ROCHESTER HILLS, MI—FANUC America has established the FANUC Automation Endowed Scholarship Fund in collaboration with the SME Education Foundation. 

LOS ALAMITOS, CA—Epson Robots has introduced a new series of high-precision six-axis robots. 

KINGSBORO, NC—Natron Energy Inc., a manufacturer of sodium-ion batteries, is investing $1.4 billion to build a new “gigafactory” here.

REDWOOD CITY, CA—To help small and midsized manufacturers take advantage of digital transformation, software supplier Pico MES has announced that all manufacturers will be able to use its digital work instruction suite of tools for free. 

ARLINGTON, TX—General Motors’ assembly plant here celebrated its 70th anniversary last week and assembled its 13 millionth vehicle. The milestone vehicle is a 2024 Cadillac Escalade-V powered by a 682-horsepower supercharged V8 engine.

AUBURN, MA—PI’s new N-332 nanometer-precision linear stage family is designed for high-end applications in semiconductors, fiber-optics, microscopy, nanobiotechnology, metrology, and research on beamlines and lasers. 

WASHINGTON—Three automotive recalls this year have been related to assembly defects in wire harnesses.

MOBILE, AL—An expansion project that will double the production space at Airbus’ assembly plant here is passing key milestones as it moves forward on schedule for completion next year.

Software is enabling Modine Manufacturing to optimize its supply chain with predictive analytics and prescriptive execution recommendations.

AKRON, OH—An air intake manifold made of 100 percent recycled nylon has won an Automotive Innovation Award in the Power Train Category from the Society of Plastics Engineers.