From Lithium-Ion Batteries to Pumped Hydroelectricity: A Guide to Renewable Energy Storage Options

The increasing use of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power has brought about a new challenge: how to store the energy generated when it is not needed for immediate use. Energy storage technologies are essential for managing the variability of renewable energy sources and ensuring a reliable supply of electricity. Let’s explore some of the most common renewable energy storage options available today.

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Applied Engineering
Battery Energy Storage Systems: What You Need to Know

Battery energy storage systems work by converting stored electrical energy into a different form when needed. This process begins with the components of the system capturing and storing energy from renewable sources such as solar and wind. The stored energy is then released when it is needed, either for backup power during an outage or to supply energy to an entire town. The power electronics and inverters then convert the stored energy into a form that can be used by consumers.

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Applied Engineering
How to Improve Quality and Reduce Costs with Design for Manufacturing

You're a product designer, engineer, or manufacturing professional looking for ways to improve quality and reduce costs. You've heard of design for manufacturing (design for manufacturing) as a potential solution but don't know where to start. Design for manufacturing is a powerful tool that can help you optimize your designs and streamline workflows, ultimately resulting in improved quality and cost savings. However, implementing design for manufacturing strategies can be complex and requires careful consideration of various factors in order to ensure success. In this article, we'll explore how you can take advantage of design for manufacturing to improve quality and reduce costs.

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Applied Engineering
The Ultimate Product Manufacturing Checklist

Are you looking to design a product for mass production? If so, it’s important that you take into account all the key considerations before getting started. With the right preparations and planning in place, your product can have an efficient and cost-effective journey from prototype to bulk production.

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Applied Engineering
From Prototype to Production: The Importance of Design for Manufacturing in the Product Development Cycle

The product development cycle is a complex process that involves several stages, from ideation and prototyping to manufacturing and distribution. At each stage, there are specific challenges that need to be addressed, and design for manufacturing (DFM) is one of them.

DFM is the process of designing a product with the goal of optimizing its manufacturability. The idea is to create a design that can be easily manufactured at scale while minimizing costs and maintaining quality.

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Applied Engineering
Basic Guidance for Performing a Contract Manufacturing Audit  

Routine audits are critical to ensure quality and compliance on products or systems across a network of suppliers and partners. No matter the audit type, it is important to understand the roles within the manufacturing supply chain and to drill down on processes used, especially in the use of contract manufacturing. Every audit is different, but the broader goal is to verify and evaluate what is in place and used by your contract manufacturer. Your audit should identify the strengths and weaknesses of your contract manufacturer. Below you’ll find basic guidance for performing a contract manufacturing audit that will help you achieve quality and compliant manufacturing outcomes. 

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Applied Engineering
Outsourcing Manufacturing Document Management to Streamline Processes

Imagine a world where your business can effectively scale its manufacturing. A world that doesn’t include heavy investment in developing your own infrastructure. Or, inconveniencing functional operations with time-driven activities such as document management. This is, in fact, a reality for businesses that outsource their manufacturing. In fact, since the early 1990s, businesses identified outsourcing as a form of business strategy with an aim to reduce costs. Businesses today still use outsourcing manufacturing to scale quickly and innovate smarter. Businesses outsource many components of manufacturing. Specifically, the areas of their business that cause unnecessary delays or encounter disorganized processes. One of these areas is outsourcing manufacturing document management. Outsourcing manufacturing document management streamlines business processes and results in cost reduction.

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Applied Engineering
Three Reasons Robotics Startups Fail to Scale

As a contract manufacturing company, we help many robotics startups who are struggling to scale their manufacturing. There is usually not one single reason why these startups fail but there are similar shared factors preventing scale and survival. Luckily, failure for robotics startups is not inevitable and is preventable. In this blog, we discuss three common reasons for robotics startups failing to scale.

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Applied Engineering
Supply Chain Solutions that Generate Profits and Increase Efficiency

From toilet paper to baby formula shortages, the importance of supply chain management is deeply felt following the COVID-19 pandemic. Everyday non-specialty items simply aren’t built to handle demand fluctuations. Generally speaking, supplies like these are restocked continuously and usually handled in the most cost-effective way. Therefore, an effective and efficient supply chain management system was not on the radar for most businesses during this time. Pandemics, epidemics, and even times of war reveal how fragile supply chains are. But it shouldn’t take serious events to trigger prioritizing effective and cost reduction strategies for your supply chain management of finished goods. The manufacturing of specialty supplies for energy, medical devices, robotics, semiconductor, and aerospace industries presents an opportunity now more than ever for more resilient supply chain solutions that generate profits and increase efficiency.

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Applied Engineering
3 Advanced Industries Using Electromechanical Contract Manufacturing

Advanced industries like aerospace and life sciences rely on a complex supply chain of sophisticated manufacturers. As technology quickly evolves, specialized fabricators, machine shops, raw material providers and others throughout the supply need to adapt and adjust to meet consumer or commercial demand. In many cases, new advances in technology also create new challenges for electromechanical integration as devices and components become smaller, more adaptable, and increasingly regulated.

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Applied Engineering
9 Benefits of Outsourcing to an International Contract Manufacturer

A major issue that companies face when doing business internationally is whether or not to outsource some of their manufacturing needs to a third party.

More and more businesses, including Apple, Adidas, Hewlett-Packard, and Shell, are outsourcing manufacturing to third-party companies. Moving operations overseas is an enormous undertaking, and outsourcing can remove the bulk of this burden from manufacturers. However, such a significant decision requires careful consideration of several important factors.

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Applied Engineering