Leader must create a climate where people are not afraid to fail.

As usual, our annual Capital Equipment Spending Survey provided a wealth of interesting and often contradictory data. Thirty percent of plants will spend more on assembly technology next year than they did this year, and only 20 percent will spend less.

PORTLAND, OR—Autodesk has partnered with design and manufacturing firm ADX to create a new space here called The Bridge. This new space will give engineers access to advanced CAD software and 3D printers.

A designer and manufacturer of electrical components, Jiangsu Phono Electrical Co. Ltd. faces the ongoing challenge of creating high-quality and safe products at the lowest cost.

WASHINGTON—The National Institute of Standards and Technology has awarded two grants totaling $7.4 million to fund research projects aimed at improving the rapidly developing field of additive manufacturing.

To boost the energy output of wind turbines, manufacturers are developing taller structures with longer blades. That’s because the wind at 100 meters blows more steadily and 4.5 percent faster than it does at 80 meters, with an energy gain of about 14 percent.

MADISON, WI—Researchers from University of Wisconsin-Madison and Drexel University are developing a rich set of computational tools that would allow manufacturers to account for the material complexity of a sophisticated product within a single computer model.

Everything boils down to problem-solving—everything. New technology, new products, new processes, new business models, new markets, new behaviors, new company culture, innovation—it’s all problem-solving.

In business since 1969, C&A Tool Engineering Inc. is a contract manufacturer of engineered components. The company makes implants, instrumentation and tools for the medical, aeronautical, defense, transportation and other industries at its 700,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Churubusco, IN.