Google Earth reveals an 8 km line of artificial grid-like structures in the Chinese desert. Now one researcher says she know why it’s there
Chinese manufacturers have dominated the international market for conventional solar panels by building bigger factories faster. Now they will need to innovate to maintain their lead.
With 3-D printing, manufacturers can make existing products more efficiently—and create ones that weren’t possible before.
Manufacturing in the United States is in trouble. That’s bad news not just for the country’s economy but for the future of innovation.
Bethlehem Steel, once a symbol of American industry, went bankrupt in 2001. These photos help us imagine its glory days.
Photographs by Jeremy Blakeslee
Christina Lampe-Onnerud, founder of the battery startup, discusses the advantages of moving the company’s manufacturing and research to China.
Jobs and exports are weak, but productivity may be on the rise.
Powerful design tools and techniques such as 3-D printing enable manufacturers to be more nimble, says Autodesk’s manufacturing boss.
The nation’s economic health depends on a federal plan to support the revival of advanced manufacturing, says the president of a Washington-based think tank.
Research shows that regional and national differences in manufacturing practices help determine whether emerging technologies are economically viable.
Companies are learning how nanotechnology can yield new products and manufacturing techniques.
During a recent tour, General Electric showed off a slew of manufacturing and production innovations aimed at staying competitive in one of its core businesses.
A DARPA project shows how the wisdom of crowds can be tapped for a fresh take on how to manufacture something as complex as a combat vehicle.
Growing interest in “additive manufacturing” is leading to new business models and new ways to think about designing products.
Overhauling the manufacturing of biological drugs could make the process more reliable, improving access for patients.
Manufacturers can now be more flexible in the way they use planning software—a tool that’s been cumbersome and expensive in the past.
Robots have been considered too unpredictable and dangerous to work alongside humans in factories. Advances in artificial sensing and motion could change that.
Mass customization makes it far more practical to fabricate products in small quantities.
When too many companies outsource their manufacturing, the industrial ecosystem can suffer long-term consequences.
Suntech Power’s CTO argues that the secret to China’s success is not cheap labor but advanced equipment for making solar cells.