Laser Method Unlocks 3,000-Kelvin Thin-Film Synthesis for Quantum Materials
Caltech researchers have unveiled a laser‑based thermal evaporation (TLE) process that can produce thin films of ultra‑refractory materials at temperatures near 3,000 K. By focusing a 1‑kW fiber laser on a small region of a solid pellet, the method vaporizes material without melting the whole target, allowing deposition onto a heated substrate. The team demonstrated the technique with nickel, achieving electrical conductivity comparable to or better than films made by traditional sputtering or evaporation. The breakthrough promises to simplify manufacturing of superconducting components used in quantum computers.
Understanding Sichuan's Automotive Industry Cluster at a Glance | Gasgoo Global Automotive Industry Big Data
Gasgoo’s data shows Sichuan’s automotive industry is organized around a polarized core in Chengdu, radiating to Mianyang and Deyang. Chengdu hosts over 2,000 suppliers and major OEMs such as FAW‑Volkswagen, Geely and Dongfeng Peugeot‑Citroën, evolving into a dual‑core hub for...
Stella International Expects New Shoe Factories to Start Production in Back Half of 2026
Stella International Holdings announced that three new shoe factories in Indonesia, Bangladesh and Vietnam will begin production in the back half of 2026, adding roughly 20 million pairs of capacity. The Hong Kong‑based group reported first‑quarter revenue of $327.4 million, a 2.2% increase...
Iran War Is Benefiting some European Chemical Makers
European chemical giants such as BASF and Evonik are seeing a sharp profit surge as the Iran‑Israel conflict disrupts Middle‑East and Asian chemical shipments. Damage to facilities and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have forced European buyers to...
Take a Technical Deep Dive Into ISA-88 and ISA-95
The article provides a technical deep dive into ISA‑88 and ISA‑95, outlining how the functional specification (FS), software design specification (SDS) and technical specification (TS) map to user, developer and infrastructure perspectives. It explains that using ISA standards up‑front creates...
Echo Global Logistics Expands EchoChill Network with New Sacramento Cold Storage Facility
Echo Global Logistics has added a new refrigerated storage cooler in Sacramento, expanding its EchoChill less‑than‑truckload (LTL) network across the Pacific Northwest, Northern California and Upper Mountain states. The facility enables strategic freight consolidation, keeping shipments on a single trailer...
Chinese Chip Tool Makers Hit Record 2025 Revenues
Chinese domestic semiconductor equipment suppliers posted record revenues for the first three quarters of 2025, with Naura reporting roughly 27.1 billion yuan (about $3.8 billion), while AMEC and Piotech saw revenues rise more than five‑fold and 13‑fold respectively since 2020. The surge...
Genesem Wins 6 Billion-Won HBM Backend Equipment Order From SK Hynix
Genesem announced a 6 billion‑won ($4.4 million) contract with SK Hynix to supply high‑bandwidth memory (HBM) backend equipment, roughly 10.6% of its prior‑year revenue. The order, running through Sept. 15, is expected to center on vacuum mounters that protect ultra‑thin DRAM wafers. Payment terms...
ASML Targets More Than Doubling EUV Output Capacity by 2027
ASML announced plans to more than double its low‑numerical‑aperture (Low‑NA) EUV lithography output, targeting at least 80 systems by 2027 versus 44 shipped in 2023. The company says improvements in component supply, faster assembly, and higher wafer‑throughput (260 wafers per...
Forterro Moves to Acquire Klaes, Expanding Its Footprint in European Manufacturing Software
Forterro announced its intention to acquire German ERP specialist Klaes, expanding its portfolio in the European windows, doors and façades market. The deal builds on recent purchases of Orgadata and BM Group, creating a unified platform that merges Klaes’ configuration...
IEEE Entrepreneurship Connects Hardware Startups With Investors
IEEE Entrepreneurship has launched a series of Hard Tech Venture Summits in 2024 to connect hardware‑focused startups with investors, service providers, and mentors. The two‑day events, held in locations such as Menlo Park, Boston, and Toronto, combine pitch competitions, round‑table...
Suniva Announces 4.5-GW Solar Cell Facility in South Carolina
Suniva announced a $350 million investment to build a 4.5‑GW solar‑cell plant in Laurens, South Carolina, slated for operation in Q2 2027. The new facility will raise Suniva’s U.S. capacity to over 5.5 GW, making it the largest merchant solar‑cell manufacturer in the...
Hershey Leans on Cocoa Sourcing Resilience to Blunt Price Shocks
Hershey is bolstering its cocoa supply chain by diversifying origins beyond the Ivory Coast and Ghana to include Ecuador and Brazil, while using sophisticated hedging tools to lock in prices. The company couples these financial safeguards with farmer‑focused programs like...
It Will Take More than £600m a Year to Boost UK Industrial Competitiveness | Nils Pratley
The UK government unveiled the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS), earmarking roughly £600 million ($770 million) a year to slash electricity bills by up to 25 % for about 10,000 manufacturers in eight priority sectors. The programme adds a back‑dated claim feature and...
Schneider Electric Unveils Next Generation Agentic Manufacturing Capabilities with Microsoft Azure AI at Hannover Messe 2026
Schneider Electric announced a next‑generation agentic manufacturing platform built on its EcoStruxure Automation Expert and Microsoft Azure AI at Hannover Messe 2026. The joint solution creates a single, traceable workflow that spans design, simulation, commissioning and operations across cloud and edge environments....
Samsung Tests Domestic EUV Mask Blanks in 4nm Foundry Production Line
Samsung Electronics has begun testing EUV blank masks from South Korean supplier S&S Tech in its high‑volume 4‑nanometer foundry line, marking the first use of domestically produced masks in mass production. The move follows earlier R&D‑level trials and targets a...
Roboticom Installs 400th Robot Worldwide with SandRob System at Balanced Body
Roboticom announced the installation of its 400th SandRob robotic sanding system, this time at Balanced Body, a leading Pilates equipment maker. The SandRob solution automates heavy sanding while leaving the final ergonomic finish to skilled craftsmen. Balanced Body reported a...
Could Europe Become a World Leader in Robotics?
European robotics startups attracted a surge in venture capital, with 2025 investment exceeding €1.45 bn (about $1.58 bn). The first quarter of 2026 alone brought in €522 m ($570 m), indicating strong momentum. Growth is fueled by EU policy incentives, a deep engineering talent...
Rising Costs, Uneven Demand Crimping US Clothing Imports
US apparel and footwear imports dropped 7.2% year‑over‑year in the first two months of 2026, following a 2.4% decline in 2025. Rising production costs, higher freight rates, and uneven consumer demand tied to a K‑shaped recovery are pressuring retailers. Inventory...
Interview: Jabil on Scaling Humanoid Robots From Prototype to Production
Jabil, a global manufacturing and supply‑chain leader, is helping Apptronik move its Apollo humanoid robot from prototype to volume production. The company emphasizes design‑for‑manufacturability, repeatable testing, and supply‑chain maturity as the core levers for scaling. Unlike mature AMR and AGV...
When Lean Isn’t Enough
A motor‑assembly line struggled with low output and high defect rates because overtime pay rewarded rework, turning defects into profit. Lean tools exposed waste but could not fix the underlying policy contradiction. By applying Theory of Constraints to identify the...
Black Forest Power Monsters for the DIN Rail
CAMTEC Power Supplies launched the CPS‑EC2000 series, a 2,000 W DIN‑rail AC/DC power supply built on SiC‑MOSFET technology. The unit delivers laboratory‑grade precision, 94% efficiency, and rapid load response without a programming interface, targeting cost‑sensitive test‑bench and charger applications. Available alongside...
Renfe Withdrawal From France Puts Talgo’s €350m Le Train Deal at Risk
Talgo’s €350 million (about $381 million) contract to supply up to ten Avril high‑speed trains to French private operator Le Train is now in jeopardy after Renfe scrapped its planned expansion into France. The deal depended on the Avril units being homologated on...
USCM, Columbia University Eye Defence-Critical Metals in Red Mud
US Critical Materials Corp. and Columbia University have signed a two‑year research pact to extract defence‑critical metals from red mud, the waste by‑product of aluminium refining. The "Mud to Metal" program will focus on gallium, scandium, titanium and rare‑earth elements,...
Steel Producers Tease Q1 Earnings Surge, Citing Higher Prices
U.S. steelmakers Nucor and Steel Dynamics are projecting a sharp rise in first‑quarter earnings, buoyed by higher sales volumes and prices after Section 232 tariffs redirected demand to domestic producers. Both firms expect earnings per share to climb roughly $1 versus...
L3Harris Technologies Plans $1.3B Solid Rocket Motor Expansion in Virginia
L3Harris Technologies announced a $1.3 billion expansion of its solid‑rocket‑motor (SRM) manufacturing campus in Orange County, Virginia, which will more than double production space and create over 350 jobs. The effort builds on a $41.2 million upgrade launched earlier this year and...
Rio Tinto Commissions New Alumina Conveyor at British Columbia Smelter
Rio Tinto has commissioned a new 1.1‑kilometre alumina conveyor at its BC Works smelter in Kitimat, British Columbia, as part of a C$135 million (≈ US$100 million) upgrade. The system will transport up to 800,000 tonnes of alumina per year and is built to...
Placer.ai Macroeconomic Indicators Analysis, March 2026 – Placer.ai Blog
Placer.ai’s March 2026 macro‑economic indicators show retail foot traffic holding steady overall, while e‑commerce distribution‑center visits surged 16.2% year‑over‑year and manufacturing facility visits edged up 0.7%. The flat retail numbers stem largely from a calendar shift—fewer Saturdays—rather than a demand dip....
Peak Technologies Partners with Jacobi Robotics to Deliver Next-Generation Mixed-Case Palletizing Automation
Peak Technologies has teamed up with Jacobi Robotics to bring the OmniPalletizer, an AI‑driven mixed‑case palletizing system, to complex warehouses. The platform removes the need for upstream buffering, sorting and manual programming by using real‑time motion planning, computer vision and...
TCT and SME Celebrate Additive Manufacturing Achievement at Awards Gala
SME and TCT joined forces for the first time at RAPID + TCT 2026, co‑hosting the SME AM Awards and TCT Awards in Boston. The gala honored breakthroughs across materials, hardware, software, startups and individual leadership, with winners ranging from...
Electrically Insulating Epoxy Features Ultra-High Thermal Conductivity
Master Bond introduced EP54TC, a two‑component epoxy that delivers over 6 W/(m·K) thermal conductivity while remaining electrically insulating. The formulation meets ASTM E595 low‑outgassing standards and supports thin bond lines thanks to a 5‑30 µm filler. It operates across a wide temperature range...
Why Building a Manufacturing Division From Scratch Beat the Safer Bet
A mid‑size steel maker chose to launch a new industrial paints division from the ground up instead of buying an existing player. The board was persuaded by a six‑year profit‑and‑loss model that showed a $5 million annual cost advantage and a...
Download the Guide to Battery Debonding-on-Demand
Henkel released a whitepaper on battery debonding‑on‑demand, a technology that lets EV manufacturers create strong adhesive bonds that can be released on command. The guide outlines how thermal or electrical triggers enable precise, damage‑free disassembly for repair, recycling and end‑of‑life...
Simulation Tool Tests Assembly Processes Upfront
Keysight Assembly simulation software lets automotive manufacturers virtually test shop‑floor processes, catching issues before physical production. The tool replicates part positioning, clamping and spot‑welding without requiring finite‑element expertise, giving early visibility into distortion and dimensional risk. Integration with Keysight’s stamping...
AI Expectations Are Rising Fast, But Results Aren’t There Yet
A Schneider Electric survey of 1,400 manufacturing leaders shows AI expectations soaring while actual returns lag, with 70% reporting less than 20% ROI. By 2030, over a third anticipate AI fully embedded and delivering 50%+ returns. The gap stems from...
Digital Isolators Strengthen Industrial Systems
Diodes introduced the API782x series, a dual‑channel digital isolator that delivers 5.7 kVRMS isolation for one minute per UL 1577. The devices meet VDE, UL and CQC standards, offering 8 kV peak isolation and 12.8 kV surge capability, with a predicted 40‑year operational life....
ACN Awards: Enter the Air Cargo Pharma Category
The Air Cargo News (ACN) Awards have launched a new Air Cargo Pharma category, sponsored by Hong Kong handler Hactl, inviting entries from any air‑cargo stakeholder that introduced an innovative pharmaceutical transport solution in the past year. The competition, part of...
Fieldwork Robotics Signs Collaboration Agreement with Dynium
Fieldwork Robotics has entered a collaboration agreement with UK‑based Dynium, a maker of autonomous polytunnel vehicles. The deal lets Fieldwork mount its modular harvesting robots on Dynium’s high‑torque e‑hub platforms, expanding terrain capability and payload. Growers gain more navigation options,...
Superior Health Linens to Install New LAVATEC Press
Superior Health Linens, a division of Healthcare Linen Services Group, signed a purchase agreement to replace its 20‑year‑old LAVATEC LP582 extraction press with a newer model slated for installation later this summer. The original press, bought in 2026, helped the...
Hershey Projects $100M Inventory Cut From Supply Chain Tech
Hershey announced at its 2026 Investor Day that its decision‑intelligence platform will drive a $50 million productivity lift and trim inventory by $100 million over the next two years. The initiative builds on a $250 million supply‑chain and manufacturing digitization program launched in...
Germany’s Final Type 424 SIGINT Ship Enters Production
Germany’s final Type 424 signals‑intelligence vessel entered steel‑cutting at Peene‑Werft, marking the start of construction for all three ships in the class. The 130‑metre platform will be operated jointly by the German Navy and the Cyber and Information Domain Service, replacing...
TE Connectivity Centralizes DIN Rail Operations in Tangier to Enhance Supply Chain Efficiency and Support Future Growth
TE Connectivity has centralized its DIN‑rail qualified product line at its Tangier, Morocco campus, completing the move in January 2026. The consolidation creates a single strategic hub for production and R&D, expanding capacity to meet surging demand from data‑center, robotics,...
10 Supply Chain Trends to Watch in 2026
A new MHI‑Deloitte report released at MODEX outlines the ten biggest supply‑chain trends for 2026, from lingering economic uncertainty to rapid AI adoption. Executives from Disney, Gallo, Carvana and academia discussed how these forces are manifesting in real‑world operations. While...
Vossloh to Supply Smart Switches for Belgian High-Speed Line to France
Vossloh has secured a roughly $18.5 million contract to supply high‑speed switches for Belgium’s HSL 1 line, linking Brussels to the French border. The deal includes an eight‑year delivery phase and a separate 20‑year maintenance agreement that leverages sensor‑based predictive maintenance. The...
Middle East Escalation Pushes Aluminium Into a Structural Deficit
Escalating tensions in the Middle East have forced key Gulf aluminium smelters to curtail output, turning a logistics shock into a structural supply deficit. Emirates Global Aluminium halted its Al Taweelah plant, while Alba operates at roughly 30% of capacity and...
Aya Closes $7 Million Series A to Scale On-Demand Fashion Model
Saudi‑based fashion e‑commerce startup Aya closed a SAR 26 million ($7 million) Series A round, led by RAED Ventures with participation from Nuwa Capital, Sanabil Investments (PIF), Joa Capital and Khwarizmi Ventures. Founded in 2024, Aya’s demand‑driven platform tests more than 700 designs each...
Rolls-Royce SMRs Signal a Shift Toward Industrialized Nuclear Supply Chains
The UK has approved three Rolls‑Royce small modular reactors (SMRs) at Wylfa, marking a pivot from bespoke, site‑built nuclear plants to a repeatable, industrial production model. The program emphasizes modular construction, standardized components, and off‑site manufacturing, shifting the critical path...
SEER Robotics Showcases Capabilities of Its All-Robot Platform with New AMRs at MODEX 2026
SEER Robotics unveiled five new autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) at MODEX 2026, demonstrating its "all robots, one platform" strategy. The lineup includes the space‑saving SPT‑1500UL pallet truck, the narrow‑aisle SSR‑1400US forklift, the line‑side SLR‑600UL transporter, the high‑density SCT‑50UL tote robot,...
Path Robotics Launches Rove, Bringing Mobility to Welding Automation Powered by Physical AI
Path Robotics unveiled Rove™, a mobile robotic welding system that combines its Obsidian physical AI model with a quadruped robot. The platform extends autonomous, adaptive welding from fixed cells to large, immobile assemblies in shipbuilding, heavy construction, and other high‑variability...
Matternet and SoftBank Robotics America Announce Strategic Partnership to Scale Drone Delivery Networks
Matternet and SoftBank Robotics America announced a strategic partnership to accelerate the commercialization of autonomous drone delivery networks, initially targeting healthcare, retail and other enterprise logistics. The collaboration combines Matternet’s FAA‑certified drone platform and proven BVLOS operations with SoftBank’s manufacturing,...