factory Output
The U.S. solar sector touts $43.1 bn of announced manufacturing investments since 2022, but only $14.5 bn has reached operational status. Nameplate module capacity has surged to over 70 GW, yet upstream components such as polysilicon, wafers and cells lag far behind, creating...
‘Humanoid Robots Show Clearer ROI, but Commercial Success Depends on Effective Output’
Humanoid robots are transitioning from prototype to early commercial use, driven primarily by automotive manufacturing and logistics. IDTechEx forecasts a $25 billion market by the early 2030s and 1.8 million units shipped annually by 2036. Hardware prices are expected to plunge from...
NASA, Lockheed Martin Say Artemis III Advancing, Facing Milestones This Year
NASA and its contractors are accelerating Artemis III preparations, targeting component stacking within the next two months. The Space Launch System’s core stage and solid rocket boosters are already positioned at Kennedy Space Center, and Lockheed Martin plans to deliver the Orion...
Expiring Trade Agreement Cranks up Pressure on Automotive Supply Chains
The U.S.–China tariff pact known as the Busan Rapprochement, which has kept duties on critical minerals and Taiwanese semiconductors low, will lapse in November 2026. North‑American automakers, already grappling with pandemic fallout, chip shortages and the shift to electric powertrains, could...
Actemium Avanceon Introduces OT Readiness & Recovery Services to Help Manufacturers Improve Recovery Readiness and Operational Resilience
Actemium Avanceon, a VINCI Energies‑backed automation firm, unveiled OT Readiness & Recovery Services to help manufacturers shore up disaster‑recovery capabilities for control‑system environments. The offering bundles system documentation, backup validation, response‑process definition, ongoing support, and visibility into OT dependencies. It targets...
India Reinstates Polyester Yarn QCOs After Gujarat High Court Stay
India reinstated Quality Control Orders (QCOs) for polyester yarn imports on May 15 after the Gujarat High Court stayed the earlier deregulation. Customs officials in Mundra must now enforce Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) compliance for fully drawn yarn (FDY),...
Swiss WinGD Sells First Ethanol -Fuelled Marine Engines
Swiss marine engine maker WinGD announced the sale of its first two ethanol‑fuelled engines, destined for ore carriers built for China’s Shandong Shipping and chartered by Brazil’s Vale. The engines are adapted from WinGD’s methanol platform, exploiting the similar combustion...
Harbin Jixianglong Biotech Co., Ltd. - 723330 - 05/01/2026
The FDA issued a warning letter to Harbin Jixianglong Biotech after a November 2025 inspection revealed multiple CGMP violations involving its peptide API manufacturing. The firm repackaged and relabeled semaglutide batches from unapproved suppliers, misbranding the products and failing to...
Tesla Robot and Space Exploration Applications
Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot, slated for mass production in its Fremont and Texas factories, is primarily built for repetitive industrial work. While its bipedal form shares traits with space‑focused robots, significant redesign would be needed to survive vacuum, radiation, dust...
SSAB Boosting Protection Steels with New Quenching Line in Oxelösund
Swedish steelmaker SSAB announced a SEK 3.3 billion ($300 million) investment to build a new quenching‑and‑tempering line at its Oxelösund plant, slated for commissioning in 2030. The line will add roughly 100 000 tonnes of annual capacity, targeting its premium Hardox® 500 Tuf wear steel and...
AMA: Healthcare 2026: How to Overcome the Red Tape Sabotaging Medical Implant Innovation
At the AMA Healthcare 2026 event, Matthew Shomper of Not a Robot Engineering highlighted how 3D‑printed titanium orthopaedic implants still suffer from excessive stiffness, causing stress‑shielding and aseptic loosening. He traced the root cause to the FDA’s predicate‑device framework, which...
ORNL Combines 3D Printing and High-Pressure Processing to Reshape Large-Scale Metal Part Production
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have 3‑D printed the canisters used in powder metallurgical hot isostatic pressing (PM‑HIP), removing the need for welding, machining and forming. The printed canisters enable near‑final‑shape production of large metal parts, cutting waste and shrinking...
PepsiCo India to Invest Rs 5,700 Crore by 2030 on Capacity Expansion
PepsiCo announced up to ₹5,700 crore (≈ $687 million) of capital spending in India through 2030, focused on expanding its foods manufacturing capacity. The plan includes a new concentrates plant in Madhya Pradesh and snack‑production facilities in Assam and Tamil Nadu. In FY2025 the Indian...
Museveni Backs Dangote’s Proposed $17bn East Africa Oil Refinery
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni publicly backed Aliko Dangote’s plan for a $15‑$17 billion oil refinery in East Africa. The plant would process 650,000 barrels per day and serve Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, South Sudan, the DRC and other regional markets. Museveni...
China’s Ganfeng Secures Orders Amid Surge in Demand for Global Energy Storage, AI Boom
China’s Ganfeng Lithium says its production capacity is fully booked through the first half of 2027, driven by booming demand for energy‑storage systems (ESS) and a surge in AI data‑centre construction. Global ESS shipments jumped 350% to 550 GWh in 2023,...
AMI Attachments Opens Its Second Manufacturing Facility
AMI Attachments inaugurated its second manufacturing plant in Elmira, Ontario, adding 22,000 sq ft of space and boosting welding capacity by roughly 15%. The new site houses 10 manual weld bays, four robotic welding centers, and two service bays, supporting products such...
China Calls for Integration of AI, Advanced Manufacturing Amid Economic Headwinds
Chinese Premier Li Qiang urged deeper integration of artificial intelligence with advanced manufacturing to create new growth momentum amid slowing domestic demand and rising external pressures. During visits to Xiaomi’s electric‑vehicle plant and the Humanoid Robot Innovation Centre, he called...
Makelab CEO Christina Perla: “We’re Using AI to Build Makelab OS.”
Makelab CEO Christina Perla announced that the company is using artificial intelligence to build a proprietary Makelab OS, aiming to streamline design‑to‑manufacture workflows. Over the past year she has pruned non‑essential activities, stepping back from board roles and delegating her...
1,000th Locally Manufactured Tunnel Segment Completed in Major SA Infrastructure Project
The South Australian Government announced the completion of the 1,000th locally manufactured precast tunnel segment for the River Torrens to Darlington (T2D) project, a $15.4 billion (≈ $10.2 billion USD) investment. The Waterloo Corner facility will ultimately produce more than 55,000 segments, with...
Advait Energy, Norway’s TECO Sign MoU for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Manufacturing in India
Advait Energy Transitions Ltd signed a memorandum of understanding with Norway’s TECO Fuel Cell Technology, backed by AVL List, to launch local manufacturing of 400 kW hydrogen fuel‑cell modules and 100 kW stacks in India. The partnership will initially produce units for...
GelSight Mobile 4.4 Update Streamlines Inspection Workflow
GelSight announced the 4.4 update to its Mobile inspection platform, targeting friction points across calibration, capture, analysis, and reporting. The release adds offset output statistics, animated step‑by‑step calibration for the Modulus sensor, customizable PDF report templates, stacked routines in Operator...
From Measurement Silos to Smart Manufacturing Intelligence
Manufacturers are replacing fragmented metrology systems with cloud‑native data lakes that centralize measurement data from CMMs, scanners, vision and SPC tools. The unified repository stores raw and processed data at scale, enabling AI, digital twins and real‑time quality intelligence across...
Dürr Unveils Energy-Flexible Oven for Paint Shops
Dürr has launched the EcoSmartCure oven, a paint‑shop dryer that can operate on natural gas, electricity or hydrogen through its new Qflex technology. The system separates the heating module from the oven body, allowing fuel switches without structural changes. Two...
A Strategic Guide to Material Handling Fleet Management
Material handling equipment (MHE) fleets—forklifts, pallet jacks, AMRs—are moving from basic maintenance schedules to data‑driven operations. The modern approach hinges on three pillars: telemetry‑based utilization, advanced collision‑avoidance safety, and operator‑behavior monitoring. Mixed‑brand fleets create siloed telematics data, making it hard...
TFTU Slams Sorbent’s Paper Cuts as an ‘Act of Corporate Vandalism’
Sorbent Paper will shut a second paper machine at its Box Hill plant, eliminating about 60 skilled manufacturing jobs. The move, part of a multi‑year contraction since Asia Pulp & Paper acquired the site in 2018, prompted the Timber, Furnishing...