Picture a scenario where a U.S. warfighter, facing limited resources and supply challenges, can create a replacement part for a mission using nothing more than a recycled water bottle. This is no longer just a concept. re:3D, an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) based in Austin, Texas, is working towards making it possible. Specializing in...
Manufacturers today face a common challenge: fragmented OT and IT systems that trap data in silos, constraining productivity, innovation and visibility across operations. These limitations slow AI adoption, and hinder improvements in efficiency, quality, supply chain resilience and labor productivity initiatives. i3X addresses this by introducing a...
LIFT, the Department of Defense-supported national advanced materials and manufacturing innovation institute, successfully deployed its Operation Next® adult training program in collaboration with Southeastern Community College (SCC) and successfully certified forty adult learners in advanced manufacturing skills.
Students earned industry...
CESMII –The Smart Manufacturing Institute today announced the beta launch of the Industrial Information Interoperability eXchange (i3X™), an open, standards-based API designed to enable seamless interoperability across manufacturing systems, platforms and applications. Manufacturers today face a common challenge: fragmented OT and IT systems that...
Bio Innovations North America, the premier event dedicated to scaling industrial biomanufacturing in the region, is proud to announce BioMADE as a Headline Partner for its 2026 edition. This strategic collaboration connects the commercial scale-up ecosystem with critical domestic manufacturing infrastructure during a pivotal year for North...
Dear NextFlex Members and Colleagues,
I recently had the opportunity to join many of you at the Defense Manufacturing Conference (DMC) 2026, an event that continues to serve as a critical forum for advancing the technologies and partnerships that underpin our nation’s defense industrial base. This year’s discussions reinforced a message we are...
The Manufacturing Leadership Council (MLC) announced that three MxD projects and one team member were selected as finalists for 2026 awards for outstanding achievements that enable manufacturing excellence.
“MxD is proud to be recognized by the Manufacturing Leadership Council for our work to strengthen and modernize U.S. manufacturing,” said...
Biopharmaceutical advancements across research, development, and manufacturing create increasingly large and complex datasets. The volume of data collected continues to grow in every biopharmaceutical laboratory, pilot plant, and manufacturing facility using new in-line and at-line detectors as well as multivariate analytical methods. Moreover...
America Makes and the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) announced two new project calls worth a combined $14.5M. Both are funded by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Manufacturing Technology Office (OSD ManTech).
The first project call, Delta Qual 2.0, is worth $9M in funding and addresses key additive...
Our Process Intensification (PI) Program, established in 2020, was the first NIIMBL-Led Program, and has been led by Dr. John Erickson since its inception. Over the past six years, the program has grown to include most of our large industry member companies and more than 400 world class subject matter experts have contributed to it. In the past...
LIFT , the Department of Defense-supported national advanced materials and manufacturing innovation institute, today announced the launch of the LIFT Education Foundation, a new nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to education and career pathways in advanced manufacturing.
The Detroit-based 501(c)(3), operated by the American Lightweight...
The Rising Stars in Manufacturing Awards, sponsored by IACMI – The Composites Institute, honor the young thinkers, creators and problem‑solvers responsible for spearheading the renaissance of this pillar of American industry. This distinction recognizes emerging talent whose achievements are helping shape a more innovative, resilient and globally...
Kenson Plastics is a family-owned business that has been manufacturing and assembling custom-made, precision pressure-formed plastics since 1972. You’re likely familiar with their work because they make the plastic seat backs for airplane seats, as well as the panels used in first class and business class.
Kenson was looking at how they could...
Dozens of research reports detail the plague of pilot purgatory in digital transformation initiatives. Take, for example, the 2025 Smart Manufacturing and Operations Survey by Deloitte. A key finding revealed that while 98% of manufacturers have started a digital transformation project, the vast majority remain stuck in the pilot phase, unable to...
Manufacturers are navigating a growing challenge: fragmented, proprietary APIs across platforms, historians, and applications are creating integration complexity that slows innovation. The Industrial Information Interoperability eXchange (i3X™) is emerging as a solution—an open, vendor-agnostic API designed to standardize how applications interact...
