Thermal Fault Protection – Thermistors

What is a Thermal Fault? One of the most common faults in a motor control system, and surprisingly not well understood, is the thermal fault. When troubleshooting drives with customers over the phone, we often will get the complaint that they need help because their drive is “overheating”. When pressed for details we often will…
Read More

Toyota – ‘Driving’ Change in Employee Recruitment and Retention

Manufacturing leaders at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK) are driving change in employee recruitment and retention. TMMK leaders are offering incentives, rolling out impressive new technology, as well as publicizing robust compensation and benefits packages in their efforts to attract new talent. Theirs could be an appealing strategy for manufacturers considering industry skills gap setbacks…
Read More

Huntsville, Alabama

Toyota-Mazda to Build Huntsville, Alabama, Manufacturing Plant

Toyota Motor Corporation and Mazda Motor Corporation ended a months-long search with their announcement that Huntsville, Alabama, had emerged as the ideal location for a new joint production facility. In an Aug. 4, 2017, press release, the two Japanese automobile manufacturers announced the formation of a business and capital alliance, the culmination of two years…
Read More

Why Companies Use Lean Manufacturing

Many companies are drawn to the idea of Lean manufacturing. Six Sigma and other Lean principles are frequently the subject of implementation by companies looking to increase efficiency. What are some of the characteristics of the Lean process and why are companies using Lean manufacturing? What Is Lean Manufacturing? Lean manufacturing means setting the continuous…
Read More

Three Major Turning Points in Manufacturing History

Manufacturing as we know it has made tremendous strides over the centuries. Today, it allows us to produce amazing things. Along the way, there have been some crucial manufacturing milestones that changed the face of manufacturing history and revolutionized what we can do technologically as a society. Here are three of the biggest early turning…
Read More

Autonomous Drone Taxi Takes Flight

Congestion of roadways is a problem that continues to plague metropolitan areas around the world. Whether cars, pedestrians, public transport or carpools, roads are handling more commuters than they have the physical space to accommodate. That’s led some companies to look to the skies. EHang, Inc., a Chinese drone-making company, revealed that they’ve been running…
Read More

From Mexico to Michigan: Fiat Chrysler Revving US Ram Manufacturing

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is revving auto industry expectations with its Jan. 11 announcement of plans to move its Dodge Ram heavy-duty pickup production from Saltillo, Mexico, to Michigan. Company insiders hope their planned 2020 move will help revive domestic automobile manufacturing. Picking up speed after a downturn U.S. automobile manufacturing has been declining for…
Read More

Tools to Help Make Data Collection More Efficient

We live in the world of big data, where individuals and companies have access to more data than ever before. Your business is not likely to survive without a data collection plan. Naturally, you want your data collection methods to be as efficient as possible so you can get the most useful data in the…
Read More

Train Where You Work: Learn On-The-Job Training Benefits and Challenges

In many ways, manufacturing is sitting on the precipice of a potentially exciting but still uncertain future. Automation looms, carrying both promises of innovation and the potential to drastically disrupt existing industry practices and norms. At the same time, some specific manufacturing positions are remaining unfilled due to a skills gap disparity between worker qualifications…
Read More

January Report: Manufacturing Economy Continues to Roar

Growth continued in January as the overall economy registered expansion for the 105th consecutive month, underpinned by January’s strong manufacturing data. Although the January Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) of 59.1 declined 0.2 from the previous month, it is still indicative of a robust manufacturing sector as readings above 50 indicate expansion. According to Tim Fiore, chairman…
Read More

search visa mc amex discover paypal bank