Between 2000 and 2009, close to 6 million manufacturing jobs were lost, many to a practice known as "offshoring," or moving a business’ production or services abroad. Many manufacturers are part of a growing move to "re-shore" manufacturing jobs that were once lost to countries such as China and Mexico.

With so many important factors to watch — rising inventory levels, emerging markets in the late stage of the credit cycle, large impact of trade agreements and the looming election — what will directly impact the gear industry in the next 12 months? Find out more about the AGMA Marketing and Forecasting conference this October in Chicago.

Alvarez Technology Group is planning to double down on Internet of Things (IoT) deployment in the agriculture industry. Luis Alvarez, the CEO, spoke to The Channel Company at XChange 2016 about the developments and challenges.

OMAC, OPC Foundation and PLCopen collaborate on specifications that will allow their existing automation standards to share IIoT information.

Governor Nixon has announced that Missouri has been named the 6th best state in the nation for its annual advanced manufacturing industry job growth in a new report from the Brookings Institution.

Fred Emanuel, founder and owner of Emanuel Engineering in Stratham, has some advice when it comes to STEM education and training future workers for careers in advanced manufacturing or engineering.

We are on the cusp of another Industrial Revolution and most of us are ill-equipped to handle the forthcoming realities that will change the world, as we know it.

This webinar is intended to provide you with a thorough understanding of the information contained within a typical gear inspection report. Specifically, we will look at the contents and meaning of the information contained within the gear charts, as well as the techniques used by the gear measurement system to assess gear quality. An explanation of basic gear measurement techniques, how measurement equipment and test machines implement these techniques, and how to interpret the results from these basic measurements will be covered. We will also discuss how to interpret the results and what corrective actions may be considered if the quality of a particular gear is unsatisfactory.

The latest economic data is in, and things continue to improve in terms of business confidence and activity. Further, manufacturing and mining have begun to expand again, while housing sentiment and activity are still growing. Overall, last week’s numbers demonstrate that private business (so far the weakest link in terms of economic recovery) continues to gain strength.

Researchers have demonstrated the 3-D printing of shape-shifting structures that can fold or unfold to reshape themselves when exposed to heat or electricity, an approach also known as "4-D printing." The micro-architected structures, including boxes, conductive devices and a stent, were fabricated from a conductive, environmentally responsive "smart" ink.

Italian manufacturing confidence in August fell to the lowest since early last year, as Prime Minister Matteo Renzi struggles with a stagnant economy compounded by the massive destruction from last week’s deadly earthquake. Consumer confidence also fell.

As Massachusetts officials celebrated the "topping off" ceremony of a $95 million new railcar manufacturing plant in Springfield, Mass., last week, the factory's owner — China's CCRC — explained hiring plans: production workers will be hired in October, and sent to China for advance training by February.

A new proposal Friday would impose a nationwide limit by electronically capping speeds with a device on newly made U.S. vehicles that weigh more than 26,000 pounds. Regulators are considering a cap of 60, 65 or 68 mph, though that could change. Whatever the speed limit, drivers would be physically prevented from exceeding it. The proposal, which comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, does not force older heavy vehicles to add the speed-limiting technology, but the regulators are still considering it.

There will be 600,000 commercial drone aircraft operating in the U.S. within the year as the result of new safety rules that opened the skies to them on Monday, according to a Federal Aviation Administration estimate.

Volkswagen's employee council chief is suggesting that the automaker consider taking stakes in suppliers after a dispute disrupted production in Germany.

Today, I’m going to focus specifically on AR applications in industry. In a manufacturing context, AR can be used to convey the orientation, placement and scale of parts (instead of, say, a Charmander) to guide a worker through step-by-step instructions visually in a real-world environment. These augmented guidelines help new workers get up to speed more quickly and reduce unnecessary errors.

Not all industrial control system integrators are unprepared for the Industrial Internet of Things. We are ready to help our customers move forward with this nascent technology.