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...

As a member of the Manufacturing USA national institutes, NextFlex is the home for developing manufacturing capabilities for flexible hybrid electronics (FHE), from health care to sensors and much more. Formed in 2015 as a partnership between the US Department of Defense and FlexTech Alliance, NextFlex has an interest in governmental applications.

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What happens when you combine the strength of the American worker with investment in cutting-edge science and technology? Innovations capable of changing the world.

Manufacturing USA®, a network of 14 manufacturing institutes across the United States, does just that. Each of its public-private partnerships enables precompetitive collaboration...

Adhesive patches that monitor your health by analyzing chemicals in your sweat. A flexible sheet of radio-receiving electronics you can bend into different shapes to pick up different wavelengths, nicknamed the “ origami antenna.” A strength-boosting exoskeleton that detects the tiny electrical charge just before your muscles flex, then moves with...

Governments worldwide are partnering with industry and academia to boost research into the field of printed and flexible electronics. For example, the European Union (EU) has put considerable financial resources into a host of projects. In the US, the most notable project is NextFlex, which is helping to advance manufacturing capabilities for...