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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Fisker's 80 Percent Staff Cut May Send Luxury Co. Under
April 8, 2013 1:05 pm | by Bloomberg | Videos | CommentsFisker Automotive, a maker of luxury plug-in cars seeking investors to fund operations, said it's firing about 80 percent of its workforce after failing to secure a deal with an automotive partner. Cory Johnson reports on Bloomberg Television's "Bloomberg West.
Manufacturing American Efficiency
April 5, 2013 2:35 pm | by Rachel Leisemann Immel, Associate Editor, IMPO | Articles | CommentsThe majority of today’s LED solutions are not produced in America. And for the first five years of doing business, that was true for NEUTEX Advanced Energy Group as well. Headquartered in Houston, NEUTEX has become one of a list of companies that have recently moved operations to the U.S. from overseas. Today, the company is developing its Houston presence as it positions itself as a leading manufacturer of LED lighting.
Race To Build Driverless Cars Is In Full Throttle
April 5, 2013 9:44 am | by Rick Montgomery, The Kansas City Star | News | CommentsTo call Tim Sylvester a road builder misses the point. The streets he intends to build are embedded with electronic sensors that may keep cars of the future from speeding, veering and crashing. A few blocks from Sylvester's Integrated Roadways office in Kansas City, doctoral candidate Amol Khedkar is toiling on his own prototype for a software system that would let cars talk to one other.
5 Ways Manufacturers Can Take Advantage Of The Industrial Internet
April 5, 2013 8:08 am | by Cindy Waxer | Blogs | CommentsBig data is not just for predicting election outcomes and mapping genomes. General Electric (GE) is betting on the so-called Industrial Internet — a term they coined — to help manufacturers boost performance, streamline processes and better compete in the global marketplace.
Google Rumored To Manufacture Glass In U.S.
April 4, 2013 1:02 pm | by CBS News | Videos | CommentsGoogle Glass, the search engine giant's latest venture into the hardware market, has been rumored to be manufactured inside the U.S. The Financial Times claims Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn will make the first run of Google Glass in Santa Clara, but when Mayor Jamie Matthews reached out to both companies, he got no response.
Chevy Power: Wild Or Practical
April 3, 2013 4:24 pm | by CNN Money | Videos | CommentsAt the New York Auto Show, General Motor's Chevrolet division unveiled two new performance models. The Camero Z28 is a stripped-down track car for the extreme enthusiast while the Chevy SS is a more refined sedan for the everyday driver.
BlackBerry Hasn't Ruled Out A New PlayBook Tablet
April 3, 2013 1:45 pm | by David Friend, The Canadian Press | News | CommentsBlackBerry chief executive Thorsten Heins hasn't ruled out taking another swing at the tablet industry, after earlier versions of its PlayBook failed to catch on with consumers. "We're thinking about it," the head of the smartphone maker said in a recent interview with The Canadian Press. "But we're thinking about it also in the context of BlackBerry 10."
Tesla Unveils Financing Program
April 3, 2013 10:22 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsElectric car maker Tesla Motors Inc. says it has joined with two banks to finance a 10 percent down payment on its new Model S sedan. The company also will give buyers the option to sell the car back to Tesla after three years at a value guaranteed by the automaker. The financing program makes buying the car similar to leasing it, Tesla said in a statement.
Why Global Carmakers Are Feeling Good
April 2, 2013 1:37 pm | by CNN Money | Videos | CommentsThe auto market is up, the worldwide economic recovery continues, and auto manufacturers seem to be doing well. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn says there is "much more excitement" thanks to profits in the auto industry despite the bad economy in Europe.
Solar Powered Everything!
April 2, 2013 8:05 am | by Chris Rendall, Mechanical Engineer, PCDworks | Blogs | CommentsI’ve heard for years that “soon we’ll have solar panels on everything.” To be honest, I’ve never paid much attention to the hype because these magical solar panels that can fit on and inside everything never seemed to materialize commercially. But researchers seem to have made a real breakthrough in solar technology: thin, sticky, flexible solar panels that can stick to just about any surface or object imaginable.
First Solar Buys CA Power Project
April 1, 2013 1:55 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsFirst Solar said Monday that it has purchased a 150-megawatt power project in Southern California. Construction is expected to start this year and finish in 2014. The Tempe, Ariz., company said that the plant could generate enough electricity to power more than 60,000 average California homes.
WV Senate Eliminates Credit For Plug-In Cars
April 1, 2013 1:54 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsThe West Virginia Senate has voted 33-1 to eliminate the $7,500 tax credit that encouraged the sale of solar, electric, plug-in hybrid and other environmentally friendly alternative fuel vehicles. The tax credit will remain in place only for cars and trucks that run on natural gas, butane and propane.
3D Printing Stocks: Fad Or For Real?
April 1, 2013 12:44 pm | by CNN Money | Videos | Comments3D printing is a very hot sector, but is there a way for investors to play this trend? Turns out, there is. Recent IPO ExOne reported sales that topped forecasts, lifting shares of it and rivals 3D Systems and Stratsys. But this is still a new and risky market.
Q&A: The Evolution Of PLM
April 1, 2013 8:02 am | by Joel Hans, Managing Editor, Manufacturing.net | Articles | CommentsEnterprise software can be a major point of complexity for manufacturers, particularly in the way it seems to change at an incredible speed. In order to help work through some of those changes in product lifecycle management (PLM) software packages, we spoke with Richard Mizuno, a partner at Kalypso.
Steve Jobs' First Boss
March 29, 2013 2:03 pm | by Michael Liedtke, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsWhen Steve Jobs adopted "think different" as Apple's mantra in the late 1990s, the company's ads featured Albert Einstein, Bob Dylan, Amelia Earhart and a constellation of other starry-eyed oddballs who reshaped society. Nolan Bushnell never appeared in those tributes, even though Apple was riffing on an iconoclastic philosophy he embraced while running video game pioneer Atari in the early 1970s.
Solar-Powered Plane Energizes Industry
March 29, 2013 1:25 pm | by CBS News | Videos | CommentsTwo pilots are preparing to fly across the U.S., powered only by the sun. CBS News' John Blackstone talks to the team looking to make aviation history. The plane's wings are as wide as a 747 and can fly day and night without a drop of fuel.
Boeing CEO Says 787 Is 'Very Close' To Flying
March 29, 2013 10:14 am | by Scott Mayerowitz, AP Airlines Writer | News | CommentsBoeing CEO Jim McNerney said his company is "very close" to getting its troubled 787 Dreamliner jet back flying again. Two incidents involving batteries on 787s led the Federal Aviation Administration and regulators in other countries to ground the planes in January. Boeing is testing a redesign of the battery system.
Japanese Automakers Show Off Luxury Offerings
March 28, 2013 2:02 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsJapanese carmakers showcased their sports utility vehicles and luxury cars at the annual New York International Auto Show, which opened on Wednesday. Toyota Motor Corp. debuted the 2014 Highlander SUV with a redesigned exterior, increased interior space and three engine choices including a hybrid option.
Subaru Unveils Its First Hybrid
March 28, 2013 2:00 pm | by Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writer | News | CommentsSubaru is coming out with a gas-electric hybrid crossover SUV for the crunchy granola crowd that wants to save fuel but still haul kayaks to the river. The Japanese brand, which specializes in all-wheel-drive vehicles, unveils the 2014 XV Crosstrek Hybrid on Thursday at the New York International Auto Show.
Mercedes, Tesla Team Up On Electric Car
March 28, 2013 1:12 pm | by CNN Money | Videos | CommentsMercedes' new B-class Electric Drive is powered by Tesla Motors' technology and has an electric range of up to 115 miles per charge. The B-class is basically a Mercedes Benz, but inside the batteries, electric motors, and the charging system all come from Tesla Motors.
Play With Smart Materials
March 28, 2013 9:12 am | by Ted | Videos | CommentsInk that conducts electricity; a window that turns from clear to opaque at the flip of a switch; a jelly that makes music. All this stuff exists, and Catarina Mota says it's time to play with it. Mota leads us on a tour of surprising and cool new materials, and suggests that the way we'll figure out what they're good for is to experiment, tinker, and have fun.
Top Five Reasons For Self-Driving Cars
March 28, 2013 9:08 am | by CNETTV | Videos | CommentsSelf-driving cars are inevitable. They eliminate the most commonly defective component in cars today: people. Brian Cooley reports for CNET on the top 5 reasons for self-driving cars based on the ills they cure like drunk-driving and accidents.
Spirit Of Carroll Shelby Lives In 2013 Mustang
March 27, 2013 2:01 pm | by Ann M. Job, For The Associated Press | News | CommentsNearly a year after race car driver and car designer Carroll Shelby died, his spirit lives on in a 2013 Ford Mustang with the most powerful series production V-8 in the world and unmistakable Shelby Mustang styling. With a top speed of 200 miles per hour, the 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 Coupe is breathtaking, even daring, to drive.
Jeep Takes A Radical New Turn With Cherokee
March 27, 2013 10:12 am | by Dee-Ann Durbin, AP Auto Writer | News | CommentsThe Jeep Cherokee is back, with a surprising design that could win some new buyers but lose some old fans. The 2014 Cherokee midsize SUV makes its debut Wednesday at the New York International Auto Show. The remake is so radical that observers might not realize it's a Jeep.
ORNL, Consortium Working On Cheaper Carbon Fiber
March 26, 2013 2:10 pm | by Travis Loller, Associated Press | News | CommentsA consortium of about 40 companies is working with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to develop a cheap form of carbon fiber that can be used to replace steel in manufacturing. The lab used a $35 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to build a manufacturing demonstration facility to improve carbon fiber technology.
