IEN Radio

You may own a Ford vehicle and travel across the border but that doesn’t necessarily mean you want to smuggle illegal drugs. And the automaker wants to make sure you don’t accidentally participate in narcotics trafficking. Ford recently filed a patent, spotted by Motor1 , for an "unknown cargo detection and evidence collection system" that can use a vehicle’s various cameras and sensors...

Welcome to another episode of Gen Z in Manufacturing , a podcast where I interview young people about their journeys in manufacturing, how they intend to influence the industry and what they are looking for from an employer. For this episode, I welcome Erin Sorensen, a 27-year-old director of the Innovation Hub, or iHub, at Northeast Community College in Nebraska.   Sorensen’s professional experie...

Volkswagen has issued a stop-sale and stop-production order for the ID.4, its electric SUV, while it sorts out an issue with the door handles. The automaker’s actions come after it recalled nearly 100,000 of the EVs due to an issue that can cause the doors to open unexpectedly. The impacted vehicles include 2021-2024 models made at VW’s manufacturing facilities in Germany and Tennessee.  In a stat...

Throughout recent history, automakers have found themselves the targets of federal requirements pertaining to everything from fuel efficiency to safety equipment. But this might be a new one. Reports have surfaced regarding a lawmaker in Brazil who has proposed a bill that would add another mandate to the country’s auto industry: it wants to force automakers to sell amphibious cars.

If you’re in London this fall and you hear a faint buzzing noise overhead, that may be the sound of one of Google’s Wing drones carrying a load of fresh blood. The company just announced that it’s partnering with the U.K.’s National Health Service and medical drone network provider Apian to run a trial that will see drones flying blood samples between two central London hospitals, Guy’s and St Tho...

Automotive manufacturer Lotus announced the Theory 1, a concept car that the company expects to set the stage for its smart performance vehicles. Built on a new design manifesto called The Lotus Theory, the automaker stated that the Theory 1 will “harmoniously [fit] around the driver and adapt based on their needs.” Lotus designed the Theory 1 with 10 main A-surface materials, including recycled c...

The 163-year-old British shipmaker that built the Titanic said that it’s insolvent after failing to acquire the funding needed to stay afloat. Harland & Wolff, a Belfast company that specializes in ship repair, shipbuilding and offshore construction, said the rejection of its request for a $264 million facility from UK Export finance has left the loss-making company in a difficult financial po...

When London's Crystal Palace was constructed in 1851, it was the world's largest building. However, the project's greatest mystery was how the structure was completed in just 190 days.  A new study from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, England, published in The International Journal for the History of Engineering & Technology , has discovered that the Crystal Palace was th...

In July, British supercar manufacturer McLaren Automotive unveiled the fruits of an audacious collaboration with the LEGO Group. The LEGO Technic McLaren P1 was a 1:8 scale, 3,893-piece LEGO set that paid homage to "the best driver's car in the world on both road and track."  But like many a toy, the small replica left many fans curious as to whether this box of bricks, once fully a...

The two slowest-selling are models produced by the same automaker. Even the most seasoned automakers don’t always get inventory right. For multiple reasons, from production rates to market response, this formula can fall into disarray, leaving dealers and automakers with an excess – sometimes a big one. CarEdge recently crunched the numbers , measuring the number of days it would take to sell out...

Last month, Stellantis created headlines after comments suggesting it could lay off as many as 2,450 of the 3,700 union workers employed at a truck plant just outside of Detroit. The automaker warned that these measures would hit the Stellantis Warren Truck Plant, a Michigan factory that has been producing an older version of the Tradesman pickup that’s been replaced with a redesign. The new model...

Steel pipe manufacturer Wheatland Tube is closing its plant on the south side of Chicago and laying off more than 230 employees. According to the Chicago Tribune , the layoffs will begin on November 1 and continue throughout next year. Wheatland did not provide an anticipated date for the factory’s closure. The company, which is a subsidiary of the nearly 150-year-old Zekelman Industries, is headq...

Jony Ive spent 27 years at Apple, including as its senior VP of industrial design and chief design officer, before leaving in 2018 to start his own design firm. His efforts were considered key to the success of the iPhone and now he’s bringing his skills to an entirely new area – apparel. Ive’s firm LoveFrom has teamed up with fashion brand Montcler to produce a new jacket, but don’t expect a reha...

The Japan Times reported that the country’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism raided a plant operated by Kawasaki Heavy Industries after the company admitted to misconduct that involved two-stroke diesel engines used in commercial marine vessels.  The day before the raid, Kawasaki Heavy released a notice that revealed wrongdoing in nitrogen oxide emissions verification tests...

Amazon goes to great lengths to ensure that its massive network of delivery drivers stay safe when they’re on the road. Recent reports suggest the company may have gone a little too far. A Reddit user last week posted on the AmazonDSP subreddit about a new topic that arose during his company’s regular safety briefing. In the post , spotted by Freight Waves , the user said their team was reportedly...

Earlier this summer, General Motors settled a yearslong class action lawsuit where plaintiffs alleged that GM’s Duramax diesel engines contained faulty fuel pumps Unfortunately for the automaker, the ink will barely dry on the Duramax agreement before the company will find itself in court once again. A three judge panel has ruled that GM must face a class action lawsuit relating to an entirely dif...

Researchers have created a new variable-stiffness morphing wheel that can not only roll over giant stones and other rough terrain, but they can even climb stairs. The wheels adjust stiffness in real time and could soon find themselves in a wide range of applications, from wheelchairs to mobile robots. Developed by the Advanced Robotics Research Center of the Korea Institute of Machinery & Mate...

Lego provided an update in its efforts to move away from fossil fuels in its bricks. According to Reuters , the toymaker said it is on pace to switch to a pricier recycled and renewable plastic by 2032, having secured long-term agreements with producers. The company has already evaluated more than 600 materials in an effort to replace oil in its bricks by 2030. Previously, Lego attempted to substi...

A former military helicopter crash that killed six people two years ago is now being blamed on a lack of oversight by the FAA and the resulting inadequate inspections of the aircraft. On June 22, 2022, MARPAT Aviation, a flight school based in West Virginia, was holding its annual Huey Reunion, an event that offered members of the public the opportunity to fly a Bell Helicopter UH-1B (or “Huey”) w...

Is vehicle heat resiliency falling behind the pace of climate change? Recent events in Death Valley suggest that might be the case. According to reports, the last month has seen multiple vehicles essentially burst into flames in America’s hottest geographic location. This National Park is famous for its triple digit temperatures and even boasts the somewhat controversial claim of reaching the high...

Based in Lincoln, Nebraska, BinMaster designs and manufactures measurement sensors that are used to measure grain bins, silo levels and monitor tanks. On April 26, 2024, a tornado outbreak hit Nebraska and Iowa, with several tornados decimating homes and businesses throughout the region. According to the National Weather Service, these were the strongest tornadoes to hit the area in nearly ten yea...

Welcome to another episode of Gen Z in Manufacturing , a podcast that asks young people about their journeys in manufacturing, how they intend to influence the industry and what they are looking for from an employer. For this episode, I welcome Aleigha Schulke, a 27-year-old applications engineer for ANCA CNC Machines. Schulke’s interest in manufacturing began in high school when a paperwork mixup...

NASA announced that the Boeing Starliner, which transported astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to the International Space Station in early June, will finally return to Earth. However, when the spacecraft returns, Williams and Wilmore will not be on it.  During the Starliner’s trip to the ISS, Boeing and NASA discovered helium leaks and problems with the spacecraft reaction control thruster...

Yesterday, a federal grand jury in Kansas indicted seven individuals, including five current and former high-level officers of the Boilermakers Union for alleged roles in a $20 million embezzlement scheme that spanned 15 years. The defendants, led by 71-year-old former union president Newton Jones and 76-year-old former secretary-treasurer William Creeden are charged with widespread embezzlement o...

Ford first teased the idea of a four door Mustang back in 1965, the only hint at changing the setup for this iconic vehicle which has, historically, been a 2-door coupe. But according to recent reports, it's possible we might see that concept take shape once again. Ford CEO Jim Farley said in 2022 that the company had considered a 4-door option, and even produced sketches. Last week, reports...