Advancements in technology continue to benefit the motor vehicle engine manufacturing industry. New technologies such as advanced combustion methods, integration of drive systems and controlled valve operation systems to optimize fuel economy are also challenging manufacturers to contain costs.

America’s commerce moves on forklift trucks. So it seems. Just about every product sold in this country is touched by a forklift at one time or another. From manufacturing and warehouse operations to shipping and receiving depots, lift trucks load and unload the goods and materials of our lives.

In the nondestructive testing (NDT) equipment and services industry, methods are employed to monitor the integrity of the structure through its life. These NDT methods supplement other techniques, which can be applied without interruption to normal operation of a structure or a machine. Known as condition monitoring, these techniques represent continuous progress in the development and application of NDT methods.

Over the last decade, increased interest in the use of alternative fuels, including biomass and solar energy, has translated into increased boiler research and development in these categories. Recent advances include deployment of new or updated utility-scale designs for concentrating solar arrays that feed boilers, as well as advances in coal/biomass co-firing and biomass-only firing for both utility-scale and industrial-scale processes.

Researchers have produced a 2-D material called tungsten ditelluride, which they believe can have different properties instead of one, a dynamic known as topological electronic states.

There's a new kid on the block in vapor deposition technology. The easily scalable, atmospheric-pressure process could become the preferred method for creating large-area thin-film and flexible devices.

A new software enables the body of any smartphone to sense force that would allow you to issue commands through your phone simply by squeezing it. For example, you could dial 911 by squeezing your smartphone in a certain pattern in your palm. Or, using a different pattern, turn the music on or flip a page on the screen.

Last month Qualcomm announced that Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd will become the sole manufacturer of its new flagship mobile chip, the Snapdragon 820. The development signals the semiconductor giant’s first order with a foundry other than Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) to make high-end chipsets. Taiwan-based TSMC, the world’s largest dedicated independent semiconductor foundry, counts Qualcomm, along with NVIDIA and Advanced Micro Devices, among its top customers.

Three-dimensional (3D) printing techniques have quickly become some of the most widely used tools to rapidly design and build new components. A team of engineers at the University of Bristol has developed a new type of 3D printing that can print composite materials, which are used in many high-performance products such as tennis rackets, golf clubs and airplanes. This technology will soon enable a much greater range of things to be 3D printed at home and at low cost.