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The manufacturing process that takes the next big idea from concept to market is one of the greatest factors propelling innovation forward — or in some cases, holding it back. Without this important step, we’d live in a world without many of the ingenious technologies that improve our daily lives and excite our imaginations, from smartwatches to...

Since May 2015, in a portion of its WorldPort distribution center in Louisville, Kentucky, United Parcel Service has been operating a spare parts warehouse with no spare parts. Instead, the facility is stocked with ultrafast 3-D printers that can build up almost any plastic part that’s required, layer by layer by layer — and have it ready for UPS...

It's become conventional wisdom that the last 30 years have been a hotbed of innovation, but evidence suggests otherwise. As Robert Gordon explains in , productivity growth peaked between 1920 and 1970 and has declined ever since. Economist Tyler Cowen calls this .

Part of the reason for...

The new Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow (LIFT) and the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) manufacturing innovation facility will be showcased at next week’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The new federally designated testing and training facility for commercializing lightweight metal and...