New NIST test bed makes the 'digital thread' accessible

Researchers at the U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have launched the Smart Manufacturing Systems (SMS) Test Bed. The test bed is an innovative model factory that will facilitate ...

A more affordable, accessible material for seawater desalination

There are vast quantities of seawater available; drinking water, on the other hand, is in scarce supply. Desalination plants can convert seawater to drinking water. Yet these plants require pipelines made of a special kind ...

GE says 'Industrial Internet' could be worth trillions

Connecting industrial operations to the Internet could lead to significant gains in productivity, potentially worth $10 trillion to $15 trillion globally, a study by General Electric said Monday.

Japan: China rare-earth ban could hurt economy

(AP) -- China's ban on shipments to Japan of rare-earth metals that are crucial for advanced manufacturing threatens to undermine the Japanese economy, a top finance official said Tuesday amid a territorial row between the ...

Argonne electrifies energy storage research

A multidisciplinary team of researchers at Argonne National Laboratory is working in overdrive to develop advanced energy storage technologies to aid the growth of a nascent U.S. battery manufacturing industry, help transition ...

Nations wary of dependence on China's rare earths

(AP) -- China's recent halt of exotic metal shipments to Japan amid a diplomatic spat has reverberated throughout the world's high-tech manufacturing hubs - now on heightened alert to the risks of relying on one country ...

China plans restructure of rare earths industry

(AP) -- China is giving its biggest, state-owned rare earths miner and producer a monopoly for the northern part of the country in reforms aimed at bringing the strategically important sector that's crucial to advanced manufacturing ...

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