Never known for radical changes, Toyota Motor Corp. is about to make one. Toyota’s plan to build the next-generation Corolla at a new factory in central Mexico in 2019 will take the automaker and its supply chain through a makeover on how they design, produce and deliver parts; how Toyota designs and produces vehicles from them; what materials the group uses; and how the chain makes product changes along the way.

As technology advances, the performance gap between modern, state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and older production plants becomes increasingly apparent. New installations may be bristling with sensors and continuous feedback loops that optimize the process on the fly — one component of so-called Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

Students learn the fundamentals of gear manufacturing in this classroom and hands-on course. In the classroom, this course offers training in gearing and nomenclature, principles of inspection, gear manufacturing methods, and hobbing and shaping. In the hands-on gear lab, using manual machines, students can see the interaction between the cutting tool and the workpiece. They understand the process and the physics of making a gear and can apply this knowledge in working with CNC equipment commonly in use.

While New Hampshire's 2.8 percent unemployment rate is largely a good thing — it's one of the nation's lowest — it also means the labor pool is shallow. It's created a squeeze for manufacturing companies in particular for two reasons: The industry's workforce is aging at a faster than average rate, while fewer young workers have the proper skills — or interest — to fill the void of retiring workers.

Trees that are removed during forest restoration projects could find their way into car bumpers and fenders as part of a study led by Srikanth Pilla of Clemson University.

U.S. July auto sales likely rose 2.4 percent from a year earlier, but full-year sales will not match last year's record, forecasters J.D. Power and LMC Automotive said on Friday. LMC now expects that 17.4 million new vehicles will be sold in all of 2016, down 0.1 percent from 2015. It would be the first annual decline in U.S auto sales since 2009.

No one could have predicted the revolution of 3D printing, from creating trinkets and souvenirs to industrial and equipment manufacturing. Now 3D printing has become an integral part of manufacturing, catering to so many uses and applications. The reason for the success of 3D printing in equipment and industrial manufacturing is because it allows agile design process with careful considerations for size and dimensional attributes.

U.S. manufacturing expanded in July, though at a slower pace, indicating gradual improvement that could help the economy emerge from a weak first half of the year. The Institute for Supply Management’s index cooled to 52.6 from a one-year high of 53.2 a month earlier, the Tempe, Arizona-based group’s report showed Monday. Readings above 50 indicate growth. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists was 53.

This course explores all factors that go into good gear design, including life cycle, load, torque, tooth optimization and evaluating consequences. Students should have a good understanding of basic gear theory and nomenclature.

Sinking crop prices and job losses clobbered manufacturers across the Midwest in July, driving them into negative economic territory for the first time since January.

Amazon has been furiously building out both distribution centers, where workers and robots pull products off shelves and package them for delivery, and smaller sorting plants, which sort the package flow by ZIP code for faster delivery. Although Amazon briefly slowed its pace of distribution-center construction over the 2015 holidays and into 2016, it has announced 17 new fulfillment centers in the U.S. alone since March, notes ChannelAdvisor executive chairman Scott Wingo.

The Just-in-Time (JIT) model has led the field in a more stable business environment, but has proved harder to maintain in a climate of fluctuating currencies, changing labor dynamics and unexpected retail whims.

Suppliers specializing in one type of service used to be able to compete with other providers by excelling at that service and delivering top-quality products. That isn’t the case anymore.

Manufacturing.net

Lean manufacturing isn’t something manufacturers can achieve overnight; and it’s certainly not a one-and-done process executed in a vacuum. To the contrary, waste elimination is achieved through enterprise-wide "lean thinking" and continuous, thoughtful improvement.

India’s manufacturing sector hit a four-month high in July, on the back of a strong pickup in new business orders.

The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index rose marginally to 51.8 in July from 51.7 in June, Nikkei and Markit said in their monthly report. Total new businesses rose at the fastest pace since March, supported by greater demand from local and foreign markets, the report added.

Mine equipment, technology and services companies (METS) will adjust their strategies to reflect a structurally lower mineral price environment over the coming years, a report by BMI Research shows.

A large European steel lamination company is investing $12.6 million in a Paris, Tennessee expansion that will create more than 170 new jobs for the area, according to a news release. Eurotranciatura USA, the company making the investment, is a subsidiary of the world’s largest steel lamination company for electrical rotating machines.

A new deal between Amtrak and Alstom in Hornell to manufacture high-speed trains is expected to create 750 jobs in New York State, including 400 direct manufacturing jobs at the Hornell rail car maker, according to U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer.

Youngstown-based America Makes, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, last week announced seven awardees for its most recent additive manufacturing project call.